Cleaning and derusting traps w vinegar. 2 gallon white cleans some 2 to 3doz traps then seems lose strength. How many traps should some vinegar clean?

Mine cleans about 3-4 dozen, once done I ditch it.

Zero.....boil in logwood dye and use that rust to your advantage....dont take it off. Vinegar is destructive.

And rust isn’t?

washing and putting mine in vinegar today did you put the 2-3 dozen in at the same time or in 1 dozen batches also does anyone use baking soda and water to neutralize once finished if so how much baking soda to water

I don’t use pure vinegar, it’s already diluted so I don’t use a baking soda rinse. I just dip them back in a Dawn dish soap bucket and rinse then do whatever I going to do with them. Last year I dipped in Zeps floor polish, let dry overnight, dip again the next day, let them dry once more overnight, then put them away until time to set. I was using Formula 1 but that had went up to $80 a gallon at that time, not sure what it is now.

If you use vinegar just rinse well with water.

If your worried about damage from vinegar just soak them in water and baking soda when your done it neutralizes the mild acid

Never have. I just boil in clean water and wax

I have used 1 gallon of water to one gallon of vinegar. Maybe a couple of days soak then power wash. When dry spray paint.

correct, the logwood dye isnt really a dye, but unites with the rust to form a kind of "blueing".

And It's just about worthless as a protective coating.

isnt that why you wax it ?

I feel like vinegar is a trap weakener....but keeps trap manugacturers in business for sure.

I've seen this response a lot in the archives any idea why it would weaken the springs

It dosen't.

I don't use it unless I have severely rusted traps. A buddy gave me 6 Belisle 160s . They were rusted so bad they were pitted. I soaked them In a 50% vinegar solution for 24 hours. Once flushed with water they were just as strong as they were when I started. I couldn't set them by hand.

Hey Les If you have to wax over the dye to protect It why use the dye In the first place.
I can remember heating log wood dye and boiling my traps In It. Once I took the traps out and let them dry they started to rust as soon as they were dry. so whats the point.

Yet I have some old traps that took dye, never got used or waxed, and never rusted. Still hanging nice and black. I dont wax, I boil in dye and hang them up.. inside a well aired shed out of the rain. Yes, they can start to rust, but for the most part they'll stay black. I think wax just speeds everything up.

I dont know why I would use vinegar though, that rust dont hurt once you dye them.

Me

me

I only use vinegar to clean off thick scaly rust to see if there is anything left under it worth saving. Zero need to remove surface rust.