Patent ID: 7632541

Claim:
A method of masking a dovetail portion of a turbine blade during coating of an airfoil portion of the blade and a platform of the blade between the airfoil and dovetail portions, the method comprising the steps of: placing the dovetail portion in a solid masking assembly so that the airfoil portion and the entire platform of the blade remain outside the masking assembly, the masking assembly comprising at least two masking members, each masking member having an exterior surface and an oppositely-disposed undulatory surface complementary to one of oppositely-disposed undulatory surfaces of the dovetail portion, the dovetail portion being placed in the masking assembly by mating the masking members so that the undulatory surfaces thereof define an interior cavity within the masking assembly that accommodates at least part of the dovetail portion and the undulatory surfaces of the masking members contact the undulatory surfaces of the dovetail portion, the undulatory surfaces of the masking members entrapping the dovetail portion within the interior cavity of the masking assembly while the masking members remain mated; supplying a coating vapor to deposit a coating on the airfoil portion and on the entire platform of the blade while preventing deposition of coating on the dovetail portion with the masking assembly; and then separating the masking members to release the blade from the masking assembly.