Repairing cracked sink

[David]

Hello,

Something had fallen into the bathroom sink and now the sink has a few hairline cracks and it is chipped in one place.

I can't afford to replace the sink just yet.

Are there any fillers,repair kits etc that can be used to repair the sink?

Suggestions please.

Thank you an happy new year.

[DIY]

Yes.

Or Google for sink repair kit. These kits can be used to repair chipped porcelain, but there isn't much you can do with hairline cracks. Alternatively, white sealant can be used as a temporary repair for chipped white porcelain.

[Brian Reay]

It may well be covered on your household insurance.

I've not had cause to use this myself but a friend did- the insurance company went to some lengths to get a "like for like" replacement.

[David]

I have seen this but I am not very sure if it will work.

[Graeme]

In message , David writes

Not a sink, but my son managed to crack our cistern, which caused a slow but annoying leak. I drained the cistern, let it dry, then rubbed silicone sealant into the cracks, before refilling. That was months ago, and it has not leaked yet - touch wood!

[Steve Walker]

My insurance company (Directline) has a £50 excess, but when I said I'd fit it myself, they offered to pay me to do it (only minimum wage) - I said not to bother, still fitted it myself and never got charged the excess.

They also put me in touch directly with a specialist supplier who managed to match the existing suite, even though it'd been out of production for five years!

SteveW

[David]

Thank you for all the helpful replies I'll try the repair kit from Plumbworld and I will let you know the results.

[Appelation Controlee]

[Dave Liquorice]

Excellent idea. I can't see getting most conventional filling/sealing things into a hairline crack but Captain Tolley is pretty much designed for this.

If the OP missed the recent orginal thread:

still it's British.

[David]

Thanks for that I'll let my Mum know.

[Rod]

Does it keep well? I am thinking of a couple of things I want to use it for - so it seems well worth getting the larger size. But I don't want to do so and find it goes off quickly (in the bottle).

[Dave Liquorice]

You don't need much, it's not gap filling like you'd use silicone sealant. It's very runny you just put a few drops on and let it find it's way in via capillary action.

I don't know how old the bottle I used was (years at least) but that still worked. I shall have to dig it out again and see what state it is in several years after that use...

The safety data sheet tells us that it's mainly water and basically harmless. I suspect it's pretty stable with a very long shelf life if kept at normal temps and out of sunlight.

[Rod]

Thank you. That will be fine.

I have several ideas in my head. And a small bottle seems expensive compared to the large (especially when P&P is included). I know it is the sort of thing that I probably will use over the years - but maybe not the months.