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Painting On Sinks Found At The Big Box Stores.


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I want to paint on above counter sinks that I have found at the big box stores like Home Depot, Lowes, etc. 

I used to paint on old sinks that I found at Habitat for Humanity and I used cone 06 glazes. I would paint on top of the old glaze, using 06 underglazes and glazes and then I would put a lead based clear glaze. It would be fired at cone 06. They came out beautifully.

 

I know that lead has been taken out of many of the glazes now and I don't know if that is what made it work before. I tried to paint on a sink I bought at Lowes with the same glazes and cone temp. All the glaze cracked off of the sink. Very disappointing to say the least.

 

Does anyone have any knowledge about what commercial sinks might use for glaze? Could it be that it is a cone 6 glaze or higher?

 

I just want to find the right glazes to paint on new sinks.

 

Thanks so much

 

 

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Guest JBaymore

Hi and welcome to the forums.

 

Years ago (longer than I'll admit ;) ) I was a technical glaze consultant for Sherle Waqner International and was doing some glaze development work and research for their lines of sinks, toilets, and bathtubs.  As I remember...... true porcelain,..... the base glaze (back then) were fired to cone 9-10.  Then overglaze enamels and lusters were fired onto those background glazes. 

 

But they make really "high end" stuff.  I think that it will depend on the particular sink and market segment they are targeting. 

 

You might check to see what the individual manufacturer's (Kohler, etc.) sites might give for any clues. 

 

best,

 

.......................john

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Not sure, but I don't think that the manufacturers of low-end sinks and toilets are using the very durable temps and glazes that everyone used to use. Maybe even the very high-end products are not being made "for the ages" as they once were, but are expected to be changed out with the trends. My old claw foot tub and '40's toilet are much more resistant to strong cleaners and scrubbers than the newer '90's models in my addition.

 

Is it possible, though, cranedale, that you just didn't clean/prep the surface well enough? Or that it could use a little "tooth" with an acid wash?

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Thanks to all who responded. I think I have decided to take a throwing class and make my own sinks. I know it will take some time to gain the skill but I have found only one place that sells unglazed sinks ready for painting. They are beautiful but also expensive. 

 

Thanks again!

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The reason for the price point on sinks is high is they are hard to make..

Making your own will feel great but it will take a lot of time learning to throw one.

Good luck and have fun with the throwing lessons.

Mark

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Thanks to all who responded. I think I have decided to take a throwing class and make my own sinks. I know it will take some time to gain the skill but I have found only one place that sells unglazed sinks ready for painting. They are beautiful but also expensive. 

 

Thanks again!

You might also consider forming shallow sinks by laying/dropping clay slabs into slump molds. Much quicker to master while you're learning to throw!

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It sounds to me like your overglaze didnt fuse into the sink glaze.

I would try a different brand of sink. Some of the sink glazes will be more overglaze friendlier than others

... this is an expensive way to find out what will work.

 

 

Lead is certainly still used in some China overglazes as a flux, but most manufactures are using safer alternatives like borates for a flux. Typically they do not disclose what is in the overglaze for a flux. It makes the manufacturer more money by keeping you in the dark.

Im not a chemist but the no-lead versions do act different when you fire them...some of the colors don't seem to melt as nicely.

I buy extra flux and mix it with my colors some times to get the overglazes to stick better. You can sometimes have some luck by brushing some flux over fired art and re-fire the piece to get it to melt and stick better.

 

You can try and refire your sink again and experiment untill you get it right.

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See if their is a fixture scrap yard in your area? Because remodeling is such a huge industry, fixture salvage is getting to be more common. You might be able to find older sinks, or at least get sinks at a fraction of their cost (plus, you could use their reclaimed status as a selling point). A lot of these reclaim hardware stores are also charity run, people donate the items and the profits go to the charity. The one nearest to where I am at is run by the recycling center, and attached to the store is a gallery where they feature artists who use recycled materials, they also do a couple larger shows each year.

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I had to laugh.  Taking throwing classes to save money on buying sinks is a slippery slope as you will probably be hooked and could end up spending huge sums on equipment and classes and conferences other things you can't resist.  It can be quite a journey and change your life.  Have fun!

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A while back I consulted a company that specializes in refurbishing bathroom fixtures.  They explained to me that the modern fixtures are nothing like those which were built prior to the 1960.s  Surfaces are now often plastic compounds rather than glass based glazes of old.  Yes there are some manufacturers that still use the glazes on there higher lines but often these glazes are not the same as they used 50 years ago.  As a resultt of this some fixtures can only be refinished through sanding or sand blasting, then spraying with a special acrylic paint and finally clear acrylics.  These are usually used in a two part epoxy mix.

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Liile off topic but stll in the bathroom.

I have found TOTO toilets still use glaze on thier sanatary wares. I cannot say enough great things about thier design and funtionability on thier low flush lines of toliets.We own 2 of them now and mant friends have them. They are Japanese designed and made world wide.

No I do not work for them and am not paid in any way-actually its the same pay scale as on this chat board for me.

PM me if you want any details on a medium cost fantastic toliet as they make so many.

The place ships for free and the cost is around 300$.

mark

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