I've got my work cut out for me: step-by-step (Pic Heavy)

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I found calling far more effective, a lot of places have an email address but I got no replies. quotes on the phone took about 3 minutes? I told them the rough size and what it was and they told me a price pretty quick and most said their quotes are usually pretty close to the finished price
 
Umm, OK I got a bunch of quotes today and they're all $250+... so I don't think I'm gonna be able to afford to have it powder-coated. But I thought of something else: it's not as good, but I've used it in some of my DIY reptile enclosures to seal wood. It's a non-toxic sealant. Here's the link to the website: http://www.krylon.com/ca/eng/products/low_odor_clear_finish It says it seals metal. I've used it a lot and I've never had it chip or flake away, and it could at least keep the metal from absorbing the pee smell. I was thinking of painting it then sealing it, but I'm not sure if it would adhere to the paint aswell as the bare metal, since I've never used it on paint before...it might, but I don't think I'll experiment this time.

I dunno, maybe it's a stupid idea, but it's just a thought.

I scraped off a lot more of the crust and it's pretty much gone. I even brought it in the house today! :dance: I'll see if it smells more in the house, but so far it still hardly smells at all.
 
I know a lot of people on goose use a specific type of rustoleum that the company replied would be safe for animals if left to cure for 2 weeks.
 
digitalangel said:
I know a lot of people on goose use a specific type of rustoleum that the company replied would be safe for animals if left to cure for 2 weeks.
Click to expand...
If your talking about "Colors in Plastic", they've stopped making that...I would LOOOVE to get my hands on another can of that stuff. It was AWESOME! Great colours, and once it had cured (A week or 2) it was "baby safe" (meaning, a toddler could chew on it with no ill effects)

If they have another, similar product, please let me know. The Krylon finish is the closest thing I've found, but if there is something better, I'd love to hear about it.
 
Dude... VERY brave! I would have just cried looking at it haha. I can't wait to see it when it's "done". For some reason I thought some sort of appliance paint was safe... But I can't recall for sure. Let me do some looking into!
 
Hehe, I thought about crying, but I decided to mutter and grumble and swear under my breath instead. Hmm, I never thought about appliance paint...let me know what you find. I look into it too and we can compare notes lol.
 
My hubby said look for Acrylic water based paint when we first had our daughter our crib needed new paint and we had to call around to ask what is safe for babies and they told us to look for that.

Also if painting your own cage you will still need to sand blast it to get everything off if not the paint no matter what kind will chip off.

Good luck
 
Gee, I kinda like the layout of that cage. Not totally sure, but I think you can get the cage powder coated for a decent price. There are others on here that have had it done.
 
Yeah, I called 5 or 6 places and the cheapest one was $250 (and that one didn't include sandblasting, so I would have had to pay for that, in addition to the $250) and the most expensive ones were around $6-700. I WISH I could afford it, but I just can't.
 
$700!!! You could get two double Critter Nations for that! Or almost THREE double Ferret Nations. That's insane.
 
I have a cage IDENTICAL [but with a red base] that was in the exact same shape as yours when I got it for $20 off Kijiji. I went through a box of SOS pads before I snapped the rotting ladders out and had it sandblasted and powder coated for $30.. Do you have family in the Hamilton area?
 
No, I have family in Orillia but I'm not hauling the damn thing across Ontario lol. I may just end up selling it and making my money back once I've gotten it cleaned up, since I don't think I'm going to be able to get the babies from sprite71.

Do you like the cage, Cigar? Because I've heard from a few people who had this cage too and they all seem to hate it...I thought it seemed like a good cage, and I was going to change a few things, like the latches on the doors and the positioning of the ramp on the 3rd level, but everybody says they got sick of it so I'm kind of worried that it's going to suck...
 
You should give it a chance first ;) You may like it!

You never know what you can do with it too! Be creative - a couple trips to dollarama will help! It could be worse - The doors are at least a decent size.

I like watching this process, in the end it will be nice to just stand back and realize what a good job you did.
 
