Just curious, were your traps still set or sprung when dug up? I’m assuming still set.
Apparently, after reading this, others had similar results which is strange to me. I honestly have only had less than 10 traps dug up in the past 5-6 years. I’ve done the dye/wax and set. I’ve done the bare traps just cleaned in vinegar and all shiny and set. I’ve done Formula 1 and set. And last year on some new traps we didn’t have any Formula 1 so I wanted to try Zeps Floor Wax and set. All caught.
I’ve averaged 1-2 traps a year dug with all and every single time it been a coon. I did have a fox dig in from the side instead of where I wanted him to, but the trap was still bedded.
I’ve also found that confidence plays a roll in my catches. Sounds crazy, but if I have doubts about a spot/set/technique/prep then I don’t catch.
I wanted to prove a point once that I could make a catch with a trap straight out of the box after nothing more than swishing it around in a bucket of Dawn dish soap. I cleaned the trap and set it the very afternoon it arrived from MTP. The next morning there was a cat waiting on me with a shiny trap as jewelry on his paw.
If you are confident with using dye/wax then I’d go back to what you’re comfortable with. After all, nothing we do as prep, has actually anything to do with catching a critter, it’s all about extending the life of the trap, nothing more, nothing less.

Thanks ADC. Ran F1 for bout 15 years now. I have been trapping coyotes for 35 years now. So for 20 years I dyed boiled and dyed traps. This worked fine I ran traps everyday before and after work 2 to 3 dz. Plus I NEVER worked in the fall. Masonry and Railroad let me catch Lots of coyotes. BUT. 15 years ago I got so busy. Going from job to job. I had to make a change. So Formula 1 worked for me. You can ONLY carry so much in a truck. 14 -21 day jobs then pull? That shined up alot of = boiled and dyed traps. So i choose F1. Im still using it on my MJ 600 Sterlings

It must be the way the F1 bonds to those MJ's... I'll cover the shipping if you send a dozen or two up here for me to test that theory with... HAHAHAHAHA

Well, I gotta say the scale is sure bouncing around. Positive, negative, works, don't work. I have a dozen more traps coming so I think I may dye and wax them and continue to use the ones already dipped in formula one. The main thing I really like about formula 1 is the ease of use.

So what exactly is this F1 if it's water based? Some sort of latex paint?

Yes

Well I read In Memphis Net and Twine ( I think that Is the name) about a dip called net dip. There Is a latex product and asphalt type product. If you can dilute a product with water It has to be a latex base.
I talked to some fisheries people and they used it to protect their nets. I showed them the F1 product and It looked a lot like that net dip. I also talked to Pro trapper and Pro big river fisherman and he said that F1 and the net dip could be one and the same. But what ever, If It works for you use It.
Powder coated most of my coyote traps and I'll never go back to anything else.

No, it's a membrene which is no where near he same as paint but is water soluble!

I was here when Newt first presented Formula 1 on this board and explained that it; wasn't a paint-type coating but rather a membrane. Well, as most trappers are human and seem not to follow dirctions well and travel outside the lines, folks got rusting beneath the Formula 1! Heck, I thought I followed the directions and I got rusting beneath it as well! I soaked my traps in vinegar and power-washed them off. The Formula 1 came off in little sheets!!! It appeared that if the Formula 1 was to be effective it had a narrow window of procedure in order to make it work. I used it on some 1.5" coilsprings and had to remove it twice before I got it right!

I found I had to use at least 3 coats for the thinnest of my mix and I had to allow it to dry between coats at least 24-48hrs depending on the humidity. I also found that sharp corners was what needed the longer dryng period because of the corners causing severe thinning at them unlike a paint coating. It was also the sharp corners I deduced caused the "breaking" of the membrane allowing air & water to penetrate beneath the membrane causing the rusting to develope. Traps get knocked around and corners with already a thin membrance stretched around them it was understandable to me would be the first to leak. A foothold trap has a crap load of sharp edges & corners! Not so much with bodygrips or snares/cable restraints. I don't remeber the freezing of the nuts/pans but that certainly could have occured but with mine it didn't or didn't enough to cause me a problem.

Looks and smells like a latex makeup to me. Acts like latex paint too...like a membrane when dried.

