I got some 330s for Christmas this year and just washed the grease off of them and put them out. Season is over now and they are pretty rusty.

How should I get the rust off of them? What is the preferred method of prepping them for next season so they are ready to go? Paint, Formula 1, regular dye, speed dip??? I liked the Formula 1 that I put on my other conni's but am not married to it. I want to take care of things as I collect traps so they last a while.

Thanks for any tips

You do not want to remove the rust from your traps. The rust will help the trap coating adhere to the traps. This being said, you do not want loose rust on your traps. But I can't really see lots of loose rust on body grip traps in such a time lapse.

What I have started doing, prior to dipping, is pressure washing. It cleans the traps and removes any flaking. After I spray them, I let them dry and then I dip them.

How you coat your traps is up to you. All methods have their fans. A search of the archives will give you more details.

I used to be a boiler. I am now a dipper.

I clean mine well (dishwasher, boil, whatever floats your boat), then re-dip in F1. You still want to clean'em cuz F1 will absorb odor. As long as you don't contaminate it, you can use it on any of your traps.

I'm with Musher. Your traps haven't developed enough rust in the course of the season to worry about, and a little rust will give the trap some "tooth" and make dip products adhere better. A good boiling with some dishwasher detergent should remove the dirt and powdered rust. I can't envision how pressure washing could possibly reach all the crevices and cracks in a trap. But some people persist with that method.

There are several options for protecting the traps. I would advise against waxing them. I use petroleum based dip for my bodygrips and large footholds.

As suggested, check the Archives. There is a mountain of information on trap care.

Hal

I was also trying to figure out how to treat my 330s. Hal, why do you advise against waxing? I'm generally into DIY and wondering if there are other ways of treating the traps that doesn't require buying F1 or other treatments.

Thanks

Waxing a bodygrip can make it very easy to fire. This can be dangerous for the trapper.

A piece of tape on the dog notch, as well as a piece of tape on the part of the trap jaw that the dog notch hooks onto, placed prior to waxing and then removed after waxing, CAN be a compromise. The tape prevents the wax from coating the dog contact points. This can help remove some of the risk of accidental firing.

HOWEVER, the prudent thing is to not wax bodygrips.

Obviously I'm a beginner. This past year was my first and it went ok for my first year. Maybe I should know the answer to this but I am reading here that some rust is good and that you don't want to make them too slick or they can get sketchy. So, why coat them at all?

If you are dying traps, you want a little rust to help the dye adhere to the steel. It also helps to camo the traps in the case of BG's.

You dye traps to protect the metal from EXCESSIVE rusting.

In the case of footholds, since they are hidden under a cover of dirt, some trappers only wax them. You must remove the grease on a new trap prior to doing so.

Actually, in dyeing traps the dye is reactive with the rust (iron oxide) and forms a dark compound. That's why you can't dye galvanized metal, no matter how rough it is. There is no iron oxide for the dye to react with. There is no adhesion factor in the dyeing process.

Dipping is another matter entirely. Dipping is akin to painting. There is no reaction factor between the trap and the dip. The dip has to "stick" to the surface of the trap. If the trap is slick, shiny, and smooth, it will be harder for the dip to adhere.

That said, there are a number of trappers who don't put anything on their bodygrip traps. A light surface coat of rust can be beneficial in helping dip to stick, but any rusting beyond this point will be detrimental to the trap. Primarily, it will weaken the springs. I use dip on my bodygrips because it helps to protect them from further rusting. It is not as slippery as wax, which I use on my smaller foothold traps.

So, the quick answer to your question is: We put a protective coating on bodygrips to keep them from rusting further.

But here is a personal note. I never "pre-rust" traps that I'm going to dip. I boil the grease off them and dip them. I do notice the dip flakes off significantly the first season, but then those spots rust a little, and the dip sticks better the next time.

Hal

Dated for search.