An appropriate corrosion protection is required for transport and storage of high-quality goods and semi-finished parts made from metals. The application of volatile corrosion inhibitors (VCI) as a means of temporary corrosion protection is based on the release of corrosion inhibitors from films, papers, diffusers or oils to the gaseous phase. By adsorption on the metal surface, the inhibitors prevent the degradation of the primary oxide layer and hence impede corrosion. In principle, the anticorrosive effect is independent of the part geometry, because the protected surfaces do not need direct contact with the VCI material. Also, the VCI method does not require costly cleaning of parts prior to further use after transport and storage. The EXCOR jar test is a common method to examine the efficiency of VCI. A metallic sample and a VCI material are exposed in a jar. After conditioning in dry and humid atmosphere, corrosive stress is applied to the sample. To clarify the VCI's mechanism of action, the test steps, their duration and the type of inhibitors were varied. Thus, the operating principle of VCI during the test was identified. The acquired knowledge enables to understand and tailor the corrosion protection by VCI in service.