Question: Trap Dye

[Trapper_Stephen88]

I am dying and waxing some new traps this year. I was wondering if I re-dye those traps next year should I melt the wax off first?

Last year I used "FORMULA ONE INSTANT TRAP KOTE" It's a speed dip/dye that you mix with water. It cost about $11 a quart, and following the instructions it made a gallon of dye. You just had to dip the trap in for a min. then take it out and let it dry.. it waxed the trap too. It worked all right, the trap did get darker... even the ones that didn't have alot of rust on them. The down side was, when I caught a fox or two with it and the trap got scratched, so did the dye and you could see the shiny metal. The trap would rust again and you'd have to put them back in the dip.

This year I bought some black logwood crystals at about $5.50 a bag. The new traps I bought dyed really well, the older traps that I had dyed with Formula One dyed ok, except they turned more of a green color than black, and they smelled a little, but not at all after awhile.

Anyway I think I like the black logwood dye better... it's cheaper and it does the job well.

I've used regular logwood dye in the past it's about $3 a bag, but i think black logwood crystals do a better job.

[Catfish]

I haven`t trapped for years, except in self defence, but the way I used to dye trap was to collect a bunch of walnut hulls and boil them in a big pot of water. I would add the wax to the water also. I used 1/2 bees wax and 1/2 parafine. That stuff worked as well as any of the high priced junk they tell you that you have to have. The only time my traps ever got waxed or dyed was when they were new.

[justwannano]

you're gonna be dipping old traps which have wax on them into boiling water which has the trap dye in it. The old wax will come off in the heated water.
It'll float on top and be redeposited on the died trap as you pull the trap from the water.
You should add new wax to the old stuff so the trap gets a good thin coating.
hope this helps
just