Recently talked to a trapper/instructor/video guy on the phone. He told me has had good luck using spray paint on canine traps and then waxing. I was under the impression that paint would "smell" up the trap wax. Please give your opinions comments, opinions, experinences on this topic.
Thanks
Mac

In my opinion that Is very poor advise.


I wouldn't wax over any paint or dip. The hot wax will burn the paint and your wax will never be free of that burnt smell and neither will your traps. I know I've been there.
The wax Is so hot that It will actully make the paint kind of bubble up before It hardens.
Now If your melting wax on top of water then you just might just get away with It.

Why would you wax over a new coating why not just wax In the first place. All coatings wear off with repeated catches.

Here's a thought why don't we mix paint in our wax and then dip, hell we can kill two birds with one stone. That's about as stupid of a Idea as waxing over paint.
Check It out by doing one trap and a very small amount of wax and get back to us on the results.

Beav

Thanks Beav. I have waxed over dip and caught canines, but not enough to really state that it is good or bad. As stated in my orginal post, I have used the convential dye / wax method for years. (Just wanted to experiment a bit as of late) I truly appreciate you taking time to answer this question.

I had called this gentlemen to ask for a catalog and this just came up during conversation.

Thanks

Mac

Have waxed over traps I got that were dipped and saw no change in my catch of K-9's. The dip does run into the wax but I've never had any problems with this.
I've (in the past) painted traps and didn't see any change in catches either but I didn't wax over the paint. I used to paint mine in the spring and let them hang out all summer and fall to let them air out.
I've found it easier to just put my k-9 traps thru the dish washer in the spring and hang up to let rust during the summer. Then I use black wax and wax them no dye used. I've even cleaned new traps of oil and waxed them to use right away and as long as the traps are burried it doesn't matter if the trap is shinny or not.
Waxing painted traps I'm afraid isn't a good idea for K-9 traps. The paint will protect the trap so I wouldn't wax if I were painting them. Good luck to you don

Waxing over petroleum based dips isn't a problem. Many people fail to recognize the difference between paint and petroleum based dips. Paint changes chemical composition when it "dries". When paint is cured, you need special chemicals to remove it.

Petroleum dips do "dry". The solvent evaporates and leaves the solids (tar like) behind. If you want to remove the dip, you can "re-dissolve" it by applying some of the solvent you used in the first place.

It might be possible to "burn" paint with hot wax. I don't know. But it would be nearly impossible to "burn" petroleum dip with hot wax. I do know. I waxed over dip on a number of occasions. Here's the oddity. Wax is petroleum, and liquid wax is liquid petroleum, and liquid petroleum will dissolve dip. If you wax over dip, you will stain your wax with the dip.

I never noticed this to be a problem and often wondered if I couldn't make some colored wax just by adding a tablespoon full of dip to it.

Is that truly stupid? For the sake of argument, what exactly would it hurt?

-- Hal

What would be the point of putting two coatings on your trap. You will have twice the cost and the coatings will still wear off with repeated catches. It makes no sense.
It would be like putting on two pair of shorts.

I don't want anything In my wax but wax why take a chance,and who cares what color your fox traps are,mine are under a dirt covering.
I know what works for me and my numbers prove that my systems work, I'm not changing until I find something that works better and I can tell you that I'm allways looking to Improve.

Yep oil base paint I'm just showing my age when speaking of lead base paint. I can remember when my dad mixed paint and had to add the lead. He was a painter for over 40 years.

Beav

The reason I did this was because I didn't want to redip the traps. The dip was worn and the traps needed some kind of protection. It wouldn't be necessary, and in fact would be foolish to wax over freshly dipped traps. But you can change from a dipping to waxing, without removing the old dip.

-- Hal

Last year I painted about 3 dozen double jaw coil spring traps for use on my coon line. I gave the paint about 2 months to dry real good, then waxed over the paint. I can't say that I noticed any issues as a result, however, I was concerned about this after getting some input from Gary because I used that same wax on roughly 3 or 4 dozen of my canine traps this Spring. I'm going to go ahead and use those canine traps unless I have a problem. If I do have a problem I will just use those traps for coon this year. I will try to remember to share my results with everyone on this issue since it has become a topic of interest.

They make stuff called rustoleum made as a primer to keep the metal it is put on to keep from rusting. It smells just like regular spau paint. Do you think that this would be alright to put on under wax?

I see no reason to paint and then wax.Do one or the other.

Beav