I have been using 1x19 snare cable for a while now, and since boiling will not dull it I use spray paint. I degrease each length of cable but paint will not stick. Looks great after drying, but run the lock down and watch the expensive paint flake off. Does anyone have a better way to clean the cable? Painting the same snares every year is a pain. I have tried dip, but am not a fan.

add lye when boiling your snares and it should dye them down

Ambush dip from Southern Snares.

Its premixed....nothing to add. Comes in black, brown, green, white, and gray.

Pull the lock all the way down, dip snare, hang to dry....use next day.

When I boil, which isn’t often, I put baking soda in the water. That dulls them up a bit. Mostly I paint with a rattle can. However, NBWildman on YouTube puts his snares in a bucket of water which contains a piece of plain charcoal and a pillow case of bark. He says the snares take on a neutral to dark color over time.

The other method I’ve seen work is to put new snares on a shed roof or hanging from a tree so that the elements can work on them for a couple weeks.

I mostly snare coon and beavers. They’re not as skittish as coyotes, cats and wolves.

boiling already made snares in lye is a good way to have broken snares. lye will eat aluminum ferrules.

How heavy are you putting spray paint on your snares that it flakes off? A very light hit is all you need on the snares. Remember you're just trying to break up the outline of the snare. Covering doesnt have to be perfect.

Whatever coating you use (paint, wax, petroleum dip, latex dip etc) you are on the right track to clean that cable as best as you possibly can (Brake Clean will cut about any oil/grease residue used now-a-days). If using wax, color it slightly and you may not remove much if any of your coating. Lets not argue the scent topic of wax here. Then for other types------- try thinning ANY coating to 2-3 times the recommended thickness and try a doz..Instead of 5:1 make it 8 or 10:1. Many petroleum paints and dips are a lubricant of sorts and tiny bits will penetrate cable spaces if thin enough (and 7X7 has a lot more surface area to fill in than 1X19). Hard to beat 3-6 months exposure after your coating then your dry-fire and set on the oak/sycamore/honeysuckle/walnut limb. My experience. ..............the mike

Ray , I'll admit I don't go with the spray paint or dip snares crowd , boiling snares in baking soda and water that's not chlorinated and set them out away from excessive human smells .

As I prefer to keep the money spent on this or that so called fancy treatment in my pocket as your target animal sees all sorts of wire and steel things every day of its life so why over think things !

Coyotes and all the other target animals don't go to conventions to learn about how to avoid traps and snares and funny smelling stuff coming out of a hole in the ground or out from under a rocks edge or a dead cow used as a bait station .
They still will crawl under a brand new barb wire fence , so in other words I personally wouldn't worry about it and remember KISS Keep It Simple Still ha ha as I've filled my stretchers with lots of coyotes and bobcats over the years and so will you with that in mind .

Traps and snares are dyed or dipped for two reasons.....for protection, so they last longer AND for better concealment from human eyes....not critter's eyes.

The only reason I boil or paint a snare is to get rid of the shine, but will admit that a frosted snare has a shine in moonlight. I boil them or put them in the dish washer to get oils off, then throw in a bucket for a few weeks with water and a few tablespoons of baking soda. Check 'em every few days until the shine is gone, then they are done. If I'm feeling real tricky, I'll use the flat tan "duck boat paint" applied very lightly. No problem with flaking off. Paint sticks poorly to 1x19 as opposed to 7x7.

Thank you everyone for the advice. Will give me some methods to try.