No perfect ending to porcelain sink repair

Q: I dropped a glass in my kitchen sink and it took a chunk of porcelain out of the sink. I don’t want to buy a new sink, so is there a way to repair it?

A: This is a job that doesn’t always end up perfectly. The repair will be good, but not flawless.

Several years ago, I installed a reverse osmosis water system. One of the steps was to drill a hole through the sink for the fountain to sit.

I informed the homeowner that there was a possibility that the sink could chip while drilling the hole. Sure enough, the sink chipped and the fountain seat wasn’t big enough to cover it.

Fortunately, the homeowner was reasonable and just wanted it fixed.

You can buy a repair kit at a home center in the paint department. The kit has a filler material to bring the divot up to the level of the surrounding surface, and it has a topcoat glaze to give the repair a shine.

Start by sanding the damaged area with 220-grit sandpaper. Just don’t sand beyond the damaged area or you can scratch the surrounding porcelain.

Clean the area and let it dry.

The filling compound and glaze come in several colors packaged in bottles that look like nail polish.

Use a putty knife to fill the divot. Use thin layers of the compound and let each layer dry before adding the next.

Once you build up the divot, break out the 220-grit sandpaper again. Sand the area with a light swirling motion being very careful around the edges to avoid scratching the surrounding surface.

You can also use a single-edged razor and slice any high spots off your final layer before it dries too hard. You still will want to sand it after you slice it.

Once the leveling is done, glaze the top of the repair.

The bottle of glaze will have a small brush attached to the cap. The idea is to dab the glaze onto the patch to make it match.

The trickiest part is at the edges.

The glaze is about the consistency of nail polish and will have the tendency to stay where you put it. Use as little as is necessary to blend in the patch.

Let it dry and then hit it with the sandpaper.

You can also apply the glaze in small thin coats until you get the desired effect.

If just the top layer of the porcelain has been chipped from the sink, you may be able to go straight to the topcoat glaze.

Like I said, the kitchen sink repair won’t be flawless, but you can fool most people with it.

Mike Klimek is a licensed contractor and owner of Las Vegas Handyman. Questions may be sent by email to handymanoflasvegas@msn.com. Or, mail to 4710 W. Dewey Drive, No. 100, Las Vegas, NV 89118. His web address is www.handymanoflasvegas.com.