I've read alot of articles on new trap preperation, some say boiling traps weakens them and others say it doesnt. Also what is the best thing to use to get the oil off new traps?

I use a short boil in water with a 1/4 cup of lye added. Then a clean water rinse and right in the wax pot after they dry. Boiling does not weaken Springs, you have to get a lot hotter than that to take the temper out of a spring.

Some folks just run them through the dishwasher when they are new...

Take them to the car wash. Wash with soap and rinse, then let them set outside and take on light rust before boiling/dying. Trappers have been boiling traps for years. If you have traps that weaken because you boil them, you probably don't want that brand of trap. New traps or traps 10 years old, you're fine to boil them.

This^^^
But I use Dawn dish detergent instead of lye. I wax only for a year or two then dye with Logwood powder.

Thanks everyone for the responses.

even here in our Archives? https://trapperman.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/forums/13/1/trap-preparation-archives

No, it does not weaken springs.

BUT, there is no need IME to go thru that trouble and expense.

Put a nail tween the jaws to hold them open a touch
Wire 6-8 together and spray well with purple or green stuff or Greased Lightning or any grease remover, flipping a few times to get it everywhere.
let sit overnight and spray again in the morning.
That evening or the next day take to car wash and spray an entire soap cycle, flipping them every 30-40 seconds, then another entire cycle of clean water, again flipping several times during that cycle.
Usually works well for me.

Seems like a lot more work than simply boiling.

I use purple power degreaser. About $5 a gallon. You can get it at walmart or a Dollar General . Works fantastic!! I soak them over night or longer if I'm not on a rush. Pull them out and I rinse them off.

After too many years of boiling to remove oil, letting them rust a little, hot water dyeing and hot waxing, I got lazy.

Now I soak new foot traps in warm water and Dawn. After literally a few minutes, I slosh them around, pull out, rinse and let try for a day or two. Since I don’t buy lots of traps (more than a dozen at a time), I spray paint a flat darker color. Or dip in some sort of trap coating. Let dry for a couple of days and then dip in Full Metal Jacket. As far as repainting after a severe catch, they just get repainted and re-dipped.

I can sincerely say my catch hasn’t been hindered at all. And getting ready for the next season is completely done without fires or lye or rusting or anything. Sometimes I don’t even paint. Just wash in warm water and Dawn, rinse, let dry and dip in FMJ again.

Actually super clean is a waste of time. Dirty traps in the ground will pay. You can take a rusty trap out and catch a coyote in it as easily as a beautiful dyed and waxed or dipped trap. Key thing is to keep food or lure smells off of traps. Waxing/dying is to make traps last many more years.

I just run new traps through the dish washer.Then dye and wax.

Stu from Coon Creek Outdoors did a video about this a week or so ago on his youtube channel. Check it out. Eric

Dump traps in plastic tote, add blue Dawn dish washing soap, and water to cover traps. Let’em sit in the tote over night, take out the next day and rinse, then wax/paint/dip, let dry and set!

Dawn dish soap and warm water here. When they dry a couple of coats of flat black paint.

I used mine right away first season no treatment just put em in ground. After a coyote catch or two after that season were ready for dye and wax.
Done this for many years with new coyote traps.
Each season they always get fresh dye and wax now.
Jim

Boiling traps will not weaken them. The boiling point of water is far too cool to affect the metal, it would have to be several hundred degrees hotter to start changing the properties of the metal.

That’s not to say there aren’t other, better ways to do it though.

Car wash and wax.
These guys didn’t care!