Allow me to explain what I believe happens when a membrane drys which I neglected to do in my previous reply. When a membrane drys it contracts, shrinks as it’s giving up it’s moisture. It doesn’t adhere to a surface like a paint, it contracts as it drys to fitting tight to a surface, not bonding or adhering. At edges, the membrane stretches itself tight AND thin. If the membrance isn’t allowed ample time to dry before the next coating, moisture plus oxygen is trapped in the previous layer. H2O + O2 trapped and sealed against steel equals RUSTING! IMHO!

"Be]Just curious, were your traps still set or sprung when dug up? I’m assuming still set. " Some were sprung and some not. About 50 50. Plan on putting cameras on more traps this year especially pass throughs and cubbys.

Correct. I've found I can hang mine in front of a fan and redip them in a couple hours. Three thin coats on new traps, one thin coat on snares, and one or two on clean used traps.

bottomline posted this pic of his traps in F1...

Okay, the rusting underneath makes sense if it is indeed a latex product as does the membrane thing.

Latex has a well known issue with lack of adhesion to many substrates. Hence the long accepted practice oil using oil based primers under latex topcoat in the paint trade. Latex is also known for blistering or allowing moisture entry where adhesion is lacking. It also lacks wear durability, particularly on sharp edges, compared to oil finishes.

But this may be one of the newer harder acrylics.

I wonder how F1 compares to rustoleum, oil based, dip?

Or if a rustoluem dip then F1 dip might be better.

But if we're talking paints then surface prep is still the key.

I don't have much knowledge of paints and there composition. But formula 1 is like paint on my traps. I am not seeing rust underneath or any flaking. I guess if I slam them up against something they might flake off a bit but I am finding them very durable under normal use. My Number one concern is smell and why they are getting dug up. Going to buy another gallon or so and redip lightly set them dry and store with pine branches. I appreciate all the response my post has generated as well as some of the advice.

I wouldn't store them with pine branches. They just draw moisture. If you are worried about smells, what about your trap stakes, they are right in the trap bed as well. F1 is odorless as soon as its dry. I've caught coyotes in snares that were dipping the day before. My guess is loose dirt on your trap pattern and lots of coons in the area of the trap sight is the main source of your issues. Even if the trap is bedded solid they will smell freshly dug dirt and investigate it. IMO trap set placement could be a lot of the troubles you are having. Try setting more open areas away from brush where coons are less frequently located. Find spots where k9s travel long straight paths such as fence lines in open fields and crop changes. Also, you could get yourself a bunch of DP traps and set them, in the areas where you typically set for k9's and cats, early season and thin down the coons and possums in those areas before the fur is prime on your cats and k9s. Do that for a couple weeks before you set dirtholes and it'll help alleviate a lot of the digging.

Your statements make a lot of sense (no pun intended). A youtube video I watched had a guy setting out DP traps to reduce the coons. I do have a lot of coons and possums in my area. I will try some.

I use cable and super stakes to anchor my traps and dip them along with my traps. I can follow your advice about trap set placement when setting for coyote but I primarily trap and hunt Bobcat. These areas are bushy and next to thickets.

Fresh dug dirt does have a smell. Perhaps using dryer top soil will help. Interesting advice - thank you!

I have been using F1 for years. What I like about it is every year I soak my footholds in 50/50 mix of white vinegar and water for a day or two then power wash the old dip off.
the vinegar wash with remove Rustoleum metal primer too. all the areas I trap are salt water environments, salt marshes, sand and peat, Nothing I have done has kept my traps from rusting, F1 slows it down.
after Im setting traps if one gets buggered up some how, I just wash it off with the power washer, then dip it in F1 again then its ready to go again the next day.
Thats a lot easier for me than boiling the trap, dying and waxing it again. when guys like Rusty Johnson in Ga, Slim Pederson, ADC, steeltraps and others use it, it must be working for them too.

Those #2s you got from me I pretty sure I used Formula 1 on them. For sure they were not dyed and waxed. I also used Aaron’s but I’m pretty sure they were F1

I can”T remember getting any # 2 traps from you , but if l did l know that they were right. I usually prefer MB 550’s