Armor’s Metal Rescue™ can safely and effectively remove iron oxide from metal in as little as 20 minutes, leaving the base part and other materials (including the user) unaffected.
Armor recently introduced Metal Rescue™, a non-toxic liquid solution that does not contain harmful hazardous acids found in alternative rust removal systems. As supplied, the product is non-corrosive, non-flammable, non-toxic, biodegradable and contains no VOCs, solvents, acids, bases or hazardous ingredients. If no toxic or hazardous materials have been introduced to the solution, Metal Rescue™ typically can be disposed of into the city sewer.
Armor customers have found Metal Rescue™ helps increase their profit potential by:
· Creating value for their customers that they control
· Eliminating dependence on another service vendor
· Reducing outside costs
· De-rusting on their schedule, not someone else’s
Depending on object size, amount of rust and the temperature of the solution, Metal Rescue™ completely removes rust in 20 minutes to 24 hours.
Once parts have been treated with Metal Rescue™, Armor’s Vapor Corrosion Inhibitor (VCI) products can protect metal from rusting during shipping or storing.
Wouldn’t it make sense that if given the choice between ONE side coated VCI paper and TWO side coated VCI paper, you would choose the paper coated on BOTH sides? It would seem that this would provide for several benefits to a manufacturing facility. What are these benefits? Let’s explore them below.
VCI Paper that is coated on BOTH sides:
The next time you want to make things easy in your plant or get rid of training issues, ask for ARMOR WRAP VCI Papers. The metal and automotive industries’ oldest and only source of double coated VCI papers.
NOTE: VCI, VPI and VPCI are all acronyms for volatile and vapor corrosion inhibitors.
We often get the question when conducting accelerated corrosion testing, “how many actual days or months does your accelerated lab testing equate to in “real life”?”. Unfortunately, most people don’t always like our answer. The fact is that the answer is- who knows? This is best explained by an example. Let’s say that we put a metal part into our Harshaw Environmental Chamber for 10 days. Temperature inside the chamber ranges from 94 degrees F to 100 degrees F, while the tower is 120 degrees F, maintaining a relative humidity of 95% to 98%. If the metal part is exposed to these conditions and is protected by our VCI film or VCI paper for 10 days, then we know it will last at least 10 days in these exact conditions. That is truthfully, all we or anyone else can say about these results. There is no way to correlate these 10 days in these exact conditions to anywhere in the world, especially in terms of what a product actually goes through in transit or storage. Whether it is domestic shipments or international shipments, a product going from point A to point B can see a range of temperatures, humidity, contaminants and handling factors. There is absolutely no way to reproduce these exact conditions. Now, we may be able to get close, but not exact. Ways in which we can get close to real life conditions include running a freeze/thaw cycle to simulate changes in temperature or better yet, running a real life shipment test and comparing it with a controlled lab test.
The key to accelerated corrosion testing is comparison. Comparing a known (what is working or has proven to work) to an unknown. Comparing a control (no protection-for instance, plain poly film only) to a new variable (VCI poly film) for instance. Now, with comparisons, there is something to be concluded from the test results. If oil or RP liquid on a metal gear or engine, as an example, is protecting the part during transit from the United States to China inside a 4 mil polyethylene bag then this is the control to work from. Perhaps the customer does not want the mess and headaches of oils or RP liquids on the part and a VCI bag is desired? Now, we can compare the known (oil on part) to the new variable (VCI bag). In this way, we can compare the protection of the two against each other to form our conclusion. Compare this with years of testing and experience in the field of VCI packaging and there are a number of examples to draw on.
So, the real answer to the question of “how many days or months does your accelerated lab testing equate to in “real life” is…no one is sure. But, we can run controlled comparison tests to show how one method compares to another and this will give excellent indications about how one method or another might perform in real life. The follow-up to this of course, is to be prudent and run a real life test too. Just make sure there are multiple samples in any test you run to make sure results are repeatable and therefore, accurate.
A question we often get asked is what impact will our VCI (VPI, VPCI) have when used with RP liquid coatings or oils. Depending upon what the coating is, as there are many kinds, the VCI should stil have some effectiveness, although it will be diminished. Many of our customers use VCI in conjunction with RP liquids and even oils. Since RP coatings and oils start in a liquid form, they flow to areas on the metal. It is feasible and most likely the case, that a 100% protective coating is not formed on the part. Since VCI (VPI, VPCI) is a vapor, it offers 100% coverage as long as it is contained in an enclosed area (bag, box, container) and enough VCI is used. The way VCI works is that the VCI chemicals attach themselves to the surface of the metal (electrons). However, if there is a barrier between the metal and the VCI, a protective layer cannot be attained. In this case, the barrier is the RP liquid or oil. That said, since these liquid based coatings do not offer 100% coverage and many of them dry up over time, the VCI can be effective in “filling in the gaps”, ie. areas where there is no protection. That is why many of our customers use VCI in combination with RP liquids or oil. It must be said, though, that these liquid based coatings are not needed if a good quality VCI is used. We recommend end users start with ARMOR VCI in the best form that meets their needs and eliminate the extra cost, mess and problems associated with RP liquids and oils. Further, as with any application, we recommend testing your application and current RP liquid coating or oil with the VCI for any adverse effects.
