Howdy, a fiend of mine gave me some traps he thought would help on my cat line this year. He asked if it was ok if they needed cleaned and I said no problem.

Here are the traps waiting for the vinegar and water soaking...




After 48 hours of soaking...




Running the dirty water off..




Continued...

After rinse...




Two traps waiting to be brushed...




two traps after brushing...




two cleaned traps...




Rinse water after brushing...




Cleaned and rinsed traps...




Rust starting....





Cleaned traps being taken to hang and finish rusting for the the dye process.



Hope this helps thoses who want to do it with out any hazardous chemicals.

I will try to get pictures of my dye process (using black walnuts) in a day or two. Tom

Here is the link to dying with Black Walnuts, and waxing.

http://www.trapperman.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1463632.html#Post1463632

Nice!

Don't look like the same traps, do they?

I saw a Sleep Creek CS in a second hand store a while back, the propietor told me it was just a wall hanging, it wasn't old and it couldn't be used because it was rusty and the animals would smell the rust. I bought it, I guess it will look good hanging on my wall. LOL!

man.. no one ever gave me no traps like that...LOL

good post

how much vinigear do you use in that 5 gal bucket?

yep, that vinegar does a dang good job ... good post

Tom - have you tried using a power washer after the soak? I've done the vinegar and cold sani flush soak followed by the brush ... but nowadays I like simplifying whatever I can when I can ... that high pressure water cuts that rust slime etc. right off ... saves a lot of elbow grease

sometimes ya still gotta hit those stubborn spots with a wire brush

Nope not enough water pressure for a power washer here and town is 12 miles away thus the reason the old wire brush is worn down...LOL Only took about 1/2 hour to brush em down anyhow.

I used one gallon of vinegar in a 5 or 6 gallon bucket. Put the traps in, added the vinegar then enough water to cover the traps. Tom

Is that the Cider vinegar or White vinegar?

It was an extra bottle of white vinegar, but I use which ever is less expensive when we get to town. Tom

Thanks

the works toilet bowl cleaner does a better job then vinegar,doesnt take as much and 1 day is gods plenty on a soak,if ya have weak traps it will show ya,just my 2 cents worth.

I use vinegar for safety reasons, don't want the chickens, geese, or dogs getting into what I dump on the ground. Tom

Just checked the traps and they appear to have a nice even coat of rust. Will get the dye pot out after work and see how they look then. Tom

I did that to some #14's and 4's after Using the Car Wash they looked like New Traps...

Excellent Photos, Thanks!

Where else do you buy it (in higher concentration)?

Rusty, To the best of my knowledge all vinegar, both the distilled white and darker version are 5% acidic. I am not aware that it is sold in a higher concentration than that. It may be an industry "safety" standard for purposes of human consumption.

Jonathan

Anyone just save their vinegar bath for the next bunch of traps? I bought two gallon of vinegar and added enogh water to a five gallon bucket to cover about a half dozen traps. When i was done with the soak, i just put the lid on the bucket and set it out behind the garage. Haven't used it again, but it still smells like vinegar and i assume it will be ready for the next batch when i am.

Anybody else reuse it?

Jonathan - That is what I thought. I wondered if someone had a source for stronger stuff, maybe an industrial or agricultural material(not for human consumption).

Andy, I have never saved and recycled mine for another session. Even though the vinegar odor is evident, I just assumed that with all of the gunk from the first bath that it probably lost most of its potency to be as effective.

Its possible there is enough residual oomph in the old solution to do another batch. It may take two or three times longer. Never tested that theory. As inexpensive as it is, I opted to go with fresh juice.

Jonathan

I use a sparay bottle with a 50:50 mixture of vinegar and water, I just keep misting my clean traps and have gotten fantastic results with rusting.

Jonathan, I will keep it and try it again when needed. It isn't hurting anything where it is at, just taking up a little unused space... I will let you know my results when i do use it again.

That looked like wax floating on top of that gunk. Did the vinegar remove the old wax film also?

Rickey

Doubleset, I assume that gunk is just froth left from the vinegar attacking the rusty metal. It isn't wax. My solution looked identical after cleaning a dozen of rusty coil springs that had no wax on them.

When traps get as rusty as those pictured there isn't any wax left on them. Boiling is the best way that I know of to remove old wax in the trap preparation process - dyeing and waxing.

Shown below are before and after close-up examples from my rust removal project last year. I bought the traps used, and they had been hanging in an open shed for 20 years according to the seller. Surprisingly, as rusty as these traps were, they cleaned up exceptionally well after a 2-3 day soaking.

I did not have to wire brush them - just ran some coarse steel wool over them to get the residue chunks off. They were rinsed with fresh water and left out to get a thin film of rust prior to dyeing and waxing.

Jonathan

Yes there was wax on the traps, I had skimmed the gunk off twice before taking that picture.

The vinegar I use is bought at Walmart, that is the lowest price I could find. The dollar store had some in smaller bottles so when you figured the price it was less expencsive to get a gallon at Walmart...Tom

Why mix with water ? I understand it is a 5 gallon bucket, but you are diluting the Vinegar when you mix it 1 to 4 . I have used 5 gallons of straight Vinegar in the 5 gallon bucket each time I do the Vinegar rinse. Last time I checked, it was 4.95 a gallon . so about $25.00 worth of Vinegar in the 5 gallon bucket.

