Powder-coated warehouse cages inevitably get bumped and chipped over time; small chips left unrepaired expose the steel base to damp air, and rust spreads quickly. The repair is not hard—the key is to follow the steps, not to grab a spray can and be done with it.
Repair has four steps. Step one, sanding: use sandpaper to grind off loose powder and rust around the chip until the metal base shows; sand an area about 20mm larger than the chip on every side, and bevel the edges. Step two, cleaning: wipe off oil and dust with alcohol or degreaser, then let it dry.
Step three, primer: for small repairs, brush on one coat of cold-galvanizing primer or epoxy zinc-rich primer, and once dry, touch up the topcoat. Match the topcoat color to the original as closely as possible; write down the commonly used RAL color-card number at purchase, so later touch-ups don't show a noticeable color difference. Step four, clear coat: once the topcoat is dry, spray a layer of clear lacquer for wear and scratch resistance.
What counts as a small repair? A single chip smaller than a coin, with no more than three to five repairs a year, is DIY-friendly. If a whole panel is flaking in large areas and rust is running together, the pretreatment or powder-coating process was flawed—send the whole cage back for redoing rather than spot-fixing.
In daily use, try to keep forklift forks from bumping the cage base and posts directly, and set cages onto pallets gently. Nanjing Tongnuo Warehouse Equipment Manufacturing Co., Ltd. supplies matching-color touch-up spray cans and a factory re-spray service.