Shopsmith Forums

Consult with some of the local folks who repair cast iron bathtubs and you can assess what the best options you have if the OEM is out of the loop with warranty.

Everett

davebodner wrote:Glaze is essentially glass. Short of putting it back in the kiln, you can't renew it. But, it shouldn't stain like that, either. Maybe Ikea is using a substandard product. My Kohler sink of several years has some metal dust ground into the "corners," but there are no food stains.

Funny ours was a top of the line Kohler sink that came with the warning not to use any cleanser or product with grit and it absolutely did stain. My wife babied that sink and the harder she tried the worst it got. She reminded me the sink previous to the Kohler was builders quality porcelain sink on steel which was far better that the Kohler. Our other house had the stainless which she thought looked cheap. The "very" expensive Kohler was replaced with a cheap looking (my wife's viewpoint) but fairly expensive stainless sink that I think if my wife would admit it she loves.

When we remodeled the upscale kitchen fixture/ plumbing store advised against "today's" porcelain and recommended various other options. Unless the whole sink is porcelain I would steer away from it. It is not your grandmother's porcelain sink.

I may be wrong but I think what today is referred to a porcelain cast iron sink is more akin to baked on powder coating. Instead of the old kiln baked porcelain coating of old.

Powder coatings are great but they do not have the heat formed glass glaze that actual porcelain has. The powder coating is heat dried but at temperatures below the range needed to form glass.

I don't think they make sinks like they use to. We still have our builder installed stainless steel, 34 years old and still looking and working fine. On the other hand my son has been in their new home about 10 years and they are on their third sink????? His house was more then 5x more expensive then mine.........

How about a coffee colored sink, should take care of the staining issue?

Ed

Let's just say that folks today are mis using the term porcelain.

'Glaze' is not porcelain.

JPG wrote:Let's just say that folks today are mis using the term porcelain.

'Glaze' is not porcelain.

Glaze is the coating over Porcelain in the old days Now I would only buy a good SS sink, and I am a kitchen/cook person

ERLover wrote:

JPG wrote:Let's just say that folks today are mis using the term porcelain.

'Glaze' is not porcelain.

Glaze is the coating over Porcelain in the old days Now I would only buy a good SS sink, and I am a kitchen/cook person

Not the stuff they refer to it as today!

JPG wrote:

ERLover wrote:

JPG wrote:Let's just say that folks today are mis using the term porcelain.

'Glaze' is not porcelain.

Glaze is the coating over Porcelain in the old days Now I would only buy a good SS sink, and I am a kitchen/cook person

Not the stuff they refer to it as today!

Dully noted and totally agree, busting out a Kohler 1939 saw the casting date, vintage cast iron tub, in about 2000ish, looked perfect still, Porcelain was about 3/32nd" with the Glaze thick, on top of the 1/4-5/16" cast iron.

ERLover wrote: Duly noted and totally agree, busting out a Kohler 1939 saw the casting date, vintage cast iron tub, in about 2000ish, looked perfect still, Porcelain was about 3/32nd" with the Glaze thick, on top of the 1/4-5/16" cast iron.

Never dull.

Oxi Clean works on my porcelain sink. I make a paste, rub in to stain and let it set for a while. Rinse and repeat on stubborn stains.