My goodness I have power washed a dozen new Bridgers 1 1/2s twice, vinegar soaked twice, second time 2 days. Been out in the rain 2 days and the trap itself won't rust, chain and swivels have. About to dry and paint, but would rather dye and wax like all my other traps.

Clean them and put them in the ground. They will rust on their own dye them next season.

Wax this year, use then dye and wax next year. That is what I do. Works great.

Wow! I’ve run into the same issue. Stripped them with vinegar and now they won’t rust. And I was just telling my wife I think I’m gonna just wax. Now that I’m seeing the same advice then that’s what I’ll do.
I got a dozen for Christmas and half a dozen for my January birthday and just cleaned and set. Pulled them in August and they had rusted pretty good. I was worried maybe to much, so I did the vinegar soak and they came out looking brand new. I’ll wax this weekend. Our season starts Dec.1.

Just dye and wax. Ur gonna bury them anyway!!!

Will dye stick to basically brand new looking traps?

Not very well but yr gettin the oil and scent off by boiling them. Then the wax is for protecting them.

who cares?, the yotes and coon don't, so I quit wasting time and money dying yrs ago and wax only now, pressure wash end of each season.

NOW youre thinking!

rust is bad!!!!
Several generations of trappers believed that rust would cause avoidance or digging.
The idea of boiling traps in tannin is to get rid of rust.
The idea of waxing or dipping in to prevent rust.
Even if you don't believe rust causes avoidance, you must know that rust destroys steel; do you grind the paint off your truck or car and use vinegar to cause rust on it?

Dye won't stick to any trap. Dye is for clothing, tannin is/was used in dyeing cloth and when trappers starting using tannin to convert/remove rust they simply called tannin "dye", It is not dye ans does not penetrate nor stick to steel, it does react chemically with rust (ferrous oxide) converting it to a noncorrosive coating of ferrous tanate.
Treating traps is not about coloring the traps, paint will do a better job if color is desired, tannin treatment is about killing rust, period, killing the rust; any color is a coincidence and if the trap is green or pink or pruple won't matter to the critters.

Well thanks for ideas, I have always done the fall tradition that many many trappers on here do. I gather the black walnuts from my trees, powerwash my trap inventory that got worked over last season by critters. They may have a bit of surface rust or patina. I boil in hulls, they happen to turn black, I wax them in my wax pot then hang to air out for use. My #4 jumps for beaver are 40+ years old, same treatment every year. Same with many of my traps, same procedure on new traps, get a bit of rust on them, dye and wax. The "tannin dye" won't stick to clean metal. I just never seen traps this rust resistant, I don't plan to rust them to pitting by no means. Maybe the metal used in Bridgers is a bit more resistant is all, seeing if others experienced the same. I didn't mean to open a methodology can of worms. I just plan to stick with a tradition many others use.

I am glad someone said it cuz i was biting my tongue. I always don't be 2 step because that is what works. Just waxing only seals the rust, it doesn't stop the rust. Everyone is always trying to find steps they can skip thinking they are getting the same job. WRONG.....

Well if it’s just about killing rust, just let sit in vinegar for a day, rinse, dry, and wax. No need to boil or waste money or time on “dye” then. Vinegar removes ALL the rust.

I thought I made it kinda clear...Everybody I suppose can do this different to suit themselves. I guess I was commenting on the rust resistant metal used in these new traps. If I want to boil traps, along with waste money and time I suppose that is my choice. "I trap" so most times I am wasting time and money anyway. Sorry I wasted your time,

You way over read what I posted, lol. That was more of a question than a statement. I’m with you. I soaked my traps and removed all the rust and was waiting for them to rust up a little to take the “dye”...seems that’s the customary practice. But this thread revealed that the “dye” actually removes the rust and waxing sorta keeps it from rusting further. So...I was asking if they are already rust free from the vinegar then to save money and time I can just skip to dipping/waxing. I’m on here to learn, and I did on this thread. Sorry if you took it wrong.

I simply take new traps and boil them in synthetic logwood about an hour to remove the oils... air dry.... submerse in wax to treat for longer term weather protection and acidic soils.
If you're using traps for water trapping and need them a darker color, you may need to get them rusty to better take the dying. Land traps are usually a bit weathered and take a better "dark" color 2nd year they are treated. But as someone said, you're burying them anyway, so treat and use.

That said, I do like the traps to be a darker color over time as rain can expose the trap in spots or a critter steps on the set pattern and you can see a touch of the trap. Darker seems better but you can say for 100% what works and what won't. Be just try to do the best according to our logic

Stick nail in foot holds and have anchors attached. Stick them in cattle trough along with new body grippers. Add some dawn dish soap, and water making suds until all is covered. After 4 days to a week, pour off the water and rinse traps with hose. Dye or paint, whichever appropriate.

I could live to me a million years old and i'll never understand why someone would want a trap to rust, i am not new to this have been trapping for over 35 years.