Dying traps

[sdb777]

Have pulled my trap line for those raccoons, and they have a 'good' layer of rust on them.  Was told that I need to boil them in some mixture of laundry detergent/water to remove the 'extra' rust....is this true?  I know not to use oil/oil based solvent/or anything along those lines....

Follow up questions....
What temp should the water/dye be?  How long should the trap be submerged in this mixture?  And will the dye effect the rubber lining(jaws have a rubber liner) on the 1.5 offset traps(don't want to harden this rubber)?



Scott (not addicted, there's no meetings yet) B

[Bogmaster]

 Scott,just take a wire brush to your traps.That should remove the surface rust.
 When I used to dye my traps(I cold dip now),I would place my dye in the water and bring it to a near boil.I would then turn it down to a simmer and place my traps in it.After a few hours,I would remove my traps.Other times I would bring the dye water to a boil,turn off the fire and leave my traps in the pot over night.
 Tom

[Macthediver]

This subject comes up quit often with new and beginning tappers.  Makes me wonder if maybe at some point it should be written up again in modern detail???
It's not a mystery and it is far from rocket science.
sdb777
Tom hit it pretty much on the head in it's simplest form.
I myself do a mix of some dyed some dipped traps. The argument has gone back and forth between people forever to dip or dye.
I have a mix of both because once dyed and waxed or dipped it's work to switch traps one way or the other. I will say that most of my land traps are still dyed and waxed, while my water traps tend to be more dipped.

Good luck with which ever you choose and don't be afraid to keep asking questions.

Mac