Patent ID: 8349086

Claim:
A fixture for selectively masking portions of a gas turbine engine component disposed therein while a workpiece coating is being applied to unmasked portions thereof, predetermined surfaces of the fixture comprising: an average surface roughness of about 25 Ra or less to minimize the amount of workpiece coating bridging that will occur between the fixture and the gas turbine engine component when the workpiece coating is applied; and a Rockwell hardness of about 65 Rc or more to ensure the fixture can maintain an average surface roughness of about 25 Ra or less throughout repeated applications of the workpiece coating, where the predetermined surfaces include at least portions of the surfaces of the fixture proximate the gas turbine engine component where workpiece coating bridging might occur across a gap in a plasma spray coating proceess that is configured to minimize the amount of rework needed on the gas turbine engine component after the gas turbine engine component is coated, and the fixture and the gas turbine engine component disposed therein define the gap that is as small as about 0.020 inches.