Hi, I am new here. Can you use canning salt to dye your traps? I had heard that it would help make them rusty but when I put them in the salt water, where they were rusty spots, the rust turned pitch black.

What is likely happening is that the rust is turning to black rust, happens when rust forms in low oxygen. So it's not actually dyeing and protecting the trap. Still needs to be dyed using something that has tannic acid(most plant derived dyes).

Don't worry about rusting traps, clean, dye, wax. The first year they won't get very dark but after a few seasons of use they will take the dye better. There is such thing as too much rust, that is why I do all mine this way.

Why even dye. It really serves no purpose.

agreed, wax only

and more input in the Archives:

https://trapperman.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/forums/13/1/Trap_Preparation_Archives

Dye as in food coloring does serve no purpose, a tannin treatment converts rust to a rust inhibiting coating (tannic ferate) and turns the rust blue or green in the process. Because tannin is used to dye cloth, the term dye is sometimes used for any tannin process. The tannin treament is similar to the process of Parkerizing a gun or blueing a gun.
None of those processes are necessary, yet each is useful.

Wax is equivalent to dipping in mineral oil. It protects to a degree and lubricates a bit. Wax is no more necessary than tannin treatment for traps. Both help extend the life of a trap, but using a trap for a couple (or a few) years and replacing it will work fine.

Let's see I clean all my traps of factory oil. I let them rust because if I don't the dye won't adhere to the steel. So know I dip my traps In hot dye. I guess you can cold dye them but I never saw where that worked to good. Back to the hot dye. It's been my experience and I use to do this every year. That once the traps come out of the hot dye bath they start to rust as soon as they hit the ground.
So what's the point?

The other thing Is that the dye we use today isn't the same stuff we used 20 years ago. From what I'm told the real LOG WOOD dye Is hard to come by.

I did not mention "log wood dye", Beav, I mentioned tannin. I would not use "log wood dye" at all nor would I recommend it.
And as the "Cracker Jack Trapper and Predator Enthusiast" guy on here a year or so back pointed out a trap will last a life time just letting it rust. 'OXIDATION-trappers friend' was the name of his thread.

@OP, read this thread for varied opinions: https://trapperman.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/3341335/1

Yep that's called browning. In the old days the old front stuffers were browned.
My first muzzle loader was finished like that. I cleaned the steel with carbon Tech (SP) then I placed It In the bath room with the shower running. It took about 5 trips to the shower before I got a real nice rust base where It wouldn't rust anymore.
I've had traps that ended up like that But It wasn't something I tried to do.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest something both simple and effective. Clean traps in a bucket of warm water and Dawn dish soap to remove oils. Rinse, dry for a day and spray paint the color you want. I have at this point used them as is. Or dipped in wax. Or used Full Metal Jacket. I’ve also dipped in speed dip after cleaning but that takes a while to lose the gasoline smell—-but it works. The days of boiling for hours, hot dipping in wax, etc for the sake of tradition are over for me. I’ve got better things to do with my time.

I use speed dip, but i do it early amd hang underneath the shed roof out side so they air out completely

I never get why people say dyeing takes time.You just put them in the pot,then go work on something else.Come back in 1 hour and pull them out.It takes no more time than dipping,Put in,take out.You don't sit there and stare at them boiling.If you dip more than once,it can take more time than traditional dye.You are missing the point if you think dyeing and waxing is for the sake of tradition.If it is done properly,and from what I've seen,often it isn't,it holds up very well,is cheap,non toxic and non flammable.

I've set rusty trap, dyed and waxed,waxed only, dipped etc and a good dye job followed by a proper wax job holds up best and isn't a lot of work.Another thing many don't understand is that you don't have to dye and wax all the traps every year.I have gone several years between treatments.I only dye and wax new traps and ones that made catches and are shined up.Often,after a catch,they still don't need it.

Let's face it,these days with all the devices and conveniences we have,people have short attention spans and want everything done at warp speed,especially new trappers.Trapping is work.Traps may need to stay in a pot for one hour,to dye but that's chronological time,not one hour's labor.If you can't find some work to busy yourself with for an hour,you are more fortunate than me.Just my opinion after 57 years of handling traps.These days there are many ways to treat traps.Dyeing and waxing is just one of them.Other than maintaining a flame,it isn't a lot different than other methods.

This topic comes up every 3 months. Always two camps that argue a moot point. I dye in walnut hulls and wax. Right, wrong or otherwise I enjoy the process and I catch fur.

I still paint (latex) all my traps other then canine traps. The paint holds up pretty good. I might re do them every 4 years or so. It's fast and cheap.
A long time ago I went with powder coating My BGs It worked once I found out that I should leave them In the sprung position.
The powder coating you find on these DPs Isn't a real powder coating. IT seems like some type of paint. Anyway It doesn't look like the powdered coating I have On my canine traps.

A few years ago I went to having my canine traps powder coated. It's a bit expansive, well not if you know someone. LOL But It solves all your cleaning and trap prep. After the season power wash and put away for the next season.

Whatever Kendall does to his traps (no bs extremes) looks good and holds up real well.

I use to just wax my traps and no dye. But now since I found the real deal Black dye I don't wax. This year 304 coyotes thought it was cool not to wax!!!

I'll never run another rat/mink trap without adequate wax. Its more important on my rat traps than my coyote traps. And nothing blends in better than a dull rust color. About nothing sticks out more than black.

I'm with beav on this one. I'll never boil/dye another trap again. Oh the time I wasted dying traps over the years.

No wax here either, however I can only add about another 1/3 to your count......

So now I need a pressure washer and an adequate GPH pump tp run it, A cement mixer, a weed burner torch, and a building to store all this.
Lol, the beginners reading this stuff must a "little" overwhelmed.

So much for the profit LOL ...