Abstract: A protective cover is disclosed for teeth of a gear body. The protective cover includes a desiccant disposed in a polymer enclosure. A method of protecting a gear is disclosed. The method involves generating a digital model of a protective cover having a surface portion that matches a surface contour of the gear teeth and inputting the digital model into an additive manufacturing apparatus or system. A protective cover is formed by repeatedly applying energy from an energy source to fuse successively applied incremental quantities of a polymer corresponding to the digital model of the protective cover, and the gear teeth are covered with the surface portion of the protective cover that matches the surface contour of the gear teeth.