Taking off old wax and dye

Sorry to probably ask a dumb question but I’m struggling to remove last years wax and dye from my coyote traps. I caught quite a few last year and when I pulled my line I threw all the traps together instead of separating traps with catches and ones that didn’t. I want to start over dyeing and wax all them to make sure of no contamination. I boiled a small batch for probably 30 min and some of the wax came off but it seems there is some wax still on them. I am not sure if I didn’t boil them long enough or if there is just a better way. I cooled the water and overflowed the wax on top. I sure would appreciate some advice so I’m confident in what I’m doing. Thanks

I add lye to water before heating.I’m thinking 1 ounce per gallon.Boil for at least a half hour remove from heat and flow water over right away.At this point they should be ready to dye.If you have some wax on top of your dye water skim it off.Good luck!

Lye works wonders, if you can find it. Used in meth making.

At hardware stores for lye, you can try asking the counter for it as it's not on the shelves because of the meth thing.

There's always Blackies Wax B Gone and the new Battleborn stuff which I haven't tried yet(will soon as I got 2 things of it at the NTA) and promises to be a good substitute for lye

Heard a guy on YouTube say half vinegar half water will work as well but don’t have a lot of trust in all the trappers on YouTube. Thanks for the responses

I had a hard time finding lye so I ended up getting a gallon of vinegar and mixed 50/50 with water in a 5 gallon bucket. I threw 4 traps in there for a day and a half and they came out looking like I just bought them. Rinsed them off and put them in some water and baking soda and now they’ve put on a really nice thin layer of rust. Worked out perfect just a little time consuming for a pile of traps.

I use vinegar to remove scale and plating and it works. I get a gallon of cleaning vinegar (stronger than cooking vinegar) at the grocery store and dump it in a 5 gallon bucket with water and let the parts soak for a few days. I use this method anytime I need to remove mill scale from steel, not just traps. I haven't used it to remove wax but I think it would be worth a shot. Cheap and non-toxic.

I have used muriatic acid to remove speed dip and that is also very effective at dissolving wax. Whitetail Properties has a video on youtube showing that method. It only takes about an hour, but that stuff is very toxic. Some say the strong acid isn't very good for the springs and it probably isn't in certain circumstances, but I don't know if the occasional 1-hour bath once a year or whatever is enough to cause any issues. That traps I did last year with it are working fine.

I save my dye and simmer last years traps in that and skim off the old wax after the traps have been power washed then make up this years batch of dye. I let the traps sit out and get wet to see if rust appears then dye them with this years dye batch and wax at the same time then store until needed.

some crystal drain cleaners are 100% lye. home depot has this one... "Instant Power Crystal Lye Drain Opener"

We have used Battle Born for the last couple years to boil our traps. Works wonders. 1 container per 5 gallon of water. I bring to a boil and let it go for about 30-40 minutes and then shut it off until morning. The wax and crud will be hard and floating on the top. This makes it easy to skim off. Just rinse the traps with hose after you get them out

We have used Battle Born for the last couple years to boil our traps. Works wonders. 1 container per 5 gallon of water. I bring to a boil and let it go for about 30-40 minutes and then shut it off until morning. The wax and crud will be hard and floating on the top. This makes it easy to skim off. Just rinse the traps with hose after you get them out

Blackies has a liquid remover that seems to work well also.

Tonight I was at the local hardware store and walked past a gallon of floor stripper. That stuff is made for removing floor wax so I wonder if it would work on traps?

Lye drain cleaner works wonders on wax, oils and any other organic scent.

Lye based drain cleaners work well. Even saniflush has worked for me. Just remember to rinse traps really good and quickly.

Bryce

I don't understand the extra boiling in lye. When I boil my traps in bark or sumac tops, the old dye and wax come off. They are then rinsed and waxed.

x2, lye weakens the springs. Boiling in tannin solution cleans and creates a non rusting compound. Easy peasy

Rust weakens springs, lye cannot. Lye cleans,degreases and deodorizes traps much better than dye alone. This can be done in a variety of ways though. I only do this with my coyote traps.