When are traps ready to dye

[devildog]

I bought a dozen Duke #2s at the Marquete convention back in Augest and they have a thin coat of rust on them. Last night I tryed to dye a couple but the dye did not take. How bad do they have to rust? I don't want to ruin my new traps. Thanks for the good deal on them Bogmaster.

[Tim B]

What type of dye are you using?  The traps should accept the dye readily with a little rust on them.  
Tim B

[devildog]

I'm using brown logwood crystal dye. I simmered it on my stove for 2 hours.

[RdFx]

If you had a surface coat of rust and you  bring traps to a boil and then let set over nite till  waters cold your traps should be  very black.   Rinse off and then wax.   You only have to leave traps boil about 15 minutes then shut fire off.

[Edge]

Well,basically after it has raised its young,and gotten too old to function properly...
OH.     D-Y-E.
Nevermind.

Edge

[lynx/cat-trapper]

Dang Rdfx...at that rate it'd take me 6mo just to dye my traps!!!!
laters
lynx :-D

[RdFx]

If you boil your traps in a 55 gallon barrel like i do  it doesnt take long AT ALL.  Instead of procratinating  DO IT.  Unless of course you are lazy :roll:

[Wackyquacker]

Hey, I resemble that remark! :cry:   There you went and hurt my FEELING again :x

Now if the fellow was to speed dip his traps they'd be done by now. :-D

[RdFx]

True Wacky dipping if done PROPERLY is faster but you still have to get traps ready and adjusted before hand too. RESEMBLING does take a ALOT of time i hear   :>)

[Wackyquacker]

To be quite honest, I don't see much difference,  effort wise, between dipping and dye / waxing.  I boil my traps EVERY year, gotta clean em some way, and on a hot day when both the ambient and metal temp is high I dip and hang for a month or so before use (2 or three months may even be better).  Before I boil I make major adjusts, as you have been reminding, but before they can go into the ground, triggers need cleared of dip and pans need to be freed and tensioned.  To dye and wax all is the same except for the boiling in dye, which you do as you clean (?) and dipping the traps in hot wax. When your wax cools your good to go, now, no wait, but all the other finals need to be done.  

A properly prepared trap (a pitting surface rust) that is dipped  to a thin coating will retain the vast majority of the coating through cathces and the end of season boilling.  If they get "stinky" a quick soak in hot Clorox  water takes care of things.  

One thing about waxed traps that is a bit of a pain is what one may call "slippy springs;  the springs won't stay back in position on #3 and #4 dbl longs.  This too is not a big deal just "one of those things.