Another point to consider, leave the traps in for a longer period of time and you will get more of the rust off without having to brush any of it off. I leave my traps in Vinegar for 1 to 2 Weeks when doing the Vinegar dip.

This is a good post. I'm just wondering if anyone knows what it is about vinegar that causes the rust-eating properties.

If its simply the pH I'd think that one could get a whole lot more powerful (concentrated) acid cheeper and less stinky. Anyone know?

I know you can use muriatic sp? acid, like the stuff used to clean mortor from brick.

Basically I use the vinegar for safety reasons, as stated above. I Mix with water so reduce the cost and it does an excellent job in my humble opinon. The use of the brush does not bother me one bit, a little work is good for the soul, or so I have been told. Tom

I had pretty good luck with some 100% household Lye I bought from Menard's. I made even the inside of my new dye pot (prior to dyin) super clean after hitting it with a wire brush.

Everything vinegar does, muriatic does faster and cheaper.

That's what I was thinking, but no experience. One gallon of muratic acid to 19 gallons of water to create a 5% solution similar to white vinigar?

I want to degrease new traps without hurting them. No rust involved. No rusting desired. Dip and rinse? Prep for drying, painting and waxing.

pm tom

I don't mix it that thin....mostly because I want it to work real fast.

I've never used acid for degreasing. Only rust, dip, and plating removal.

OK. Gonna PM Tom.

Daniel, What percent solution do you use? I understand the "real fast" part. That's what I'm looking for too. Fast, easy, cheap and easy on the traps is what I need.

Our local car wash must be lame because I hit some with tire wash twice and power washed them twice and still got dirty.

For removing plating....I do it straight and its nearly instantaneous.

For derusting anywhere from 1:1 to 1:10 (acid:water)....depending on how quickly I want it done and how many traps I am doing.

I would recommend a dip in water and baking soda to neutralize.

1:5 or less is definitely strong enough to noticably etch the steel.

I used to use SaniFlush and quit using it for the acid content. I teach a lot of young trappers and don't want them messing with or trying to dispose of the remaining fluid.

PM's Answered..

This method is not the fastest but I believe the safest method I have found. It is just how I do it. Tom

By the way the traps rusted fine over night and are in the dye pot now. I took some pictures but will make a seperate post on the dying and waxing. Thanks for all the input. Tom

that's how I do it to tom.

Viniger is acetic acid, and I'm quite sure it is available stronger than 5%. I believe Rusty and Jonathan are correct in that it is safety reasons that standard for Viniger is at 5%.

One thing to keep in mind, soaking in a strong acid can cause springs to become brittle. Never hear about it when used in regards to traps ... but when restoring autos, it is a no-no to soak springs or any suspension/steering parts.

Here is the label and bottle. Tom

Archives PLEASE! Good info fellows!

great post!!

This thread has been most refreshing for me - learned a few things that I didn't know yesterday. Can't beat them apples that turn into vinegar for rust removal!

Jonathan

This is great, I'm going to try the vinager thing today. Have some dirty, waxed and brand new traps. See what happens.

Here is the link to the follow on post of Dying (with Black Walnuts) and Waxing

http://www.trapperman.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/1463672.html#Post1463672

Bowhunter74 if you can take a couple pictures of your efforts and share with us, that would be great. Tom

Here they are so far after roughly 24 hours. They're bubbling and foaming. The buket pictured on the right where brand new traps. I'm going to let them soak one more day and see what happens. I'll post more. Seems to be working I added about 1.3 gallons of vinegar and roughly 3.5 gallons of water.

Looks like you have a winner there. Don't forget to rinse them well when you are done cleaning. Tom

Will do Tom. Don't have to worry with the kids this year either.
I'll post more when they're done.

Cool I have a couple of 110 conibears that I want my son to use this winter that need to be cleaned. Now I know what to do!

JBR

I say they turned out pretty good and I had help taboot. A light coat of rust is already starting to form. I'll leave them hang overnight and dye and wax them in the AM.
Thanks again Tom!!!

This trap was covered in rust and dirt. Took it out hosed it off some and looky here.


Little Helppers

Bowhunter74 traps look good and the help you have appear to be the best you could want. Tom

Have used acid (35% Hydrocloric)does a great job on the cheap rusty finds. Takes less than 3to5 min even on the rustiest traps. Also boiled traps in Lye but is so hard to get ahold anymore.(Dam meth producers) One draw back two these is they will take the hide off of you quickly.
So was reading this post lastnight and though I would give it a try. Was not looking forward to steelwooling. Will see how it goes. By the way Walmart has it on sale for 2.32 a gallon.

Here they are hanging up and getting rusted. Looking good.

It also helps that my wife is a professional photographer. :0

Very nice job on the traps...but with good help I would expect nothing less and you had some great helpers. Tom

how much vinegar

I used one gallon of vinegar to 5 or 6 gallons of water. I put the traps in the bucket, added the vinegar, then added water until the traps were covered. Tom

thank you

Just wondering if you could use citric acid as a substitute to vinegar. I did a couple dozen the other day in vinegar and they look great! I have a bunch of citric acid and was wanting to try that. Also curious as to what an acid dip does to spring strength and how long can the traps safely be left in the dip?

Alan