great post!!

This thread has been most refreshing for me - learned a few things that I didn't know yesterday. Can't beat them apples that turn into vinegar for rust removal!

Jonathan

This is great, I'm going to try the vinager thing today. Have some dirty, waxed and brand new traps. See what happens.

Here is the link to the follow on post of Dying (with Black Walnuts) and Waxing

http://www.trapperman.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1463672.html#Post1463672

Bowhunter74 if you can take a couple pictures of your efforts and share with us, that would be great. Tom

Here they are so far after roughly 24 hours. They're bubbling and foaming. The buket pictured on the right where brand new traps. I'm going to let them soak one more day and see what happens. I'll post more. Seems to be working I added about 1.3 gallons of vinegar and roughly 3.5 gallons of water.

Looks like you have a winner there. Don't forget to rinse them well when you are done cleaning. Tom

Will do Tom. Don't have to worry with the kids this year either.
I'll post more when they're done.

Cool I have a couple of 110 conibears that I want my son to use this winter that need to be cleaned. Now I know what to do!

JBR

I say they turned out pretty good and I had help taboot. A light coat of rust is already starting to form. I'll leave them hang overnight and dye and wax them in the AM.
Thanks again Tom!!!

This trap was covered in rust and dirt. Took it out hosed it off some and looky here.


Little Helppers

Bowhunter74 traps look good and the help you have appear to be the best you could want. Tom

Have used acid (35% Hydrocloric)does a great job on the cheap rusty finds. Takes less than 3to5 min even on the rustiest traps. Also boiled traps in Lye but is so hard to get ahold anymore.(Dam meth producers) One draw back two these is they will take the hide off of you quickly.
So was reading this post lastnight and though I would give it a try. Was not looking forward to steelwooling. Will see how it goes. By the way Walmart has it on sale for 2.32 a gallon.

Here they are hanging up and getting rusted. Looking good.

It also helps that my wife is a professional photographer. :0

Very nice job on the traps...but with good help I would expect nothing less and you had some great helpers. Tom

how much vinegar

I used one gallon of vinegar to 5 or 6 gallons of water. I put the traps in the bucket, added the vinegar, then added water until the traps were covered. Tom

thank you

Just wondering if you could use citric acid as a substitute to vinegar. I did a couple dozen the other day in vinegar and they look great! I have a bunch of citric acid and was wanting to try that. Also curious as to what an acid dip does to spring strength and how long can the traps safely be left in the dip?

Alan

x2

The following is by Tman member NorthCounty

My process produces coal-black traps in less than a 5-minute soak.

I take green walnuts, usually picked off the limbs or fresh drops. Whack them with a plastic mallet, remove and throw away the nut. I fill a mesh sack with approx 4-gallons of the green hulls. Tie the sack shut, place in steel drum and cover with enough water to fit 18-trap batches on top of sack. I heat the drum of water + hulls with a propane burner, and "brew" it for about 1 hour. At this time the water is jet black. Immerse a batch of traps for about 5 minutes, setting them right on top of the sack, which is still on the bottom of the drum. Let the traps simmer for 5-mins (longer doesnt hurt anything), remove and set on a pallet to dry. I can process well over 150 traps and still have a perfect, thick, jet black coating on the last batch. In fact I have never found the point at which the solution becomes weak.








-NC