FCC

Tips to Keep Corrosion Out of Your WIP Cycle!

2025-08-30

It is no fun to have corrosion right in the middle of the manufacturing process. Sometimes even the right rust preventatives with the wrong handling can lead to corrosion troubles that slow down the WIP (work-in-progress) cycle. To avoid these unwelcome surprises, Jessica Carpenter (a Cortec® Regional Sales Manager with 16+ years of industry experience) shares simple tips on how to avoid corrosion and keep your WIP cycle running smoothly.

Tip one: Add flash corrosion protection to your rinse water: The rinse stage itself can be a tricky cycle because it raises the risk of f lash rust. Jessica recommends adding two to three per cent of a VpCI®-41x Series cleaner (containing flash rust preventatives) to the rinse water and monitoring concentration at every shift to avoid flash rust.

Tip two: Cool and dry parts completely: If parts are not cool and dry before they go into a package, moisture condensation is likely, again heightening the risk of corrosion. Jessica suggests reducing air knife or blower temperature after washing to cool down parts or lengthening the conveyer to allow more drying and cooling time after the wash process.

Tip three: Be careful what you touch: Jessica Carpenter reminds manufacturers not to touch metal with bare hands and not to place metal parts on cardboard or wood during the WIP cycle. Fingerprints can cause corrosion because of the pH/acidity of the skin, while wood or cardboard can hold moisture against the metal. The solution? Wear gloves and line crates or boxes with CorShield® VpCI®-146 Paper.

The tips above are great ways to streamline your WIP cycle to get parts through the manufacturing process, into the package, and to the customer without unwelcome rust surprises. Contact our team for more expert advice on solving specific corrosion problems in your WIP cycle.