What’s the Shelf Life? Corrosion Prevention for Automotive and Military Readiness
March 4, 2025
What’s the shelf life? That’s one question both the military and automotive industry need to ask when thinking about long-term storage of parts and equipment. This is especially clear when recognizing corrosion as the main enemy of long-term reliability and mission readiness. Fortunately, as Cortec® Corporation knows firsthand from decades of experience in these sectors, the right preservation methods can easily extend the shelf life of automotive and military assets, ensuring they stay on-call, ready for immediate use.
Auto Part Shelf Life
The reasons for requiring an extended auto part shelf life vary. Sometimes, economic factors favor a build-ahead program— the production of thousands of engines, transmissions, or other components two or more years in advance of assembly. More commonly, the routine production of automotive service parts or “all-time-buys” requires preservation for five to 20 years following the retirement of tooling for a specific model. Knowing the desired “shelf life” is key to choosing the right method of preservation. Often, a simple VpCI®-126 Bag with BioPad® (a USDA Certified Biobased Product) placed inside will be enough to protect parts going into two-year storage. These materials emit corrosion inhibiting vapors that adsorb onto the metal surfaces inside the package and do not need to be cleaned off before the part can be used. A longer shelf life can be achieved by graduating to a thicker packaging material and/or adding extra sources of Vapor phase Corrosion Inhibitors (VCI/VpCI®).
On the extreme end of the spectrum (e.g., one to two decades of shelf life) CorrLam® LD VpCI® Barrier Laminate is ideal because its multilayered laminate structure emits VpCI® within the package while blocking out vapors and UV with a laminated foil barrier. CorPak® 1-MUL or 8-MUL Pouches can be added if an extra boost of VpCI® is warranted. Although these dry methods of protection eliminate the mess of traditional greasy rust preventatives, some auto specifications may already include oils and greases, in which case a USDA Certified Biobased Product rust preventative such as EcoLine® 3690 may be considered.
Military Equipment Shelf Life
When it comes to military equipment, the most desirable scenario is to never have to take weaponry out of storage. However, if defense is necessary, it is critical for combat equipment to be mission-ready. Here again, there are many preservation options, with the main considerations being storage environment and commissioning needs. For deep storage of military vehicles, cargo loaders, tanks, and other equipment, MilCorr® VpCI® Shrink Film is a great heavy-duty option for outdoor protection.
In other cases, heavy equipment such as Airfield Damage Repair (ADR) vehicles stored near the coast may need more protection than the original equipment coating while staying in readiness for military personnel to turn the key and drive away without unwrapping any packaging. In such cases, an auxiliary protective coating such as EcoShield® VpCI®-386 can be applied periodically right over painted or unpainted metal surfaces for extra protection. ElectriCorr™ VpCI®-239 can be sprayed as a protective coating on electrical contacts and relays. Individual arms can be stored in VpCI®-126 Bags, preferably without any additional greases that would need to be cleaned off before use. Even ammunition can be protected from corrosion in tropical climates by wrapping cartridges in CorShield® VpCI®-146 paper, another USDA Certified Biobased Product.
The Cost of Expired Shelf Life
At minimum, the cost of corrosion equals the value of any assets lost or the price of repairs done, not to mention the intangible costs incurred from lack of mission readiness and the time spent waiting for a replacement to arrive. Although critically significant, the means of corrosion protection are extremely simple, making it incumbent on military and automotive decision-makers alike to take basic steps toward corrosion prevention. Contact Cortec® if you need further help ensuring the right shelf life for your military or automotive components.
Keywords: corrosion, corrosion prevention, military readiness, corrosion prevention for auto parts, auto part shelf life, tips for mission readiness, costs of corrosion, Cortec, VpCI, automotive service parts specifications
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