Spraypainting grids?

[Nicolene]

Ok, back story, I have a large C&C in my kitchen. The grids are gray and the coro was from a campaign sign that I covered with adhesive vinyl to match my kitchen table, the fleece is also picked to match the kitchen colors as well as the pigloos that we have.

In this picture the coro looks great, however when you look at it up close the coro is cut uneven, the vinyl is sloppy and the divider between the hay and fleece is very floppy and unstable...

My mom is coming to visit me in the states for the first time ever. She has never seen my home since I left Africa 8 years ago, so it's kind of a big deal and we are already busy reorganizing, touching up paint and redecorating a little, "best foot forward" and all that.

I want to start the cage "reno" by redoing the coro. I found a place that sells brown coro, so we'll go with that, I think it'll look great. However, I would love for the grids also to be brown, how nice would that look!

My pigs have never so much as licked the grids, nor have they chewed on it. So... can I spray paint my grids? If so, if you have suggestions, what you be the "healthiest" spray paint?
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[Llamasomething]

I wouldn't risk it. Mine never touched the grids before, but a couple of months ago Stanley got into the habit of chewing when he was bored and/or wanted to come out to play with me, so half of our grids actually don't even have any of the white cover on them that they came with, they're just plain metal. You could look around for some white grids maybe? The white would look nice. And then you could use the grey ones as storage. I'm always building little cube storage shelves with my extra grids.

Your pig is adorable by the way!

 

[Nicolene]

Thanks, I definitely don't want white, it took me forever to find ones that weren't white to start with. Maybe I can find some brown ones online. I'm just wondering, since the white ones are painted and the gray ones are painted, so there has to be a way to "repaint" them.

 

[Llamasomething]

Yeah, the paint that is already on them isn't pig safe, it's really bad that Stanley chews on them as is, spray paint just seems worse in my mind for some reason. Maybe it wouldn't matter, because either way the pig is ingesting paint..

Now I'm really not sure. I would wait for an answer from a mod, or someone who knows more about the grids than I do.

Good luck! I know the frustration of wanting a cage to look perfect and match everything. I'm going fleece shopping for stuff that matches my room this weekend. I'm lucky that white grids go well.

 

[Nicolene]

My desire for it to match is because we catch a lot of flack for being two adults with guinea pigs as pets, so I am always making sure their cage looks nice, clean and doesn't smell and no one can say anything about them being messy and smell rodents. My mom will love them though, we had all kinds of pets when I was growing up.

 

[Llamasomething]

Really?
I don't get why people think having small pets is somehow childish. They're all adorable!

My manager at work has two adorable fancy mice that she talks about all the time. She actually recommended me the vet that I go to now for my pigs

 

[kathlaaron]

My desire for it to match is because we catch a lot of flack for being two adults with guinea pigs as pets, so I am always making sure their cage looks nice, clean and doesn't smell and no one can say anything about them being messy and smell rodents. My mom will love them though, we had all kinds of pets when I was growing up.

What about black grids ? I think the black would look nice with the brown !
I purchased a C&C cage with white grids and bright blue coroplast because I thought that the cage would be in my 10 year old daughter's bedroom, ( long story) not where it is now, in my living room ! Big sigh. So, matching decor is not likely to happen for me, and the living room is the only place downstairs I have room for a 6x2 cage, with a 2x2 hay loft.

 

[kathlaaron]

My desire for it to match is because we catch a lot of flack for being two adults with guinea pigs as pets, so I am always making sure their cage looks nice, clean and doesn't smell and no one can say anything about them being messy and smell rodents. My mom will love them though, we had all kinds of pets when I was growing up.

I just saw the picture of your cage and it looks sooo nice ! I like the light blue grids with the brown coroplast !
Wow. I wonder too, why anyone would think owning ( yeah right...they "own" us ! Hence the term cavy slave) guinea pigs is silly ? I honestly have never heard of that. People have all kinds of animals for pets ! I have had all kinds too, but this is my first time ( going on nearly 2 months now) owning guinea pigs though. I love my piggies to pieces already !

 

[Nicolene]

So, matching decor is not likely to happen for me

You could try vinyl like we did. And possibly spray paint the grids depending on how this thread plays out..

 

[kathlaaron]

Nicolene,
I just noticed that you said the grids in your picture above are "gray"...but online to me it looks like a dusty blue. Anyway, it looks very nice !

 

[Rnd210]

The grids are already painted before you bought them, however if you can find kid safe non toxic paint it shouldn't be a problem. Just make sure to let the grids air dry really good before exposing to the pigs. The only problem that I can think of is the smell fumes.

 

[Nicolene]

The grids are already painted before you bought them, however if you can find kid safe non toxic paint it shouldn't be a problem. Just make sure to let the grids air dry really good before exposing to the pigs. The only problem that I can think of is the smell fumes.

I'm thinking the non toxic stuff too. Spraying would be happening outside for sure! And I would leave them out for a day or 2 to really cure.

 

[guineapigsrock1]

I love your cage! I'ts so cute and I love how everything matches! I say if she's never chewed them before, there is a small chance of her chewing them now. I'd still go with non-toxic, just in case, but I'd say you're very safe.

 

[danav]

It might work to paint the grids, but your connectors would still be gray...I don't think it would work at all to try to paint them. I personally think the gray grids (which I also have, by the way!) look nice with the fleece and accessories you have. Brown would look cool, but I've never seen brown grids/connectors.

 

[Peggysu]

I have read that it is not recommended to paint the grids. I wouldn't do it.

Personally my cage is a hodge podge and I like it that way. Many people compliment my cage whenever they are at my appartment, this includes when I'm working and I forget something and stop at my place while on duty. My appartment is very beachy though and because it's really the first place I've lived on my own matching really isn't a priority, mainly function.

I think if you have a clean piece of coroplast cut properly that fits well, it ends up looking nice and put together.

 

[Nicolene]

I'm not planning on using the connectors anymore. Right now I only use a handful. I have ordered brown zip ties. I'm going to spray paint his weekend.

 

[Deb's4Pigs]

I would try kid safe paint or on rat cages they use rustoleum. You have to let it dry at least two weeks.

 

[MaggieMae]

I was trying to google a paint brand you could use. I didn't find a brand but this is kind of what I came up with as a general vote:

In general, look for paints which:
- do not contain lead, zinc or chromate
- are "high adhesion", formulated to bond with the metal surface
- are hard-wearing
- are fast drying
- have the child safe picture on the can

The biggest worry I have however making sure the process is done right so the paint doesn't chip. I am not sure you can just spray paint them and the paint will stick in the long run. I honestly don't know. Some people say you have to sand first and so on... I would google repainting bird cages since I think the concept would be similar.

 

[MaggieMae]

I would try kid safe paint or on rat cages they use rustoleum. You have to let it dry at least two weeks.

I heard, and this is only what I heard so it could be wrong BUT, I heard that rustoleum is awful to use on animal cages.

My initial reaction was to suggest that because I thought it would be ideal, so I googled it and all these people said there are safe paints to use, but that rustoleum was one of those commonly used but really bad for your pet type deals.

Who knows what is right or wrong anymore.. There are so many opinions out there. I have rustoleum painted switchplate covers which have ever chipped, but, then again, I don't chew on them...