found this interesting.......

[jimpierce7]

I already posted this in the cages section but others may be interested also. My knowledge is quite limited in whats healthy or "ok" for my fids so I ask alot of questions and I am enjoying my quest and search for information...... I called Krylon and Rustoleum. The rep for Krylon said she would not recomend any product of theirs for the cage. The Rustoleum rep didnt even pause in saying that their products are fine to use as long as they have time to cure completely.
Here is a written response I just received from Krylon.


Thank you for visiting our Krylon website, we appreciate your interest
in
our products.

Currently Krylon does not manufacture a paint or clear finish that is
FDA
approved.

The Krylon Kid's Tuff is made specifically for children's furniture,
cribs,
and toys. Here again, Krylon does not manufacture a paint coating,
including the Kids Tuff, that is FDA approved. We do not perform
animal
testing and thus cannot test for incidental ingestion. However, based
on
results of comparative studies and the chemicals used in the Kid's
Tuff, we
know the dry film to be non-toxic (the sum of the ingredients used in
the
Kid's Tuff are non-toxic).

An FDA approval is important in terms of whether a product film is safe
for
incidental ingestion. We do not want to introduce large film particles
into the digestion system. As long as the infant or toddler is not
teething on the substrate it should not be a factor.

Most Krylon aerosol paint coatings are fully cured in 7 days, depending
upon temperature & humidity. Once cured, the paint film is considered
inert and is no longer releasing toxins or chemicals (the solvent
evaporates/flashes from the film and leaves behind an inert film).

Alternative Coating:
You may want to consider using a product manufactured by Liberon at
1-800-245-5611 (www.woodfinishsupply.com) or Mohawk at 1-800-545-0047
(www.mohawk-finishing.com). Both Liberon and Mohawk manufacture
coatings
that are safe for infant furniture, high chairs, recreational objects
(games, puzzles, children's toys) salad bowls, wooden utensils,
chopping/butcher blocks, and food preparation surfaces. These coatings
are
tested safe for ingestion and are specialized for this industry.

Thank you for you inquiry.

Sincerely,

Brian
Krylon Technical Service


I am going to call those numbers and let ya know what I find out.

[jimpierce7]

by the way the reason for all the "kid" stuff was due to me using the term "child safe" as a referance

[My Kiwi]

Nice to know they are being honest and do no animal testing !

[jamieo]

thanks for posting that info, jim.

[jimpierce7]

after that conversation I will NOT be painting my cage or any of the items around my fids. I just got back from Kelly Moore where I actually trust the knowledge of a couple of the employees there. I was assured beyond a doubt that there is not any zink in any of the paints in the store, including their spray paint which is Rustoleum brand. I started talking with most the employees there as it was very slow at the time and this one lady piped up quite emotionally "DON'T PAINT THE CAGE WITH ANYTHING!!!" She was quite adament about this. She has lived around Parots her whole life and has found out thru trial and error, sadly enough, that NO paint is ok for birds. If it chips and they eat it, it will kill them. She really left no room for discussion. I could power coat but that costs the same as buying a descent cage does. Its ok, after a good cleaning the metal has a nice shine to it anyway....

[CrazyBirdLady]

Just for reference, our Senegal Ripley, can chew the paint off a Powder Coated Wrought Iron cage....so if it's for your Sennie, I'd suggest no paint at all. That beak/jaw is tremendously strong.

Somewhere I have a great link for stainless steel mess for making cages...fairly inexpensive and parrot safe...I'll see if I can dig it up.

[jimpierce7]

and here is the response from rustoleum


Jim-
The only product that might be "metal free" in the strictest sense
would be
an acrylic clear; almost all of our products have metallic compounds as
pigment. For example white paint will have titanium dioxide, beiges and
browns will have iron oxides, etc. But these compounds bind up the
metal;
only the metallic finishes and Galvanizing compounds have actual
elemental
"pure metal" in them.

If the mesh is bare galvanized, then it has a layer of zinc on it; we
would
recommend using a latex primer like the 8781 Aluminum Primer as a coat
if
you're using the Stops Rust topcoats. The resin used in the Stops Rust
finishes has a chemical reaction with zinc if they touch each other.



Rick Braunshausen, Technical Service Team

Rust-Oleum Corporation� 11 Hawthorn Parkway� Vernon Hills, IL 60061�
Ph
(877) 385.8155� Fax (847) 816.2330� MSDS:www.rustoleum.com
VirtualSolutions


and so paint free I will be! poetic eh?