Hey folks. Have some new traps and last years. Some are soft catch so i must take rubbers off them prior to boiling obviously.

I can just boil them together, then dye and wax. Mostly coyote traps.

For water traps does it make sense to wax them? being submerged it's just going to rust regardless, do you folks wax small stuff for underwater or pocket sets etc.

What about snares and conibears? I know not to wax them, but do you guys boil & dye them? snares are for coyotes

Thanks guys. second season trying to hit it hard with local and online mentorship. Had a few catches last year but ruined most of my fur due to improper handling. Getting some mentorship this year.

Thanks trappers!

Mentorship where you are should be easy to find 🤷‍♂️…anyway I do an acetone and paint mix on all water traps. You can find lots of info on that stuff. Snares get formula 1. Don’t over think it!

Water traps should 100% be waxed, painted or dipped.
They WILL rust if not treated. They don't rust if waxed/painted/dipped

Definitely wax water traps. If waxed they shouldn't rust at all unless a catch wears the wax off. Even then they will just spot rust lightly in the places the wax is taken off, and if using drowning sets the catch shouldn't have time to wear much off. Wax also makes the traps fire smoother and faster.

Paint or dip will work fine, but I prefer wax for the lubrication qualities. I have even waxed over painted traps before. I'm going to white powder coat on all my snow traps, and it holds up better than paint, plus being fairly slick and smooth enough ice and snow doesn't freeze to it nearly as well. While not having tried it on conibears I've no doubt it would work well. Paint or dye also works on them, or dip (although the only ones I've used dipped were ones I bought used and came already dipped). Some dip if not done right comes out sticky and I don't care for that. Whatever you use, I'd use something to treat them to slow or stop rust.

Rustoleum and acetone mix works well.

I personally dye and wax ALL my traps, even conibears. I don't recommend waxing conibears, but I do and I then file the wax off the dog.

I also am a big fan of paint and acetone, however I cut the ratio of paint/acetone down to 35%/65%. Yes, 35% paint. I use rusty metal primer for the paint. Do NOT substitute anything for the acetone, including paint thinner or mineral spirits. Acetone is it. I want it runny, almost like water, with no visible drips while hanging. At that ratio, there will be excellent coverage, no stickiness, and extremely durable.

For the mixture, Can I just keep it in a tub and reuse it year after year or does it go bad? does acetone freeze or can I leave it over winter in shed?

I only have about 10-15 conibears I run. about 15 foot holds. Just new to this.