There is no "repair" for a cast iron sink. Everything is only a temporary patch that will come out or end up damaging the sink. The only true repair is to have it reporcelainized and there isn't any place in the country that does that any more. I have thought about having one powder coated with industrial powder coating, but haven't found a cheap enough sink for that. If you can find a location close to you that would do that, then you could probably have it etched and powder coated, but that may be as expensive as buying a whole new reproduction sink. If you can't live with the dings, then buy go ahead and buy a reproduction one.

Are we sure that's cast iron? Sinks of that particular era may be enamel over steel, not cast iron, and there are places that will reporcelainize steel.

HA!

No I am not!

I wasn't aware of steel sinks in that era. Here are the specifics from underneath: Richmond15-35-54-25 12-7-50 which I presume is the date of manufacture. There appears to be white primer which is peeling and beneath that something that appears to be a blackish coating. there are areas of rust consistent in color with cast iron, especially around the cutouts for the faucet (I own many pieces of cast iron cookware and I know that color intimately), so I presume it's cast iron.

Hoping I'm wrong.

How heavy is it? If it takes two people to lift it, it's cast iron. Enamel over steel is relatively light (and much less common for drainboard applications.)

Where are the chips located? Are they in the basin? Or are they in the drainboard area? If not in the actual basin, maybe they could be repaired. I love those old sinks, I hope you get to keep yours, they are becoming rarer and rarer.
Yours looks like cast iron, more "molded", rounder edges. See this old ad for an enamel on steel sink; it has sharper "creases" in the backsplash.

Here is a link that might be useful: Vintage 40s and 50s kitchen drainboard sinks

there are chips in the basin. The drainboards are actually in amazingly good shape. the worst areas are a few chips in the basin and some scratches on the front edge over the basin. But they really aren't that bad. The rest of the sink is in excellent shape. It's just that it's very hard to keep clean. But I was thinking about it today and I think a simple solution is place some sort of grate in the basin to keep dishes and pots off the surface. I live alone so they don't pile up so fast. Since I've been renovating I've actually gotten write disciplined at washing up Pronto, I actually think this is the way the sink was meant to be used. wash up and place in the drainboard to dry. After reading the comment above I've pretty much decided to leave it as is. The condition is part of the aging process, a patina if you will.

thanks for the link

I've spent a lot of time at Pam's blog. Lots of info. That's where I found the perfect faucet for my sink:

http://retrorenovation.com/page/2/?s=dishmaster

Maybe this will help although it's not the desired answer.

"Reporcelainize" or Re-enamel or Refinish?
I have a Standard cast iron sink dated 1931. It's a double sink -- one side deeper than the other. Do you know where (in the northeast) I can get the sink reporcelained? I'm not sure of the difference between re-enamel and reporcelain, except I know that the porcelain coating is fired on at high temperatures.

In my opinion, re-enameling would be a new fired-on porcelain enamel coating. "Reporcelainizing" is the commonly used term for refinishing done on old bathtubs (and sinks) that involves washing down the old enamel coating with acid to etch, filling chips, and spraying on a "miracle" or epoxy paint coating. Lots of bathtub refinishers do this process, and in my opinion it is worthless for long term use of the sink or bathtub. The finish is not durable and will not last, especially on a sink that is subjected to rough usage. As for re-enameling, only one company in the country will do it and that is Custom Ceramic Coatings in Lenzburg Illinois and they do NOT do a satisfactory job. They apply modern porcelain enamel material in a too thin coating, and the resultant finish is horrendous. I just had a customer out here in LA who sent a kitchen sink back there last year. The shipping was expensive, the job took over 6 months, and when the sink came back the finish was horrible. Extremely rough and irregular. Old enamel was different than todays enamel, lead based, and laid on 3/8" thick, and it covered all the imperfections in the old rough castings. New enamel is much thinner, not lead based, and more like powder coating. All the roughness in the casting shows through. See the underside of your sink to see how rough the cast iron is. All that is covered under your old enamel finish. It would not be under a new one. This is why bathtubs refinishers always say you should not sandblast off the old finish before "reporcelainizing". They need the old finish as a base surface to paint onto.
The good news is you should not even be considering refinishing your double laundry sink as others in good useable condition are still easily found. No point to waste money on refinishing a fixture that you can relatively easily find in good useable, original condition.

Here is a link that might be useful: old sink site

@selfsown: I have a dishmaster. I also found it at Pam's site.

It's awesome. I've just installed it but my immediate reaction is that it is high quality, the installation instructions are superb, and I look forward to long years of use.

Nate

ooh Nate, pictures of your installed Dishmaster, please!

I found a vintage 66" white enameled steel double sink with double drainboards on my family farm. It was in a section of property that had been designated the "dump" where old, wornout, useless, or unwanted items were deposited. Hence, the sink was exposed to weather extremes which may have caused it to warp. The front corner on one end sets about 1.75" higher than the other front corner. in working with applying weight to the front corner that is higher and the opposite back corner, i found that the weight caused it to set level. Is there a type of under counter clip that will hold the sink in place when it is mounted, or should I return the sink to its place in the dump? I read on the internet that it could be straightened using heat. Would a blow torch to the underside work?