Cage-Refinishing Tips?

[Pink]

I'm thinking of refinishing the cages that the breeder gave me... For my future additions to the buck herd! They're big and study, but I'm not fond of the ugly rust on the corners of the outside and on the urine-guard inside of the cage.

Does anyone have any tips for safely removing the rust and preparing them for painting? Organic rust converters? Good ol' sand paper?

What can I use paint-wise? Spray paint? Primer?

 

[AngelsGirl]

Hmm, i know there is rust removers out there, but i don't know of any off hand :?
i would say just spray paint over it!

 

[curlysue]

I scrape the rust and spray with Rustoleum.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

If the rust is really bad, I use a wire brush "wheel". If you have a screw gun/drill, you can buy a wire brush attachment for it. It is a lot easier and faster than sanding by hand!

Use primer and paint made specifically for metal. If most of the metal is in good shape and cost is an issue, at the very least primer the rusted areas. Several light coats with plenty of time to dry in between are best. The last cage floors I did were done when it was cold and the humidity was high (but within the tolerances on the can) and they probably should have had longer drying time between coats... and before I started building the cages... so I have some areas where the paint got scraped off. Patience is not a virtue I possess in large amounts.

I went through a surprising amount of paint, so I finally got smart and stacked the panels one behind the other so the over spray settled on the wires behind the one I was working on.