After season last year I pressure washed my traps and stored them in a tote. I'm getting ready to dye and wax them for the year, and was wondering if I need to boil them in lye water to remove the old wax before dying, or if I should just boil in Longwood dye first. Also, is Gulf Wax ok to use instead of trapping wax?

Thanks
Eric

Gulf wax is an excellent wax,by itself and non-brittle.As for the rest,I've done it both ways.I get a little better job,boiling in lye first but if pressed for time,I don't so,suit yourself.

Go ahead and boil them for GP

Lye does not dissolve wax, it doesn't dissolve the grease in your drains either, it creates heat that melts the grease and turns it to soap. Boiling hot water melts the wax and because oil is lighter than water, the wax floats to the top where it can be skimmed or floated off. I treat traps with tannin and wax before storing and believe it a waste of time before trapping (unless using corrosive antifreeze), a pressure wash should be enough at that point if any thing is needed.
You can find many opinions for and against any and all trap treatments and all the methods have been known to take fur, so probably none of them do anything except keep the trapper busy and thinking about traps.

Trap/Gulf wax is the same same. Paraffin is paraffin.