Can I just put the chain part in water to get a bit of rust? To take on dye.

I just put them outside in the weather for a few days.

Or soak them in a bucket with a little dish soap to get rid of the oil. They will rust nicely after that.

Thank you I don’t feel the need to boil everything in Ajax cause it’s all kinda clean. But I do wanna re dye in the logwood.

Carwash

I don't dye traps anymore...clean & wax.

After I get a little rust I then dye them using maple and oak leaves.

Is the old adage nonsense? Asking seriously. The old books stress so much about odor. I’ve seen guys set traps with bare hands and I’ve read that’s a no no. I feel like as long as you’re not being stupid like spitting snuff and junk you can still make catches. Clean trap after every catch? That just isn’t realistic??

Agree, load it in the truck pay a couple bucks done

The biggest thing is having confidence in whatever system you use.

I do not boil and wax. You will not eliminate human scent on the trap or the set site no matter what you do. Eric

clean is clean. no need to dye (in my opinion)

then, wax.

but you should do what gives you confidence.

I cleaned, dyed and waxed for YEARS.

Have never waxed a trap.Have always dyed them.I do now paint my conibears for Fisher and marten.

Yup stopped all the waxing, dying stuff a few years ago. Your at the site you touched something but animals are curious just because you were there doesn't deter them unless they are over pressured, haven't noticed a change in catch percentage but noticed the savings in time and cost for sure. Just my opinion, all I do is spray off new traps at the car wash and let them sit outside

I think sometimes people let the animals out think them instead of thinking like the animal

Worry more about putting a trap where the critters gonna step than what people tell you you need to treat your traps with...

By dying my traps I also want them to last a few years also.Traps are getting more and more expensive to buy.

Power wash them, set them outside a while.
I don't think the waxing thing is much benefit.
Dyeing them makes em look " sexy".

Geez, I only tried it once and found it painful. You must be tougher than me.

Dave I’m all about sexy traps. Thank you!

Replies from 160/ Vinke coming right quick.

God help me

Hey, who doesn't like sexy traps? To me, a B&L #44 LS is just about as sexy as they get. Easy to set, folds compact and has a huge jaw spread. They are almost pornographic. I wish I had another dozen of them.

If you're looking to rust quickly soak a bit in white vinegar followed by a baking soda and water rinse. The ability to rust is dependent on the chromium content in the steel.

I put lots of traps in water. I dye and wax them. Dye, so they blend in. Wax, so they don't turn into a pile of rust. I have recently started painting some.

Every one has different conditions, areas and animals they trap. There is not a one size fits all solution. Find out what's best for you and your situation.

When adding just chain. I treat the chain and swivels etc.... before attaching to the traps

I dye because a jet black trap pops out like a sore thumb against our soil types. I check a lot of traps at 20-30x with a spotting scope. Easy to see if somethings amuck.

Also, a good boil in logwood is a great deodorizer. You can pressure wash a skunked up trap till your water bill matches Joe Biden’s bank account, it’s still gonna be skunky.

I wax because it’s another layer of initial protection (traps aren’t cheap and mine spend a LOT of time in the ground) and a waxed trap is easier to keep from freezing down.

Boil and wax is also the ONLY trap coating one can use one day, and reliably set the next day without having to let those coatings cure or air out.

As for the scent stuff, I’m not even gonna go there with the “it don’t matter” crowd. It does matter. Period.

I'm 100% with Boone. Gas and Time are the biggest expenses. Don't take shortcuts. I'm not driving 10 miles to check a trap that I don't have the upmost confidence in.

Why do you always have to use the big, technical terms?

I AM the dishwasher. My whirly-majigger is not trap compatible no matter how sexy they are

!!!

w

Spray paint .

Lefty, my comment was somewhere along this line but not nearly so rated G. I thought better of it and just went to the shop to sort a truckload of guns instead. It's the thought that counts.

This