jessdecutie18 Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 A couple months ago, a friend of mine gave me a nice sized black cage that I would love to use as an outdoor cage occasionally so Yoshi can get some sun in the mornings. Problem is, it was left outside for a year and is rusty. Now, I know rust is dangerous. Is there a way to recoat the cage in something and make it usable? It's a nice cage, never used, just rusted. My friend planned on getting a conure but never did and the cage just rusted outside. It's one of those simple black square ones. If it is going to be a ton of work then I'll just toss it, but I was hoping I can use it! Don't know much about painting Any ideas? I'll post a picture later if I need to. Thanks! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 I would just toss it as it would have to be sanded down and powder coated to be used for your bird, that would cost more than just getting a new one in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crysmom Posted October 20, 2010 Share Posted October 20, 2010 oh that's a shame I would look into the cost of powder coating because since the cage was free and if you are going to have to buy one to use outside you might as well spend the money fixing this one up unless it is cheaper to go with a new cage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azzie Posted October 21, 2010 Share Posted October 21, 2010 Sandblasting I think would be the easiest and quickest way to get rid of old chipped coatings and rust, but I don't know about the cost. I've had a quick look at prices, but there's not a lot. I found this, a British site: http://www.triple-s.co.uk/prices.htm and this: http://www.absolutepowdercoating.com/price-misc.html Hopefully it will give you some idea as to whether the cost is worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boom Posted October 21, 2010 Share Posted October 21, 2010 nah stay away from the blasting, easiest thing to do depending on the area you are located is find a firm that does powder coating. they normally have strip dip tanks for prepping parts before coating. here in the uk it would run between 60-80gbp to strip n coat a cage. if you can get an equivalent cage for the same price then i would say throw it away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birdhouse Posted October 21, 2010 Share Posted October 21, 2010 Someone gave me a cage & I went through the same thought process. Could only find 2 places in MA/RI to bird-safe powder coat. They were ridiculously expensive & I had to get the cage sand blasted before hand. They wouldn't guarantee the coat life & said it wouldn't last more than a couple of years at best. Hope you have better luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
judygram Posted October 21, 2010 Share Posted October 21, 2010 Sounds more and more like a new cage is in order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greywings Posted October 22, 2010 Share Posted October 22, 2010 After doing the research I have wire brushed some cages and spray painted with Rustoleum Hammered finish. Then left outside for 5 days to air. The manufacturer recommends these steps to make a safe finish for the birds. I have had no problems with the results and have had both Greys and Cockatoos housed safely in them. Do the research and call the 24 hour help lines on any paint you may be interested in to be certain. If you are in doubt then do not use it, always best to be safe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pearllyn Posted October 22, 2010 Share Posted October 22, 2010 Jings! Some differing opinions here! I think if you have a choice of a safe old cage or a safe new cage, just go with the cheapest. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayd Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 To all concerned Please read....THIS WOULD BE THE SAME FOR ALL BRANDS OF PAINT..... 9/7/2010 10:38:31 AM [Agent Note] Hello and thank you for your inquiry with the Krylon website. We appreciate you taking the time to contact us. We have no products in our line that we can recommend for bird cages or accessories. This question has come up quite a bit, so after speaking with several veterinarians and other bird experts, we were advised that birds are extremely sensitive to low levels of materials for a very long time. Since we do not have any data to determine when the cage would be safe to occupy after off gassing is complete, and we do not know which paint is considered "safe" , we do not recommend our paints for application to bird cages. Since we do not perform animal testing, we cannot guarantee that the paint will be safe if it is applied to other areas that children and birds will likely chew on. If the children are just handling our products, they will be fine because once cured, our products are considered non-toxic, but not safe for mouth contact. Thank you again for your inquiry. If you have any other questions, please respond back with email history. Sincerely, Daniel Krylon Product Support Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karcar Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 Jay, you always go the extra mile! you are awesome!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 24, 2010 Share Posted October 24, 2010 See this is where I wish the original poster had included their location in their profile. I have a connection with a company that does powder-coating and at an incredibly cheap price, too, since he knows me. I really wish people would include their locations in their profiles. I would think it would make people helping each other a lot easier. I mean, maybe someone has a connection but is just going to pass on by because they don't know that the o/p lives in the same city as they. Anyway I see this over and over on this board. Just wish people would consider listing their location because it would make it so much easier to help each other out. At least with me, I am all about helping animals have better lives, and if someone is in Los Angeles or the surrounding area, and I see they are in need of something I can help out with, I'm apt to write them a message saying so. And I'll bet this board is full of people like that, but I doubt people will take the EXTRA TIME to write someone and say "I saw your post and if you happen to live in ________, then I can help you out." But if the reader sees the o/p IS in their city, many people will indeed take the time to write the person and offer services. Anyway, I'll step off the soap box now. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayd Posted October 25, 2010 Share Posted October 25, 2010 Very good and well taken. I agree completely....Jay d Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaleah Posted October 31, 2010 Share Posted October 31, 2010 I also have a nice black wrought iron cage. Picked it up at a rummage sale for $30. It had a lot of rust on it from being left outside so after checking around and found what some people called "safe" ways to repaint bird cages I spent nearly a week refinishing it. I used a wire brush and sand paper to get off the flaking rust, used a primer, and then matte black spray paint. All Krylon, so I thought it was safe. Did some more research before deciding to place any of my birds in it and learned the same thing. Krylon is NOT safe for birds. I was now stuck with this great cage that looked like new but could not use. So I got creative. I bought some dowels and boards and painted them as well and turned that cage into a unique bookshelf. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 31, 2010 Share Posted October 31, 2010 That is so cool! Any chance of you posting a picture of that bookshelf? I love when people get creative with items meant for one purpose and turn them into something else entirely. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keywe Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 painting a cage is just plain stupid and careless... Birds are way too sensitive to chemicals. Build a wooden cage and use galvanized wire... Lasts forever outside. I'm building a tiki hut as we speak for my Keywe. Pentagon shaped, about 4 feet in diameter. I'll post pics after completion. I had a regular cage that I kept outside and it lasted all of 4 months before it literally fell apart from the rust. I do live in FL though where it's really humid most of the year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayd Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 Correct, all paint is un safe for our fid's, even "powder coating" if it has "Zinc"in it..As a side note,"Galvanized" wire is extremely deadly to parrots..[zinc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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