Masking plays a vital role in the painting or coating of parts used in the automotive, aerospace, electronics and other industries. The painting or coating of parts may involve liquid coating, plating, powder coating or electroplating. The coating may be applied by a variety of methods including brushing, rolling, spraying, dipping, plating, flow-coating, electro- static coating, and submersion in deposition tanks. The liquid, powder or plating material may be applied to wood, fiberglass, or metal surfaces in order to protect and/or strengthen those surfaces.

The coating protects the surface of a part by preventing electrical leakage, oxidation, corrosion and decay. Once the coating is applied, it is often cured at temperatures between 200-600° Fahrenheit to harden and cross-link the coating on the surface. After the curing process is complete, the cured coating forms a very strong protective layer on the surface that is highly resistant to scratching and chipping.

In most applications, a protective coating is applied to certain areas of a surface but not to other areas of the surface. The areas where the coating is not to be applied must be covered or masked off by a masking device. Typically, a masking device is applied to the surface areas to be masked. Once the painting or coating process is complete, the masking device is removed from the surface of the part.

There are problems associated with masking areas of parts having different shapes and configurations. In particular, cylindrical members such as rods, pipes, or axles need to be masked when the ends of the cylindrical members are painted or coated. The shape of the cylindrical members make them very difficult to mask especially if there are end members attached to the ends of the cylindrical member which are difficult to remove and/or larger than the cylindrical member itself.

Thus, it is desirable to provide a masking device which easily attached and removed from cylindrical members or cylindrical portions of parts to be masked.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a tubular-shaped masking device for masking cylindrical members during liquid coating, powder coating, plating or electroplating. The

masking device is preferably made from a flexible high temperature resistant plastic or rubber material, such as neoprene or ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymers (EPDM) for easy attachment and removal from the cylindrical members.

The masking device comprises a tubular-shaped substrate having a top surface and a bottom surface. The substrate includes a first end and a second end, the first end being coiled inside of the second end to form the tubular-shaped masking device. The masking device is placed over the top surface of a cylindrical member by opening and separating the first and second ends of the tubular shaped masking device so that there is an opening large enough to place the masking device over the top surface of the cylindrical member. The masking device is preferably made of a resilient material such that when the masking device is placed over the top surface of a cylindrical member, the first and second ends return to their original shape and position to totally enclose the outside surface area of the cylindrical member. The masking device is easily attached over cylindrical members having end members attached to the ends of the cylindrical member which are difficult to remove and/or larger than the outer surface of the cylindrical member to be masked. The bottom surface of the masking device comes into contact with the outer surface of the cylindrical member.

After the painting or coating process is complete, the masking device is removed from the cylindrical member. This is accomplished by separating and opening the first and second end members of the tubular-shaped masking device to form an opening large enough to remove the masking device from the cylindrical member.

The tubular masking device is preferably made from a substrate material that is extruded through an extruder to form a tubular-shaped masking device. As mentioned above, the substrate material is preferably made from a flexible, resilient high temperature resistant plastic or rubber material such as neoprene or EPDM.

Various other features, aspects and advantages of the invention may be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following drawings and detailed description of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a tubular-shaped masking device in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view of the masking device of Fig. 1 wrapped around a cylindrical member to be masked.

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view of the masking device wrapped around the

cylindrical member taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a masking device which is used for masking the surface of a cylindrical member during liquid coating, powder coating, plating or electroplating.

The masking device is preferably extruded into a tubular shape so that it may be easily attached or removed from cylindrical members to be masked. The masking device is preferably made of a flexible, resilient material such as silicone, neoprene, or ethylene-propylene- diene terpolymers (EPDM). The material should also be high temperature resistant to withstand curing temperatures of approximately 200-600° Fahrenheit. The masking device 10 has a thickness of approximately 0.06. The masking device 10 can be made to have any length or diameter for masking cylindrical members of various lengths and diameters.

Fig. 1 shows a masking device 10 having a tubular-shape with a first end 12 and a second end 14. The first end 12 is coiled inside of the second end 14 to provide a masking device which may be placed over the outer surface of a cylindrical member. The masking device 10 is comprised of a tubular shaped substrate having a top surface 16 and a bottom surface 18. The bottom surface 18 coming into contact with the outer surface of a cylindrical member being masked. The masking device 10 is placed around the outer surface 22 of a cylindrical member 20 to be masked as shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 shows the tubular masking device 10 attached to the outside surface 22 of a cylindrical member 20. The cylindrical member 20 includes two end members 24a and 24b attached to the ends of the cylindrical member 20. The masking device 10 consists of a tubular shaped resilient, flexible substrate having a top surface 16 and a bottom surface 18. The tubular- shaped flexible substrate is attached to the cylindrical member 20 by opening and separating the first end 12 and the second end 14 to create an opening large enough to fit over the outer surface 22 of the cylindrical member 20. Once the masking device 10 is placed over the outer surface 22 of the cylindrical member 20, the masking device 10 coils up around the outer surface 22 of the cylindrical member 20 as shown in Fig. 3. The first end 12 and the second end 14 return to their original positions to encircle the outer surface of the cylindrical member. The bottom surface 18 of the masking device 10 totally encloses the outer surface 22 of the cylindrical member 20 so that no opening or gap is present around the circumference of the cylindrical member 20. With the masking device 10 in place, the end members 24a and 24b are now ready to be painted or coated.

After the painting or coating cycle, the tubular masking device 10 may be removed from the

cylindrical member 20 in the same manner as it was installed. In other words, the first end 12 and the second end 14 are opened and separated to create an opening large enough to remove the tubular masking device 10 from the outer surface 22 of the cylindrical member 10.

Fig. 3 shows a cross sectional view of the masking device 10 wrapped around the outer surface 22 of a cylindrical member 20 to be masked. The bottom surface 18 of the tubular shaped masking device 10 totally encloses the outer surface 22 of the cylindrical member 20. The first end 12 of the masking device is coiled inside of the second end 14 of the masking device. No gaps or openings are present between the outer surface 22 of the cylindrical member 20 and the bottom surface 18 of the masking device 10.

The masking device 10 is preferably made by extruding a flexible plastic or rubber material such as neopyrene or EPDM through an extruder to form a tubular-shaped masking device that may be placed over the outer surface of cylindrical members to be masked.

It is recognized that various alternatives, modifications and equivalents may be apparent to those skilled in the art. Thus, the following claims should be interpreted to cover such alternatives, modifications and equivalents.