Masking

Masking is the process of covering specific areas of a part before finishing so those areas stay bare metal.

To mask areas of parts, our production team will apply a polyester tape over the areas requiring masking. We can apply rectangular, circular, or CNC cut masking profiles.

We offer full-service masking as a process, in order to keep certain areas of your enclosure, part or panel free from having powder coat paint or anodized finish applied.

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Why Mask a Powder Coated or Anodized Part?

Masking offers a few key advantages:

For Electrical Conductivity

Both powder coat and anodizing are non-conductive. Because of this, masking is generally employed to ensure electrical conductivity, as the masked areas produce a bare-metal finish where powder coat or anodizing were not applied. By masking, you will ensure electrical conductivity where you need it. (For example, some clients require EMI efficiency).

For Tight Tolerances

Powder coat paint can add 0.003" in thickness to your enclosure or part's cutouts. We recommend factoring in the additional powder coat thickness when you create your design (for example, when mounting a component that requires a 1" diameter hole on a surface that will be powder coated, be sure to call out a 1.006" hole diameter). However, for extra insurance that your mounting components will fit properly, you may also require masking.

For Gasket Surfaces

If you are applying an EMI gasket to your custom enclosure, you may wish to mask off the gasket surface before powder coat paint is applied.

What Protocase Can Mask

Masking is possible on most areas of an enclosure or part. The most frequently requested applications are:

•Entire inside of an enclosure
•Mating surfaces of an enclosure
•Areas surrounding connector cutouts
•Areas under electrical components

As a rule, we mask all internal and external fastener threads using silicone caps and plugs.

We do not currently offer masking the inside edges of a cutout. As an alternative, you can mask both sides of a cutout.

Masking Examples

Masking - Sheet Metal Enclosure

Masking - Sheet Metal Parts

Plugging - Sheet Metal Enclosure Cutouts

Stocked Masking Profiles

We stock a wide range of masking profiles – including discs, tape, and donuts – so standard requests are fulfilled without sourcing delays:

Discs

0.25" (6.35mm) Discs
0.375" (9.525mm) Discs
0.5" (12.7mm) Discs
0.625" (15.875mm) Discs
0.75" (19.05mm) Discs
1.0" (25.4mm) Discs

Wide Tape

0.125" (3.175mm) Wide Tape
0.1875" (4.7625mm) Wide Tape
0.25" (6.35mm) Wide Tape
0.375" (9.525mm) Wide Tape
0.5" (12.7mm) Wide Tape
0.625" (15.875mm) Wide Tape
1.0" (25.4mm) Wide Tape
1.5" (38.1mm) Wide Tape
2.0" (50.8mm) Wide Tape
3.0" (76.2mm) Wide Tape
4.0" (101.6mm) Wide Tape
5.0" (127mm) Wide Tape

Donuts

0.375" (9.525mm) OD / 0.125" (3.175mm) ID Donuts
0.5" (12.7mm) OD / 0.125" (3.175mm) ID Donuts
0.375" (9.525mm) OD / 0.1875" (4.7625mm) ID Donuts
0.5" (12.7mm) OD / 0.1875" (4.7625mm) ID Donuts

If none of our stocked masking tape profiles work for your application, we are able to create CNC cut custom profiles as needed. Contact us to discuss your specific requirements.

Limitations

Masking is possible on all of the sheet metal and bar stock that we carry. However, we do not recommend applying masking on cold rolled steel, as the metal's inherent characteristics mean it will corrode quickly without some sort of coating applied.

If you require masking and wish to use cold rolled steel, we recommend choosing galvanneal instead.

As our masking profiles are typically cut by CNC processes, we are virtually unrestrained in the shape and size of masking that you require. However, we do recommend masked areas be no smaller than 0.125" (3.175mm) in size.

Please note our standard placement tolerance for masking: