Painting a Bird Cage

[Crittercall]

I have a large cage that I decided that I wanted to paint before I moved my African Gray into it. I bought spray paint that said on the label is lead-free and safe for use around children - both facts that I remember as being important when painting anything for your bird. However, it has been about 2 weeks since the cage has been painted and the smell of the paint is still strong.

The cage is not in the same room as either of my birds - don't want to take any chances. And I won't move Piper in there until I know it is okay to do so.

Any suggestions? What did I do wrong? (Notice I immediately assume the role of guilty party - I'm good at that!) I wanted it changed because of some slight rust spots - it stayed outside for a while after my other Gray flew away in hopes that she would see the cage and come back and so it went through a couple of rain showers.

I hate to spend the money to buy a new cage but may end up having to do that; I certainly don't want to take chances.

Thanks for the help -
Critter

[Dena]

Personally I don't think I would feel comfortable using any kind of paint from the hardware store. Mostly because I do not have enough information regarding this. My cages are all powder coated and I wouldn't be sure if the paint would affect the coating that is already there. Luckily I don't have any birds that are chewers but many birds do chew on their cages and I would be afraid of the bird digesting paint chips. If stainless steel cages werent so astronomically expensive that would be the answer to every bird owner's problems!

As far as the smell of paint still being too strong, it could be that it is too humid and is not drying as fast. Also check to see if it is adhering well to the metal. You may find that you need a primer first which will put you through a whole other dilema of finding a safe primer.