Don’t soak your traps in vinegar water 50/50 mix if you have the old aluminum trap tags from the 40s. It will completely dissolve the tags. I didn’t know.
I don’t know what other states required special tags from their department of natural resources.. Illinois required them from 30s -50s from what I remember..
You were only allowed 25 traps or so.
The tags were clamped around the frame.
I had gotten some older long springs given to me that were a mixture of victors and Blake and lambs,,,
That needed rust removed and repaired.
I was hoping that the soak would shine up those tags… I didn’t know it would disintegrate them.

Yup, same reason you don't do marinades, dressings, pickles, sauces in aluminum cookware.

Same goes for cleaning in Lye.

Got a stupid question. WHY WOULD you soak in vinegar ?

I soak traps in vinegar to remove old rust. Not loose flakey rust but the hard on rust. Brings traps back to bare metal.

I ONLY do that on user traps to make them easier to sell. Never soak collector traps in vinegar - it lowers the value.

This the lady who knows.

What ratio would you use to clean traps?

So just to resell them?. If he had trap tags on them i'd say they were ones he is using. New traps are thrown out in weeds early summer to RUST so dye will stick to them. Or put in dishwasher then out in grass. I don't trap much besides coon in dp's but have 4 dozen leg holds. I'll boil and dye them in logwood crystals each October in case I need them.. Rusty ones look perfect coming out. Got 4 new #2 never used and they need to rust......

50/50 vinegar and water is a fantastic rust remover .. I soak ALOT of stuff in it.. old tools like pliers, ratchets etc helps to knock the rust off and loosen stuff up.. then you can oil it appropriately or dye your traps,,, I sometimes find old traps where they are caked with rust and the pan would not even move… soak about a week and they break loose with little effort.
I always keep a 50/50 mix in a 5 gallon bucket with a lid on it in the shed.

I use 50/50 water vinegar

Nancy, these were just user traps… I was gonna take the tag off and put it in the house inside my arrowhead case

Vinegar is acetic acid. Acid eats metals, in this case the iron oxides in rust. The rust, and aluminum, being softer gets eaten before the steel in the trap.

Basic chemistry acid eats metals and any acid would work though strength of the acid determines if it just cleans the rust or eats the whole trap. Vinegar is a mild acid.

Another acid useful for traps is phosphoric as found in floor cleaner/concrete etcher. It'll etch raw steel in preparation for painting or convert rust into a hard black surface aka phosphates.

But again, aluminum is going to get eaten.

Be careful with Duke 330s and vinegar. I put about some in a 35 gal tote with 2 gal of vinegar and the rest water to clean up for painting. After 7 days, the springs were ruined. Big chunks had just fallen out of them in random places. The jaws were fine.

So, if the tags are important to you, take them off before cleaning the trap. I must be missing something here……..

Clean grease off new traps and wax.
If they rust, throw in vinegar and brand new traps again. Re wax and wait until they rust again and repeat.
Guess that only looks for buried sets. A shiny exposed trap may not work as a foothold.

Vinegar isn't that strong...the tags were probably about gone before you got them. Newer traps that's not an issue

I
I was trying to kill 2 birds with one stone so to say.. I figured I could clean up the trap and the tag all at once.. then pull the tag off before I started spray painting it.

wow,,,,, who put the nickel in you.....

Logwood die will eat aluminum also.

This I did not know

Logwood is tannic acid. The same acid that eats beaver snares from the inside out.