The present invention relates to apparatus for coating surfaces, and more particularly to shielding means for defining an area to be coated while deflecting sprayed coating material, not directed upon such area, away from adjacent areas.
In the painting of individual articles, as opposed to mass-produced or automatically applied coatings, it is often highly desirable to utilize a spray applicator such as an air brush, spray gun or aerosol device in order to achieve a smooth, uniform coating. While the advantages of spray coating have long been known to those skilled in the art the overspray which attends the process detracts considerably from its utility, necessitating elaborate masking and covering of adjacent areas so that the droplets of paint expelled from the spray apparatus do not adhere upon unwanted areas. For example, when painting an automobile the rubber moldings, chromium trim and glass windows must all be protected, commonly by applying an adhesive material such as masking tape to edges and small portions, while covering the extended areas with paper or plastic sheets. While this difficult and time-consuming operation may be justified when painting an entire vehicle it adds considerably to the time and expense required when repairing, or painting decorative trim,on the vehicle.
Of course, should it be necessary to paint an entire panel such as a door or a fender, the natural boundaries of the panel make masking of adjacent areas a simple task. However, when small, discrete areas are to be painted, such as when lettering, designs, or stripes are to be applied, it is necessary to mask and cover a large area about the small portion to be painted. In the case of decorative striping, the problem is even more acute since such striping often extends the entire length of the vehicle.
Although in years past manually-applied decorative striping was quite popular and commonly found on even mass produced automobiles, the increased expense of such painstaking work has caused it to become increasingly rare. While it is well known that it is possible to apply decorative striping by spray painting a narrow area defined by strips of adhesive tape, since such stripes commonly extend the length of the vehicle it is necessary to mask and protect practically the entire vehicle side, thus vitiating much of the economic advantage which would otherwise accrue to the spray process.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide means for confining a sprayed coating to a defined area, and preventing the overspray from adhering to adjacent areas.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an easily manipulable overspray deflector which eliminates the need for masking adjacent surfaces when spray painting decorative designs.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a hand-held overspray deflector which will prevent overspray from inconveniencing the operator of the apparatus.