was wanting to avoid the boiling. And wondering if I could just go straight to speed dipping or painting. I always test run after and lightly whip down with emery cloth

In order to get the paint or dip to adhere I really think your going to have to clean the oils off with something. To avoid dying I have used vinegar. It works to tarnish and remove the oil but of course there is the smell that must be toughly rinsed away too after the soaking.

I should have stated to avoid boiling. I still dig or paint the snares

I really don't know if that is the best way but it is a way when a person is in a hurry

Dawn dish soap be a good idea?

IF you have time.... I hang them in the sunlight or throw them up on a low roofed shed/building AFTER I soak them in hot soapy water. We get enough rain here in the Spring and Summer that it really rinses the soap smells away. The sun really weathers the exterior down to a gray color. I use them for beaver like that, other guys I know that can legally snare on land will spray paint them with three different FLAT colored paints....they use gray for the bottom portion of the snare, a brown for the middle a green for the upper portions. Light coating nothing heavy...just trying to blend the cable and lock into the background.

That's what I do. Warm water with unscented Dawn dish soap overnight and then rinse. Then I let them dry. After drying I hit them with spray paint and then hang outside to air out.

What color you like?

I just give them a light coat of spray paint. I DO NOT try to remove any oil or clean them in any way. Coil a dozen of them together, spray one side a camo color, flip them over spray a different camo color on the other side, then strip each side with a third camo color. You can do 100 dozen with three cans of paint easy. Do not try to cover them completely or you can impede the lock's speed. A little cable showing through is fine. You can go set them as soon as they are dry. Once uncoiled, they are near impossible to see in most every terrain.



Or, just dip them as is in Formula 1 brown, when they dry go set them...

I use Rustoleum camouflage since it's a flat paint. I usually go with the sand or khaki color to match the dry prairie grass in my country.

Scott rainbolt used to make a dip that was perfect for snaring in broomgrass. No idea why he stopped making it. Think i got the last gallon which had since been used up.

I put my snares in the dishwasher by themselves. I use a dishwasher pod and a cup of baking soda. Then I run them again with just a 1/4 cup of baking soda only. After they dry, they nice and get dull.

You can decide after that if you want to paint or dip them. Many people just use them dull.

I usually boil them in logwood dye or pecan hulls. I like mine dark brown down here in Central Texas.

Good advise from all. Thanks for the responses

I know you don’t want to boil, but I did some with a bit of baking soda. The only wolf I got was in a snare I didn’t do anything with…lol.
I’m going to just hang my other untreated snares outside until next year.