how I refinished my vintage cast iron kitchen sink

My lovely newly refinished sink.

I’ve been procrastinating this kitchen sink refinish for about a year because I knew it would be a bigger project than intended… as usual.  So when the tailpipe connected to the sink strainer came loose and flooded my kitchen floor , it went to top of my to-do list.

The sink was a craigslist purchase shortly after we bought our house 5 years ago.  I hesitantly paid 30 bucks for it, not sure if it was such a good deal in the current state.   I love, love, love the sink!  The double drain boards make it sooooo efficient, especially since I have wood counter tops.   I immediately refinished it and installed it two days before Thanksgiving.  Therefore…it didn’t get the prescribed cure time of 72 hours,  more like 24 hours(generously).  So that refinish job only lasted about 2 years before it started to chip.  I don’t know if that’s typical of the product or if I didn’t let it cure long enough.  I’m still pleased with sink. I turned off the water of course and unhooked the plumbing, removed sink from the countertop and brought it to the garage where we took out the strainer baskets.  There’s this tool sold at HD  specifically made for installing and removing the strainer but we don’t have that, so we used a hammer and pry bar to remove the nut.  I would highly recommend buying that tool for the install of the new strainer baskets!  It makes tightening the strainer much easier and reduces the risk of scratching the sink like I did! I applied a generous amount of paint stripper according to the directions and like magic the old paint bubbled up immediately.  So satisfying!   I used this stripper also sold at HD. I found the best way to remove all the gooey old paint was with small wire brush(gold bristles were best, the silver bristles left a grey haze). We schlepped the sink to the back yard to hose it down and clean it according to directions of this 1-part epoxy kit I bought.  The last time I refinished this sink I used a two-part epoxy by the same company, but they no longer make it.  It required the DIY’er to mix the two parts by joining the two aerosol bottles of paint inside a plastic bag with a straw like tool, I suppose it was too complicated for most so they simplified it by selling it already mixed.   Anyhoo….I followed the directions on the box to the letter because I had the help of Beast and he’s doesn’t do short-cuts.

It cured for 72 hours and it looks spectacular!  We’ll see how long it lasts…I’ll keep you updated.   I’m gonna try this same product on a clawfoot bathtub next.  I think the main reason this epoxy doesn’t last forever in the sink is because of all the metal bangin’ around in there.  I have a feeling it will be more long-wearing in the tub.

Anyone else used this one-part epoxy product with long lasting results?  OR has anyone used something better?