You can order matching trim from where ever you bought the cabinets or if you have any left over scraps from molding or the install you can retrofit them. We did that with our fridge. If you want to have access you can put the trim on little hinges.

Its a very tiny space on each edge...maybe large enough to stick a pinky through. How can the filler pieces be affixed so that it doesn't look like a rough patch? There is nothing to attach the filler piece to.

Are your cabinets painted or stained? If painted, it is easy! I just used bondo. I can describe the procedure if you want, but I suspect you have stained cabs.

If you go to the Shaws of Darwen website, you will see that the traditional installation for those sinks is actually to keep that gap. I think we Americans made it difficult by wanting that curved edge done differently. And I was going to keep the gap myself. But then I envisioned my kids stuffing toys in there...

:-)

Francy

Use a strong wood glue and glue it to the wood cabinets (not the sink). If you are cutting the trim and can see the cut side, you can use a stain pen (or try to get one through the cabinet company or a close match at another store) to finish off that edge.

My cabinets are painted - what is bondo?

Bondo is a putty that you can buy at HD or Lowes or other places that some people love. We tried it and my husband hated it (we have some in the basement if you need it). You can also use a 2 part wood filler you mix (the good stuff we like is hard to find and about $35 a box). Use a small filler piece and glue it on to the cabinet - much easier.

Ok, I'll see if they can do that. It looks a bit unfinished now. But Im a little concerned the contractor is going to just make it look worse.

Thanks for the info!

Sorry for the late reply, I was gone all day.

While I am a total slob with stuff like joint compound, I thought the bondo was a DREAM to work with. It was so easy, and so fun, I was literally walking around the kitchen looking for more cracks and gaps to fill (of which there were many).

I'm working on a long post describing my method (and the product I used). I also have photos of the job. I'll try to get it up tomorrow. It was truly so easy, and came out so well, it makes me wonder why all painted cabs with Shaws sinks aren't done this way. Much easier than scribing the wood.

:-)

Francy

I'd love to see your post and photos Francy. Thanks so much for sharing!
If I can do it myself, I'd much prefer that than giving it to my contractors to do. They are slobs.

We used bondo also on our Shaws and It worked well. It sands down to a nice smooth finish. You can do it yourself, or if you let the contractor do it, I doubt that that they would make any mess that wasn't removable...but you never know...hmmm, globs of lovely pink bondo on the wood floor perhaps?

Okey dokey, here's what I did.

The sink, before the Bondo. I have gaps all around--down both sides, the corners, and at the bottom where one side had to be shimmed up almost a quarter inch. Note: I haven't painted the cabinetry yet.

Supplies: I used a flexible spreader (about 3 inches across), razor blades, baggies, paper bowls and plastic spoons for mixing, acetone (nail polish remover)for cleaning my fingers, and HomeFix Universal Repair Filler (at the hardware store I just asked for "something like bondo that can be used to fill gaps in wood).

The bondo has less than 10 minute work time, and as it firms, it gets much harder to work with. So i only mixed up teeny bits, and did all sections of my sink separately. My husband tries to tackle bigger jobs in a hurry, and the bondo gets stiff on him and he gets frustrated, and it looks lumpy. So take your time. Mix in paper bowls and with plastic spoons to make cleaning up each batch simple.

My first attemps at bondo were on something else. I tried to apply it with the spreader (like I do with joint compound), and it was a mess. I'm a slob, and it looked bad. So while staring at the cracks around my sink, and knowing how bad it would look if I used a spreader to apply it, I had a revelation! I suddenly saw those cracks as edges of cake to be decorated, and I saw the bondo as buttercream! I would use a baggie, and pipe the stuff on! (For all I know, bondo actually comes in a squeezable tube. But hey, I prefer to think I was brilliant in inventing this!)

You need to put something in the corners to hold the bondo, and stop it from squirting endlessley into the sink cavity. Crumpled newspaper would probably work. I glued little triangles of wood scrap in there, and I put pieces of shims in the gap under my sink. My side gaps were narrow enough to need no filler.

When that dried, I mixed up one small batch, and put it in the baggie. I cut off the corner, and slowly began piping. For the corners, I zig zagged back and forth slightly past the surface. Then, I smoothed it with a pass of the scraper. Some of the bondo smooshed onto the sink. I very slowly took a razor blade and scraped it off the sink. Slowly and gently. Wipe excess as it accumulates on a paper towel so it doesn't gunk up your corner. If any is left on your sink, it will come off easily later with the razor blade, so don't worry. After it dries hard, you can sand it. I was very careful to keep the sandpaper away from the sink (I basically wrapped a bit of sandpaper around my finger).

After sanding, I had a few depressions/dents so I went back and added a smudge of fresh bondo to them to level the area. It isn't all level, but one would never know that without squatting down and looking right at it. But I could have done a third pass with the Bondo. You can't see much detail in these photos, but if you run your finger over these areas, they are very smooth feeling. And they dry rock hard--not flexible like caulk.

Right side of my sink:

Left side:

Bottom:

I wouldn't have trusted my particular workers with this job. They looked very nervous at the prospect of using sandpaper against the sink. I knew that if my sink were to get scratched, it had to get scratched by me! But it was not a problem at all! Easy peasy!

Now we need paint!

Let me know if you have any questions!
Francy

Thanks..sounds like a perfect solution.

The only problem I have is that my cabinets are already painted. I'll never get a perfect match. But I guess it doesn't really matter if its perfect or not. Its not like anyone but me will even notice.

Thanks so much for the photos!

Ah--I thought they might be.

Hmmm. Take a cabinet door to a good paint store and tell them you need to match the color, and the finish. Unless they are glazed. That would indeed be tricky! (Or order touch up paint from the manufacturer?)

Francy

Bayareafrancy, that was an awesome post! Photos and all, you should have your own book! Thanks, I think I'll be referring to that one when I finally get my fireclay sink installed in the base. Thank you thank you thank you!