The hidden cost of shipping parts in oil
Most machined and stamped parts still leave the plant the way they did forty years ago: dipped or sprayed with a rust preventative oil, dropped in a poly bag or a wax paper wrap, and boxed. It works, but it moves a job downstream. Before the receiving plant can paint, weld, plate or assemble those parts, somebody has to get the oil back off. That means a heated aqueous wash tank, a rinse, a dry-off oven or blower, and a drum of spent cleaner to dispose of.
Cortec published a piece in early September that puts numbers behind what a lot of plant managers already suspect. Heated wash baths and forced-air drying can account for thousands of kilowatt-hours of gas and electricity every month, and the solvent or alkaline baths that go with them add VOCs and hazardous waste to the shop floor. When parts arrive inside vapor phase corrosion inhibitor (VpCI) packaging instead of under a film of oil, that whole receiving step goes away. The parts come out of the bag clean, dry and ready for the next operation.
For a supplier, that is a sales argument. For a plant that receives parts, it is an energy, labor and waste line item that can be cut without a capital project.
How VpCI packaging replaces the oil
VpCI film, paper and emitters release a corrosion inhibiting vapor inside a closed package. The molecules settle onto every metal surface, including bores, threads and crevices a dip tank never reaches evenly, and form a layer a few molecules thick that blocks moisture and oxygen from starting the corrosion reaction. Open the package and the layer dissipates. There is nothing to wipe, wash or degrease.
The practical rules are simple. Parts should go into the package clean and dry. The package needs to be closed so the vapor stays saturated. And the package should be sized to the part, because the inhibitor has to fill the air space around the metal. Cortec publishes coverage figures for each packaging product, which is what the sizing tables on our product pages are built from.
The same approach scales from a handful of fasteners to a crated gearbox:
- Small parts and kits: VpCI-126 Blue zip-lock or heat-seal bags. Multimetal protection, heat sealable, recyclable, and available in stock sizes from a few inches to full gusseted liners.
- Interleaving and wrapping: CorShield VpCI-146 kraft paper between layers of stampings, or wrapped around individual machined parts. Repulpable and USDA Certified Biobased.
- Voids inside crates and boxes: BioPad biobased emitter pads or VpCI-131/132 foam pads to raise inhibitor concentration in large air spaces.
- Humid or export shipments: Desicorr VpCI pouches that combine desiccant and VpCI in one unit.
- Large equipment: MilCorr or VpCI-126 shrink film over the whole assembly, with emitters inside.
Clean once, package right, never re-clean
Here is where this ties together for the shops we work with in Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana. The only place a part should get washed is at the plant that made it, right after machining, when the cutting fluid and chips are fresh and easy to remove. A Build-All or Magido aqueous parts washer handles that step: heated detergent wash, rinse, and a blow-off dry on a conveyor or in a cabinet. The part comes out clean and dry, which is exactly the condition VpCI packaging needs.
From there, the part goes into VpCI film or paper instead of oil. It ships. The customer opens the bag and puts the part straight on the line. Nobody runs a second wash, nobody buys a second drum of cleaner, and nobody dries a second time. One wash, one package, no re-clean.
If your washer detergent already contains a corrosion inhibitor, such as the VpCI-416 and VpCI-418 family used in aqueous washers, the parts leave the washer with a short-term flash rust barrier and go into the package with no added step. See our note on aqueous parts washers for how the wash stage and the packaging stage fit together.
For plants that receive rusty or oily parts today and want to stop cleaning them, the conversation is with your supplier. Cortec’s own sustainability argument, that VpCI packaging removes a wash line, a dry-off and a waste stream at the receiving end, is a specification you can write into your purchasing terms. We can help you write it.
Which products
Every item below is stocked or ships from our Illinois warehouse.
- VpCI-126 Blue zip-close bags and tubing for parts of every size
- CorShield VpCI-146 paper in rolls and cut sheets for interleaving and wrapping
- BioPad and VpCI-132 foam emitters for crate and box voids
- Desicorr VpCI pouches for humid and export shipments
- MilCorr and VpCI-126 HP UV shrink film for equipment and pallets
- Magido G-500 conveyor parts washer for the one wash that should happen before packaging
Not sure which film, paper or emitter fits your part and shipping lane? Start with the VpCI product selection guide, which matches metal type and storage environment to the right product. For equipment and large assemblies, see how to shrink wrap equipment with MilCorr.
Talk to us
Solvent Recycling Systems is an authorized Cortec distributor and sells Build-All and Magido aqueous parts washers, so we can look at both ends of the problem: the wash that should happen once, and the package that keeps it from happening twice. Send us a photo of how your parts ship today and we will recommend a packaging spec. Contact us.
Source: Cortec published data, press release of September 4, 2026.
