I am a relatively new to trap collecting. Any information on how you maintain or preserve your traps would be greatly appreciated.

Are you asking how to protect and preserve individual traps? Way different than preserving a collection.

Collector traps should NOT be artificially cleaned - no vinegar, no chemicals, no wire wheels. All of these will lower the value of the trap.

It is ok to wash the trap with warm soapy water. Use an old toothbrush to remove loose rust and dirt. Then dry thoroughly. That is all that is necessary. No varnish. No paint. No trap dye. No trap dip.

Welcome to the world of trap collecting. Have fun.

I'm talking about each individual trap. I'm right there with wissmiss as cleaning traps is minimal, leaving the natural patina. I like a trap that looks like it has been actually used, it has a little history.

I was wondering about preserving or maintaining that natural patina with some type of oil, wax or is there something else? Is that a no-no?

I wanted a small collection of traps to add to my eclectic collection of outdoor items; hunting, shooting, fishing, trapping, camping...

I thought fishing lure collecting was addictive, trap collecting can get out of hand pretty quick!

If the traps are being displayed inside, the natural patina should maintain itself without any coating. I’ve got traps that I’ve had for 30 plus years and as far as I can tell, the patina hasn’t changed. They are inside my house, just sitting around.

Some folks use a light coating of WD40. Doesn’t affect the value. Not sure if it helps or not. You wouldn’t want to use too much as it would make the traps messy to handle,

I suspect that there are as many methods of dealing with collector traps as there are trap collectors. Some folks search for traps that are "from the wild" and do absolutely nothing to them after they are acquired. At the other extreme are collectors, some very advanced, who themselves, or through experienced pros, disassemble every trap they acquire, have every part restored to as near new as possible, have the trap reassembled and then have the finished product coated with any of several dozen products that will prevent it from ageing in the future. Most collectors that I know fall somewhere in the middle. Most do some or quite a lot of cleaning and almost all coat with some preservative.

I do display them inside. Now that you said it, my first ever trap was a Gibbs Two-Trigger Trap that my Uncle Ben gave to me when I was 8-10 years old. I used it till I was able to buy some Victor 1-1/2 coil springs. That trap has been hanging inside for 50 years and it hasn't changed in any way that I could tell. I guess I'm good to go. And too much sentimental value with that trap to change a thing about it, but I may take a toothbrush, soap and water to a new collectable trap? So I guess I fall somewhere in the middle.

Thanks for the help, it is greatly appreciated.

It really depends on the finish and condition of the trap.If they have rust I try to stop that by a LIGHT cleaning/brushing and apply vegetable oil from a spray can and wipe it off so its even coated throughout.Never dye,wax,paint or overclean.Overclean will destroy trap value fast.

I give mine a good soaking of fluid film every couple of years... Then back on the Mantel they go..