How to Refinish Bird Cages

Care needs to be taken when refinishing bird cages.

Birds, especially parrots and other large birds, will chew at their cages and use cage wires to climb. Paint can chip off and make the cage unattractive. You can refinish your bird's cage to enhance its appearance, but care must be taken to prevent harming your bird.

Things You'll Need

• Wire brush
• Sandpaper
• Pump-style hairspray
• White vinegar
• Wire wool pads
• Fish oil
• Cardboard
• Bird-safe spray paint

Instructions

1. Remove the bird from its cage and move it to another room. Be sure to work in a well-ventilated area.

2. Scrub the cage with wire brush to remove any loose paint.

3. Dip a wire wool pad in white vinegar and scrub the rusted spots. Rust needs to be completely removed because it is toxic to birds. If wire wool won't remove all of the rust, spray pump-style hairspray on the rusted areas. Let it soak for a couple of minutes, then wipe it off. Repeat the process again, if necessary to remove all rust.

4. Sand the cage by hand, smoothing all of the surfaces.

5. Spray the entire cage with fish oil. Let it dry. Fish oil will make the surface tacky, and will also prevent further rusting.

6. Select a bird-safe paint. The paint should not contain lead, chromate or zinc. It should be a high-adhesion paint, in order to bond with the cage metal. It should be fast-drying and hard-wearing also. Look for paint deemed safe for use around children. When in doubt, check with the paint manufacturer to determine if the paint is bird-safe. Avianweb.com also has a list of non-toxic paints for birds.

7. Apply spray paint in a thin coat. Use cardboard as a backdrop, to prevent paint spray-off.

8. Wait at least a week for the paint to dry and release the solvents, before returning your bird to the refinished cage.

Tips & Warnings

• To prevent your birds from damaging their freshly refinished cage, provide lots of perches and branches on the inner sides of the cage, for the birds to climb from place to place. This will discourage them from gripping the cage wires with their beaks to climb.

• In lieu of refinishing it yourself, take the cage to a local auto body shop and have it sandblasted and powder-coated.

• Putting a bird in the cage before the paint solvents have been released could be fatal. Wait at least a week after painting, before returning the bird to its cage. Never cover a bird in a freshly painted cage.

References

• Avian Web
• Tailfeathers