Patent ID: 7939135

Claim:
A method of shielding an airfoil during application of a coating on the airfoil, the method comprising the step of: inserting at least one projection of a shield into a corresponding at least one opening in an airfoil to prevent a coating from entering the corresponding at least one opening of the airfoil, wherein the shield is a single component and includes a body, a flap, and a joint line between the body and the flap, and the body includes the at least one projection, and the airfoil includes a pressure side, a suction side, a leading edge including the at least one opening, and a trailing edge; folding the flap relative to the body along the joint line over the leading edge of the airfoil after the step of inserting such that the body is located proximate to the pressure side of the airfoil and the flap is located proximate to the suction side of the airfoil.