CounterAct CPR (Corrosion Protection Resources) has developed a corrosion protection process called "capacitive coupling" for protection not provided by coatings. Basically, CounterAct's Electrostatic Corrosion Protection System delivers a small, negative electrostatic surface charge to all the commonly grounded metal surfaces including crevices and hidden areas.

While CounterAct is not 100% effective in stopping rust it can significantly slow the process. Independent laboratory testing has shown CounterAct's process can reduce rust and corrosion by over 80%. It is not only for new equipment, usually the case for coatings, it can be used on old items even when corrosion has started.
I was initially skeptical. Was this a serious product that works or gadget to fetch a quick buck? What caught my attention was that the technique has a 15-year history of successful applications with some very serious corrosion problems like brine harvesting trucks on Utah's Great Salt Lake, snowplowing and salting of roads in Iowa, and protecting surf equipment on beaches in Australia. The company expects to have FAA approval for use on airliners in the near future.

CounterAct's electronic rust prevention technology is based on the principle that corrosion is an electrochemical reaction and thus it can be controlled electronically. Iron and oxygen have chemically opposite charges and therefore seek to combine to form rust since opposites attract. The faster that iron combines with oxygen, the faster the deterioration. Metal bodies tend to have a positive electrical charge in an area where rust is occurring.

CounterAct's capacitive coupling process induces a negative surface charge on the metal body and polarizes the microscopic layers of electrical charges that occur along a corroding metal surface. This makes it very difficult for the opposite charges of iron and oxygen to connect as they have to battle with these polarized layers of charges. This negative surface charge and its corresponding polarized charge layers reduces the rate at which the iron and oxygen combine resulting in a reduction in the rate corrosion occurs.

CounterAct's system consists of three primary components: (1) Power Supply and Control Module, (2) Removable Modular Wiring Harness and (3) Programmed Capacitive Couplers.

The small pulsed, 12 or 24-volt DC power supply delivers the right amount of current to the capacitive couplers to generate an electrostatic field of proper strength to reduce ion mobility, the basis of the corrosion process. The removable modular wiring harness allows easy access to the power supply/control module for inspection or easy transfer of the system to another vehicle.

The programmed capacitive couplers are attached to the protected metal surface with aircraft grade, peel-and-stick adhesive. The coupler is a small flexible square with a thin copper plate separated from the body by an insulator and separated from the moisture layer on the body by an epoxy coating. When charged by the power supply/control module, the coupler functions like the positive half of a capacitor inducing a specific limited range of negative electrostatic surface charge via capacitive coupling. The metal body serves as the negative half of a capacitor. More than one coupler is required on larger trucks and equipment.

While a high voltage of about 400 V is used, the current drawn is less than 50 milliamps, less than a typical digital clock, and so there is no chance of electrical shock.

It does not interfere with computers, radios and other electronic equipment. The power supply and control module features solid-state circuitry embedded in electronics grade epoxy encapsulant for long life and durability in any climate.