FN142 on Craig's List...Rust?

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Angelyco

Angelyco

Fur Flavored
Joined
Feb 25, 2011
Messages
207
Location
Yonkers, NY
Hey all,

I am currently speaking with someone from Craig's List about a FN142 they are selling for $70. The ad said "There's a bit of rusting between the top and bottom bars in one corner of the cage (only found out when I was taking it apart)."

When I emailed them, I asked for more info about the rust, to which they replied "The rust is in the right rear corner...I discovered it after I took the top level off and was trying to continue to dissembling from the base it's not on the interior of the cage it's between the bars in the right rear lower portion."

So far I hadn't seen anything on the forums about the FN cage rusting. I can't quite visualize exactly where the rust would be, but if it's not on the inside of the cage and not accessible to the chins, would this still be safe? Or should I avoid the cage, considering any rust at all?

I asked if I could come by and see it this evening and I'm waiting for a response, but in the meantime, any advice about the rust would be helpful.

Thanks!
 
it may be rust OR it may be caked urine. even if it is slightly rusted, you could take apart, clean it with a brillo or rough brush to remove the flaking. unless of course it is so rusted that it compromised the stability of the cage.

personally if it was not too far away i would take the ride and take a look at it. or ask them to send you a photo.
 
The outside of the FN is powdercoated, but any exposed metal underneath can rust if exposed to wetness of any kind. One FN I bought from CL was a little rusty on the INSIDE of the large frame tubes. I think the person I got it from had a lazy version of cleaning- rinsing it off with a garden hose.. Cause it ended up being the most disgusting cage I have ever seen.
If its gross when you get pics or go to get it, make sure you talk them down in price, cause I spent hours cleaning mine and almost wish I had never gotten it. Paying full price and knowing it was sanitary would have been worth it to me.
 
That's where I'm torn right now, as well. We were going to wait a bit to get a FN; I have the money set aside for a new one, but $70 is a REALLY good price, and I could take it home with me instead of waiting for shipping. I'm too nice of a person and I'm not sure I could still say no after seeing it in person, unless it was really bad. I don't think many people around here know just awesome that prices is for that kind of cage. This person is also selling 2 other ferret cages, but cheap crappy metal and plastic ones you can get at any store. I don't know, I feel like I can't let such a good cage go to someone who doesn't appreciate it ;)
 
i say go see it, and consider what it would cost on top of the $70 to fix up the rusted areas (if fixing up is even necessary). if the possible fixing is going to run you more than the cost of the cage, then don't get it. if it's just a bit of rust, and is on the outside where chinny noses can't get to, then i'd definitely get it! a bit of brillo, as Michelle mentioned, can take the rust off real nice.
 
The FN141 I got off CL had a bit of rust on it, and just power-washing it when I got it home took all the flaky bits off and I haven't had any problems with it since. It's still a little rust-stained in some areas, but nothing that could be ingested. I'd say go look at it!
 
It sounds like the rust is in between the panels since he didn't notice it until he took the cage apart, so I doubt it would be unsafe for chins. I wouldn't let a little rust stop me from getting it. Just sand off the rust, spray some paint in it and put 'er back together!
 
Thanks for the advice everyone. As long as the rust isn't a bad idea in general, I'll make the judgment call on its condition when I see it.
 
Finally caught the seller at the right time and going to see the cage tonight for sure. I have my hopes up! It would be lovely to come home with a FN :))
 
I ended up turning the cage down. The rust was inside the main corner support bars, specifically the connector pieces that go inside the bars. It was bad enough that they didn't disassemble the cage completely for fear of breaking the connectors. It was also missing half of the screws because they were too badly rusted.

The cage was never used by the people selling it - they bought it for $180 from someone else on Craig's List, but it was missing the ramps and that was the deal-breaker for them, so they bought a brand new one.

Thankfully, the woman was very understanding that I didn't want to deal with buying new screws and that the bottom couldn't be safely taken apart completely.
 
if the ramps where the deal breaker...Chins don't really need them and the ramps that come with are not safe anyway. If you don't have access to power washer the do it yourself car washes work great. I got a free FN but the reason it was free is it was disgusting...but after power wash it was almost like new.
 
The ramps weren't a problem for me, but the people who were selling it didn't use it because it didn't have ramps (they had special needs ferrets).

I just didn't want to have to go out and get new screws and try to match them up. The connectors were pretty badly rusted, and I honestly couldn't have put it in my car without it all being disassembled anyway, which they didn't want to take the bottom apart.
 
definitely a 'more pain in the tookus than it's worth' situation. that's too bad Angelyco! would've been a sweet deal if it wasn't in such crappy shape. :(
 
Definitely. At least I already have the money for a brand new one, it's just a matter of timing. We were only going to buy this one right now because it was such a good deal. I think I'm wearing my husband down though, by getting his hopes up about this cage, he keeps thinking about how much easier the FN would be to clean, etc.
 
my husband thinks the fn are great and he usually does not like me putting to much money in my pets but at least i got them cheap. I have 4 chins and 2 fn with 2 to each one.
 
I just bought my used Ferret Nation on Craigslist and found a bunch of rust in the corners. I went through one round of washing yesterday and I can still smell the last pet's urine in the stains. Gonna try another washing over the weekend.

My question is, has anyone ever tried to repaint or refinish any of the worn spots on their FN? I'm going to try to find some paint at Home Depot to cover up the worn areas. Any tips are welcome (I've seen the repaint thread about rustoleum).
 
Chub_Chub said:
If its gross when you get pics or go to get it, make sure you talk them down in price, cause I spent hours cleaning mine and almost wish I had never gotten it. Paying full price and knowing it was sanitary would have been worth it to me.
Click to expand...

I am feeling the exact same thing right now. I got my FN for $20. The cage looked fine and you couldn't really see a lot of rust. Here or there, but nothing you couldn't sand down and repaint. Then I found out it was the joints that were all rusted. They rusted to the connector and I couldn't tear them apart. The screws were also completely rusted. After pulling at them, they eventually broke off. At this point, I bought new screws, sanded down as much of the rust from the joints as I could, and repainted with rustoleum.
 
You can also spray the rust with a little WD40 and the rust will dissipate. Make sure to clean it down well though you don't want the chins eating it. Brake Cleaner works well too. I wouldn't really recommend it but they do clean rust if your worried about it.
 
flynhawaiian said:
You can also spray the rust with a little WD40 and the rust will dissipate. Make sure to clean it down well though you don't want the chins eating it. Brake Cleaner works well too. I wouldn't really recommend it but they do clean rust if your worried about it.
Click to expand...

Yeah I bought some work and used it. Luckily the parts that I couldn't tear apart are not in the chinchillas reach. The rustoleum stops rust so I just made sure I had everything covered
 
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