Abstract: Carpet masking film is reliably and removably applied to used carpet of unknown condition. In a pretreatment, the carpet is cleaned by physical separation of visible debris, followed by chemical or solvent cleaning of grease and soluble factors, restoring the carpet to a clean appearance. A primer layer is applied over the clean carpet fiber in quantity sufficient to establish a barrier and separation layer on top of the carpet fiber. Subsequently, a sprayed adhesive layer is applied over the primer layer. A carpet masking film is applied over the surface of the sprayed adhesive. The masking film may carry its own adhesive layer, which is applied to the sprayed adhesive to create a bonded sandwich structure that is removable as a unit with the masking film.