In a method for preparing a shield and/or clamping ring prior to use in a physical vapor deposition process, the shield and/or clamping ring is first bead blasted using an abrasive powder, then is treated in an ultrasonic cleaning chamber to remove loose particles and then sputter etched or treated with a plasma. The sputtering or plasma treatment serves to loosen contamination which may form a diffusion barrier and prevent the deposits from bonding to the shield and also serves to roughen the surface of the shield and/or clamping ring, to reduce interface voids and improve adhesion of sputtered material onto the shield and/or clamping ring. The process of the invention results in improved cleaning of the shield and/or clamping ring and improved adhesion of sputtered material thereon, thereby increasing the time before the shield/clamping ring must be cleaned and reducing down-time of the physical vapor deposition chamber.