Lately, we have seen an influx in “VCI” films being sold by poly film extruders and converters. While these films make the assertion that their product is a “VCI”, there is much to be questioned about these films. The principal factor that makes these films attractive to a metal manufacturer or even an industrial distributor is the low price. True developers and manufacturers of VCI technology have the traditional costs such as R&D, testing, technical support, training of staff (and distributors) in corrosion and VCI products as well as many other costs that extruders do not have.
As you know, extruders “extrude” film. This is what they are good at. They make various polyethylene films in bags, sheeting, wicketed bags, and other film products for industries ranging from food, textile, medical, and industrial. More and more of these extruders are including additives in their films such as anti-stat, fire retardant, and now “VCI”. As a result, they are able to command a slightly better margin than they normally get for their standard products due to the “value added” of a specialty product, however still sell their “VCI” films at an extremely low price. However, these extruders do not have the knowledge, expertise, experience, or understanding to deal with the intricate characteristics of the chemical additives that they extrude into their films.
VCI (VPI, VPCI) packaging material is truly a specialty product. True VCIs are a blend of 4-6 specifically formulated chemicals that work together in a fine balance. These chemicals perform in conjunction with each other to inhibit corrosion. Continuous testing and benchmarking is needed to stay one step ahead of new metals, coatings and shipping requirements. True VCI companies with experienced professionals formulate and manufacture their own products.They provide a valuable package to the customer in terms of technical training, service, application recommendations, on-site expertise, accelerated corrosion testing and even specialized liability insurance due to the critical performance nature of their product. Extruders who offer “VCI”, as an additive:
- have no background in corrosion chemistry
- have no technical service capabilities
- have no quality control standards to check the VCI additive
- do not know what is in the VCI resin
- cannot perform accelerated testing in a corrosion-humidity chamber
- cannot make recommendations about applications and ultimately, cannot help a customer when there is a problem.
True VCIs are a very technical product and there is too much at risk for the users to treat them like a commodity and place them in the hands of non-VCI professionals. Rust problems, when they occur, may result in thousands to millions of dollars in losses for an end user. Another point that is worth mentioning is that extruders sell film only. The only VCI solution that the extruder has to offer is VCI film, even if VCI film does not work in a specific application. A true manufacturer of VCI has alternative solutions including VCI paper, VCI foam, or possibly desiccants used alone or in combination with VCI. A full service VCI provider offers a corrosion prevention solution, and is able to make the right recommendation for the customer. I have included “VCI” in quotations because unfortunately, these types of products give our industry a bad name. Because the general term is VCI, it is assumed that all VCIs are ineffective when extruders and other non-professionals market them with poor quality products and personnel behind them. From our experience, poor VCIs will be exposed when variables change such as weather, shipping cycle, change in oils or RP liquids within a plant. Our jobs are to communicate the risks to our customers and prospects and be there for them when things go awry.
Just remember that not all VCIs are the same. Choose a professional VCI company with a long track record the next time you need corrosion expertise.
Recently I have noticed end users utilizing different brand VCI products within the same application. (ie. VCI film from brand X and VCI paper from brand Y) Using competitive VCI products in the same pack can actually be counterproductive. Here is why: Legitimate VCI manufacturers have different custom formulations for their products. Some of the chemicals that make up a true VCI - VPI - VPCI formulation may be similar, however, each formulation of proven VCI products are unique and custom to that manufacturer. True VCIs are typically made up of 4 to 6 specifically formulated chemicals that work together in fine balance and perform in conjunction to inhibit corrosion. If you are mixing two products together, this can certainly upset the synergies that are in the formulations. In some cases, you could actually accelerate corrosion or staining due to the mixture of chemicals that are not compatible. We know from years of experience that ARMOR products work extremely well to prevent corrosion. When used properly, ARMOR POLY VCI bags and ARMOR WRAP VCI Papers will work together to form an excellent export pack, for instance. However, we have no idea how the combination of a competitor product with ours might perform. Recently, we discovered an application where this exact scenario was happening. After analyzing the situation, and using only the ARMOR products, the problem was solved and the corrosion issue ceased to exist. So, the next time you consider using competing VCI formulations in a package, think twice and save yourself and your company time and money!
For product listings and information please visit the website.
Armor Protective Packaging set to blog! Posting happinings in and around the industry.