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I bought a good size cage for my finches (though I wish it was wider than tall but still bigger than what they have) at a yard sale. I am going to be spray-painting it with Rustoleum black paint. My initial thinking was that I didn't have to worry about putting the triple hard clear coat over the paint (to prevent chipping) since finches flutter from place to place rather than climbing with their beak like larger birds do. Then I realize.......my cockatiel and parakeet get out of their cages and usually end up climbing on the finches cage. The bars are pretty close together though so maybe they won't use their beaks very much to climb...


What do you think? Should I put the triple hard clear coat on it or not? If so...I need to go to the store and get another can cause one isn't going to do it!

Any paint for cages should be listed as child safe on the can. It will have a pic of a woman holding a child's hand on it. If it doesn't I would get in touch with the manufacturer . They usually have a website or a toll free number on the can.. Ask if it is safe on birdcages. They no longer put lead in most paints but there could be other harmful ingredients. -----Yogi

Over the years when I owned a bird store in Indy we use to use Rustoleum without any problems. I never used their clear kote and I probably would not as it would to me tend to be harmful.Most clear paint does not have the same ingredients as the paint and I would tend to think that it would harm your birds. Even the Rustoleum will come off as well as any other paint, but it won't " knock on wood " kill your bird. The small amount that your birds chew off should not cause you any problems. There has never been a paint yet produced that won't come off if a bird works all day at that one place on his cage. Powder coatings whether it is on a cal. cage, YMl,HQ and the list goes on will come off. If the birds don't take it off we will when we clean the cage with brushes, cleaners and that list goes on. In the end just leave the black paint alone and enjoy your finches and move the cage back from the other birds so that they will stay off of it.

Denis

wow....I never considered the clear coat might be more harmful. I was thinking since it dries so "hard" it wouldn't flake as easy......hmm.

This is what Krylon said about the triple coat clear coat:

Krylon does not offer any products that are FDA approved, but our Triple-Thick product is fully cured after 24 hours, in which case it would be considered inert. This type of product is fine for children's furniture once it has fully cured, but since birds are more sensitive, we have
nothing in our line we can recommend for use on bird cages. I know that was not your specific inquiry, but since you mentioned that you intended to do the project, I thought I'd let you know.

Thoughts?

I wouldn't use it, better to be safe than sorry:)

Finished spraying the black paint yesterday. Guess I won't use the clear spray.

How long should I let it set before putting birds in it?

24-48 hours or until it no longer smells.... may be a good idea to wash it once before allowing the birds in.

I think I will put it in my shower stall and spray it down tonight so I can move them in tomorrow. Gotta clean the bottom tomorrow anyway.