Rusted cage? Making old cages "like new?"

[Kyle@theWintertime]

One or two of the "new" old cages I just got has some rust. I'd love to get that taken care of before I put rabbits in it.

My plan so far is thus: I'll scrub and bleach the heck out of each cage, get 'em all thoroughly rinsed...then scrub at the rust with some steel wool or something. The pans (yay it came with pans!) are somewhat cruddy looking, I'll scrub the crap (literally) out of those, too.

Then...will it be okay to spray them down with like Rust-oleum or something? I don't want to get products that leave a film on the wire because I can see a rabbit touching that part of the cage, getting it on them, then grooming and consuming it and getting sick...but the spray-paint-style Rust-oleum is hard and fast once it's dry. I'd like to spray-coat the drop pans, too.

Has anyone ever done this? Any suggestions???

 

[MamaSheepdog]

scrub at the rust with some steel wool or something.

Buy a wire "grinding wheel" attachment for your drill (or grinder, if you have one) and use that instead of "elbow grease"... much more effective,and faster, too!

will it be okay to spray them down with like Rust-oleum or something?

I did the same with the panels from an aviary that I used as floor panels in my growout pens. The paint is already chipping off in places, but that may be because the weather was cool and damp when I painted some of them, and I put them to use pretty soon after. I would hazard to guess that as long as most of the rust is removed with the grinding wheel so the wire is smooth again, that rust would not be that big of an issue... but I don't really know. I have read on here that rusty cages are bad, but not why they are bad! :?

 

[Kyle@theWintertime]

scrub at the rust with some steel wool or something.

Buy a wire "grinding wheel" attachment for your drill (or grinder, if you have one) and use that instead of "elbow grease"... much more effective,and faster, too!

will it be okay to spray them down with like Rust-oleum or something?

I did the same with the panels from an aviary that I used as floor panels in my growout pens. The paint is already chipping off in places, but that may be because the weather was cool and damp when I painted some of them, and I put them to use pretty soon after. I would hazard to guess that as long as most of the rust is removed with the grinding wheel so the wire is smooth again, that rust would not be that big of an issue... but I don't really know. I have read on here that rusty cages are bad, but not why they are bad! :?

Yeah I would like to know why, too.

I think unless someone has a reason not to, I'll go ahead and spraypaint them once I get the rust off.

 

[Secuono]

I used Rust-oleum prime then paint to coat my water crocks just for extra life.

 

[Kyle@theWintertime]

Really? And presumably nobody has gotten sick and died from drinking from them, so...I deem it an acceptable solution. Awesome, thanks!!!

 

[Piper]

http://www.avianweb.com/refinishingcages.html
animal safe paints

 

[Kyle@theWintertime]

Ah, very cool. I'll extend the wait-time after dry before I put the rabbits in afterwards, thanks!

 

[Hazel]

If i was going to paint a rabbit cage,not saying paint is a good idea on a rabbit cage. But if i was going to , i would not use steel wool or a grinding wheel to clean it. Steel wool leaves behind steel dust that rusts instantly almost and one can never clean it all off of the project they are working on. A grinding wheel grinds down the wire even more .
I would use a good wire brush and wipe down lightly with a towel and then coat with ospho
http://www.ospho.com/. The ospho will chemicaly react with the rust dust and turns iron oxide(rust) to iron phosphate(good solid metal primer) Once the ospho has dryed good, brush lightly and then paint.

__________ Sat Jul 28, 2012 3:01 pm __________

ospho can be found at your local hardware store in most areas. walmart used to have it, not sure if they still do.<br /><br />__________ Sat Jul 28, 2012 3:02 pm __________<br /><br />cant remember if home depot has it

 

[hoodat]

If i was going to paint a rabbit cage,not saying paint is a good idea on a rabbit cage. But if i was going to , i would not use steel wool or a grinding wheel to clean it. Steel wool leaves behind steel dust that rusts instantly almost and one can never clean it all off of the project they are working on. A grinding wheel grinds down the wire even more .
I would use a good wire brush and wipe down lightly with a towel and then coat with ospho
http://www.ospho.com/. The ospho will chemicaly react with the rust dust and turns iron oxide(rust) to iron phosphate(good solid metal primer) Once the ospho has dryed good, brush lightly and then paint.

__________ Sat Jul 28, 2012 3:01 pm __________

ospho can be found at your local hardware store in most areas. walmart used to have it, not sure if they still do.

__________ Sat Jul 28, 2012 3:02 pm __________

cant remember if home depot has it

They did a few years back. I used it on a rusty wrought iron fence and was very pleased with it except that it is quite thick, which makes it hard to brush on. The directions say not to thin it.

 

[Hazel]

ospho is not thick, its thin as water , green in color. There are other products that work the same way that are indeed thick.

 

[3mina]

Phosphoric acid is the trick, it's in most rust removers. It's also in Coke which is also a pretty good rust remover

 

[Kyle@theWintertime]

Phosphoric acid is the trick, it's in most rust removers. It's also in Coke which is also a pretty good rust remover

..........as I sit here sipping a Cherry Zero. :lol:

 

[Miss M]

Yeah I would like to know why, too.

Probably because of the roughness of rust. It could probably put more wear on the fur than non-rusted wire.

This is only a guess.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

A grinding wheel grinds down the wire even more .

I used a wire wheel, made out of brass, I think. It is not that abrasive, unlike a stone wheel. It didn't affect the wire at all... at least to the naked eye. On a microscopic level, maybe.

Yeah I would like to know why, too.

Probably because of the roughness of rust.

That's what I was thinking as well- when it gets really bad and builds up it can be sharp.

I would hazard to guess that as long as most of the rust is removed with the grinding wheel so the wire is smooth again, that rust would not be that big of an issue...

 

[WildWolf]

Well, another reason is that rust makes the wire weaker (eventually) and that might be a problem if you have a TON of rust, or a huge rabbit.