[schwim]

Hi there guys,

I'm helping some friends this coming weekend in their kitchen. We'll be pulling their sink, building some cabinets, replacing the countertop then reinstalling the sink.

During the week, they've been stripping some old paint/sealer off the sink with a heat gun. You know the paint that you use over discolored tubs and sinks that peels off in short order, leaving you with a larger mess than you started with? That stuff.

Underneath, the finish is better than you would expect, but the home owner states(I have not gotten to see the sink since stripping it) that if she looks very closely, that the finish looks pitted and that it feels to her that she could scratch the finish off with her fingernail. Note that she didn't try it, she stated that it just looked soft like that.

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The discoloration at the bottom is where the paint actually peeled off and the sink has been uncovered there.

Her two concerns are:

1) She doesn't want to damage the finish of the sink after all the work is done.

2) She doesn't want to have to scrub it constantly, as it seems that what she thinks is a pitted finish will accept stains and grime quickly.

My question is this: What's the best way to prep & protect a porcelain sink? Scrub it down with some pumice or a product like ceramabrite for cleaning I would imagine, but how about sealing? Is there anything that would help put her mind at rest?

Thanks,
Json

[magprob]

Bathtub and tile refinishing paint and product from NAPCO

[schwim]

Ok, let me be more clear. They didn't spend a week cleaning it up just to paint it again :)

If anyone knows of a sealer or protectant that is not a pigmented application of any sort, I would love to hear about it.

Thanks,
Json