First thing I do with new traps is tune them and modify them if they need it. then I put a small nail in the jaws to hold them slightly open. shingle nail works great.
To clean/rust them I've used dawn dishsoap and a plastic bin and garden hose before. put your thumb over the hose tip and really get it sudsy, swish them around and rinse and repeat a couple times. leave them dripping in the tub and check on them every day, maybe give them a little rinse if they are slow to rust, dew/frost can work too.
you don't need to simmer them very long either when you're dying. 5-10 minutes is usually plenty. all you're needing to do is heat the trap up to the same temp as the hot water, so when you pull them out the water from the water evaporates and leaves behind the dye. if I'm dipping several at once I watch for the simmer bubbles/vapor. once the pot warms back up to that pull em and hang em over cardboard. I've played with different "soak" times when dying and once they achieve a uniform temp the results are the same.
to wax take the same pot (or another that is similar) and fill it 1/2-3/4 full of water, put in your wax and heat it so the wax melts and floats on top in a thick film. dip your trap in and out and let hang. by not soaking like when you dye the coolness of the trap will solidify the wax better. play around with times/temp to get a smooth uniform layer on them don't be afraid to redip if you have to. all of it will be gone after your first catch in the trap anyway so don't waste too much time perfecting it, good enough is just that.
