DIY rat cage question: how to "seal" wire mesh

[Smokie]

I'm building a large (floor to ceiling) rat habitat in our spare room. We picked up some wire mesh from the hardware store not thinking about it really, then when I got home I realized the wire isn't finished. It's exposed and will probably rust (not ok!).

I'm wondering if there's a sealer you guys can recommend, maybe for refinishing old cages, that I can use to spray seal this wire... or if I should take it back and order in the powder coated instead. It's a long wait and I have itchy project fingers, but obviously I want to make sure I use a healthy option. They'll likely chew at the wire at some point, and I don't want to poison them!

If you've done a project like this before can you share your learnings?

 

[SQ]

no idea, sorry

I would probably line the walls of the spare room with sheets of connected chloroplast, and turn the entire room into a space for the ratties
(When I lived in apartments, that pretty much describes my living rooms - although the rats also had multiple double CN/FN cages in the living room that they had access to when out playing)

good luck