Guys, I tried looking through the archives before asking.. couldn’t find anything.
Got a batch of some triump 3x but they are pretty rusty.. I know they are not super rare but still a cool trap and still pretty old.
Was thinking about giving them a water vinegar bath and then coating them with something.. not sure what paint or coating is out there that might come close to the original color of brand new steel. Any suggestions on what might look best??
This is just going into my personal collection..

No vinegar.. taboo on collector traps. Spray with WD 40 and clean of with a softer wire brush.

To clean collector traps, you do not want to remove the patina (brown color). You can not improve the condition of a trap by cleaning it, but you can make it look much nicer. I like WD40, a hand held wire brush and steel wool. Just don't get carried away. Here are some before and after photos of a trap that was in nice condition and I cleaned it with WD40, then dried it with paper towels.

Wow!! Looks great guys!! Ty

This really helps!!! Really appreciate this, thanks for sharing snakecollector

Good info.