For me the only reason i could not keep the cage is lifting and cleaning it all the time. Wee just got one donated to us by a friend and i sold it also and used the money to buy a cage i can use and clean. Mind you i love the size and the way its all metal for babies its wonderful i have two semi teens who chewed though a cage and was going to get them a cage of metal but then i got to intro them together with a set in the fn.

It would be easier to keep a cage like this if you have a pressure washer most likely so then each month or so give it a wash that way. The people who bought the cage from me are also the people who adopted Jelly & Bean and we even chloroplast the levels for them so i know the boys are safe on the bars of the cage and told them how to wash and care for a cage like it. and they have a pressure washer they said.

Maybe invest in a pressure washer may help you.

But yes most people do not like it because it does not come apart and its pretty heavy and sometimes does not fit right in the tub for easy cleaning so winter its harder.
 
Well, if people don't like it just because it's non-collapsible and a bit akward to carry, then I think I'll be fine. I think I'm going to spray it with the Krylon stuff, just because I know it works. At very least it'll keep the metal from absorbing the smell and it will likely make it easier to clean. I don't think a pressure washer will be nessicary, since it fits in my shower (which is another reason why it appealed to me) I also like the pull-out tray, even though I use fleece so it won't be as benficial to me as it would to someone who uses a loose bedding, but I still like it. I will definately be moving that 3rd ramp, since it's almost impossible to clean that back corner the way it is now. I'll won't likely re-attach the bottom of the ramp(s) to the grid floor, since being able to lift if up would make it easier to clean.

I'll be going to the hardware store tomorrow to look at options for diffrent door latches too. I've also decided against putting plastic down on the floor. I'm just going to put the velcro directly on the metal floor and make the liners thicker. I'm definately still going to put the border up though.

I'll use it a bit before deciding if I'm getting rid of it. It just seems like a lot of people hate this cage lol. I just didn't want to be pig-headed and ignore all the advice: since I've never had this kind of cage before and many of you have, I'm just trying to not repeat a mistake that had been made known to me.
 
june0915.jpg


I used a ramp from an old cage for the bottom shelf and I hung a tunnel to connect the top and bottom halves of the cage. They didn't need one up top. I sewed my own liners to make clean up as easy as possible 'cause yeah, the doors are awkward, and took it outside for a bleach once a month. I secured the liners with half inch metal hair clips and it was the most time consuming part. The wire got wiped it down with a peroxide/water/vinegar solution in between cleaning the pan in the bath tub with soap and water twice a week.
I have to admit that it was hard to find a litterbox that fit into the bottom pan, most cat boxes were just too high. I ended up using a turkey pan and it fit like a glove. All in all it wasn't a terrible cage, I just needed more room to accommodate Poppy after her spay, so I moved it to my parents to use as a vacation cage if I need to go home. :]

Oh, and my stepdad just put the latches on backwards and now they aren't flimsy. I've never had any escapes!
 
I kinda forgot to update this thing lol...

So, I think I can honestly say that it's completely clean. It's been in the house for a few days and there is no smell! :dance: I'm going move the ramp and then spray it with the Krylon stuff either tomorrow or the next day and then once it's dry, I'll put the border and velcro in. I've already started on the custom liners, so hopefully they'll both be done at the same time...

Oh yeah, I couldn't find any latches that I would be able to attach the doors without more big changes but I thought of something else: I found some wire and I was thinking that I could make a sort of clip latch with it...I can't really explain it lol it's just something I thought might work...

I'll try and get some updated pictures soon!
 
Well, if you're going to pay $250 + might as well get a CN or a powder coated Martin's with better doors for easier cleaning. If you can't get it done, see if you can figure out how to line the shelves so that the pee doesn't soak through. Maybe fleece on top of some plastic liner. That would save you a lot of trouble down the road. Regardless, even though that cage is hard to clean, it should never get to the state you got it in even if you put minimal effort into maintaining it.
 

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