![]() The results can last a decade or even more. The company will sandblast the sink, removing all the original porcelain, then apply a new enamel finish, and bake the sink in a kiln. One of the few places that still does high-heat reporcelainizing is Custom Ceramic Coatings, a company in the Chicago area. “You can’t put paint-and that’s what all the finishes are-on a surface and expect that it’s going to take cast-iron pans and knives and last,” says Ken Buzzell, the owner of Grampa’s Antique Kitchen. While the best new finish on a tub can last for eight to 10 years, it’s a different story for a hard-working sink. That’s because, outside of a foundry, it’s next to impossible to re-create the high-heat bonding process between cast iron and enamel that took place when the sink was made.Ĭompanies all over the country refurbish ceramic tubs and sinks with enamel or epoxy coatings, usually after etching the surface with chemicals that allow successive coats of paint to bond.Ī vintage soapstone sink with a slanted front is perfect in this interpretation of a Colonial kitchen. On the other hand, if rust or other heavy damage has invaded the basin, popped up around the pipes, eroded the drain, or affected other heavily used areas, the sink may be ready for new life as a yard planter. As long as the working part of the sink is free from rust spots and large chips-and isn’t rusting away-the sink can be cleaned of stains, touched up with automotive paint, and waxed to protect the fragile glossy finish. Provided the sink is not so far gone, several strategies may help refurbish a cast-iron sink finished in vitreous enamel. Or tetanus.Įlbow grease will remove the stains in the century-old cast-iron sink in California’s Lanterman House, but rust damage around the drain can only be repaired with a true porcelain restoration. It was usable, barely, but anyone washing dishes had to take care not to get scraped knuckles. ![]() I once lived in a house with a porcelain-on-cast-iron sink its basin was rusted through. ![]()
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