# Trap prep - having a hard time rusting -



## magnumhntr (Aug 18, 2003)

I went with the advice of a guy on TMAN who said to powerwash the new traps at the carwash, soak them in 8oz vinegar to 1 1/2 gallons of water solution, and then they would rust right up. Well, the coni's did really well, but the coilsprings are pretty blotchy. Slowly getting more and more, but one set is getting a very dark colored rust to them. Is this normal? Should I take them back and powerwash them again and then resoak them in the vinegar and let them rust up again? They've been out in the grass for about a week now. Not sure if this is going the way it is supposed to. Need a little advice here  

Thanks!

Chris


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## Northcountry (Feb 4, 2004)

Sounds like you still have oil on them. Try real hot water and regular dishsoap. Aggitate like crazy, let them soak, then aggitate again. Leave them in for at least 2 hours.

Think about it, those dishsoaps are designed to cut grease...and they do it very well. Maybe do the procedure twice, just to be 100% sure that you nail it this time.

I have used dish soap on brand new traps...and followed with boiling in a solution of hardwood ashes (alkaline/lye)...and my traps rust very quickly. Vinegar will hasten the process, but I prefer to just spray them with water every day.


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## 22 Chuck (Feb 2, 2006)

Traps are kinda like the pot-a watched trap will never rust.


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## Dave Lyons (Jun 28, 2002)

You want rust simmer in sani flush pull them out and rinse very good and you can almost watch them rust.

Dave


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## wild bill (Apr 20, 2001)

hey dave, where you finding saniflush at? i looked around me but no one has it.


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## Dave Lyons (Jun 28, 2002)

Just about any store I walk into up here has it. But remember Paper Bags are still the norm. up here also.

Dave


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## Northcountry (Feb 4, 2004)

Daves right, Saniflush will cut the grease and oil really well. The reason is because it is a very strong caustic (lye) solution.

If you cant find Saniflush, you can use anything else with sodium hydroxide listed as its primary ingredient...Liquid Plumber, Red Devil or Behr deck stripper, etc. etc. These are very hazardous, will burn your skin and cause blindness on contact, so be careful. I spent the first 20-years of my working career in chemical processing, and manually mixed tens-of-thousands of pounds of sodium hydroxide solutions, so I speak from experience! After youre done degreasing traps, then you need to dispose of it somewhere properly. Thats a pain.

This is why I promote ordinary dish soap. Super safe, readily available and works really well. Youre basically just doing dishes, when you think about it.


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## magnumhntr (Aug 18, 2003)

Well, I can't put them in the dishwasher now that they've began to rust. Will leave rust stains behind, and I'm sure the wife will freak. So I'm thinking boiling them in the turkey fryer pot is my best option. Should I use plain boiling water, or should I add dishsoap and boil them in that. That is if I cannot find any sani-flush?

Thanks guys!

Chris


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## Northcountry (Feb 4, 2004)

Chris,

Dont boil water with dishsoap in it! Hehehe...what a mess that would be, suds everywhere!

All I do it use super hot water in a 5-gal pail, add a few tablespoons of liquid dish soap and swirl the traps around every so often. Rinse them off good and repeat. But like I said, I usually follow with boiling in a solution of hardwood ashes (which is lye) to purge out any soap residue and possibly finish the degreasing. It works for me, thats all I can say.


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## mhodnettjr (Jan 30, 2005)

here is a trick that i used recently that worked well.

Take a can of brake cleen, spray the traps well so all of the oil drips off. The great thing about brake cleen is it is not flamable and it dries without residue. then i let the traps soak in warm water. then i hang them in the garage and spray with a 50 /50 (or so no real measuring) solution of vinegar and water. 

for land traps i re-boil for scent control then i Dye and wax. 

Mike


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## uptracker (Jul 27, 2004)

wild bill said:


> hey dave, where you finding saniflush at? i looked around me but no one has it.


Wal Mart had it tonight.


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## Alfie Cat (Jan 17, 2004)

I just boil mine in dishwasher soap and they come pretty much grease free. Lay them in the grass that seems to help with the rusting.


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## FREEPOP (Apr 11, 2002)

What about that Simple Green stuff? It is supposed to be a grease/oil remover too.


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## Smoknngunn (Oct 4, 2005)

My last batch of new traps I used Simple Green-Extreme Clean to degrease. 

I sprayed it on undiluted, let them set for about 15 minutes, reapplied SG and power washed them, turned them over, power washed the other side, then rinsed. 
Afterwards, I put them on the turkey cooker in simmering water (15 gallons water and 1/4 cup of Dawn diswashing detergent) for about 30 minutes. 
I flooded the container to remove any floating grease before pulling the traps. Then rinsed them in clean water.

Next, hung them up and sprayed them with a 3:1 mixture of water and cider vinegar. I also added about a tablespoon of table salt and swirled it around til disolved. 
I would spray them about every five to ten minutes or when they started to dry off. You could litterally see them rusting. 
(This was in June and the weather was high seventy and low humidity. I used the same methods in Jan. and the traps didnt rust nearly as fast.)

The traps had an full coat of rust by the next afternoon and took the walnut/logwood dye great. 

Another hint on walnuts: Step on them on a hard surface, then fill old nylon panty hose legs and tie the legs off to keep the nuts from floating all thru your dye and sticking to the traps.

I've used brake cleaner, too. It didnt work as well as the Simple Green. IMO, it worked OK, but it isn't economically practical.

-Smoknn


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## Northcountry (Feb 4, 2004)

Great post, Smokin'....its gotta help alot of people.

That sounds like a great idea to use panty hose to hold the debris in. I dont wear them myself, so can I have a pair of yours when you get a hole in them? I know you have to keep up appearances for the prisoners, and all....so you probably go through alot of them.

Thanks. :evil:


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## Smoknngunn (Oct 4, 2005)

NC,

Sorry buddy, you can't use nylons with a hole in them, your nuts will fall out. 

Smoknn


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## Northcountry (Feb 4, 2004)

LMAO :lol: 

Sounds like the voice of experience.

All kidding aside, its an excellent idea!


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## brent164 (Mar 6, 2005)

after i saw this it mad me curious on how my traps were rusting. I got them two weeks ago, and the only guy i know who traps told me to boil them in saltwater, then bury them in the ground. I just looked, and there are definetly rusting but it look as if some of the sand rusted right onto them.......should i wire brush these and reboil, and just let them hand outside, leave them alone or go about it some other way. Thanks, this is my second season of trapping and i'm kinda doing it in the dark!

brent


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## David G Duncan (Mar 26, 2000)

brent164,

You mainly just want to remove the manufacturing oil and to get a thin layer of rust on the traps, so your dye will adhere to the traps.

Using salt water might not be the best idea, since you don't want to pit the metal or cause a serious case of corrosion.

I think I would boil the traps in is some fresh water, which should get rid of any excess salt. Then do a normal dye and wax job on them.

Good Luck!


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## skidway (Jan 11, 2004)

Realistically you can't expect traps bought a few weeks ago to rust up fast enough to get a good dye job on them before the season starts. Oxidation takes time although you can speed it up with chemicals like salt, lye and acid. I wouldn't recommend any of those except the lye but even then you won't have the rust you really need. If you really have to have those traps this year just get the oil off, wax and use them the way they are.After the season boil the wax off and hang them out for the summer and next year they'll be perfect for dying. The lack of dye will bother you more than the critters; they won't see it till it's out of the ground.

If you really want rust fast give me a pm and I'll tell you how to do it but I won't post it or recommend it. I feel that harsh chemicals like salt don't necessarily affect the trap steel but am not sure about the springs


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