I think you should call the one's that would know best. Kohler. I've had great success with their CS dept. Ask them if they offer repair for it, or at least what type of shop they recommend you visit to have it fixed. Here's the link to their customer service.

Here is a link that might be useful: Kohler contact link

Thanks. I called Kohler. They said it is indeed the cast iron sink with the enamel finish (which can break like glass; I'd just never seen that before). They recommended an $8 bottle of cast iron cleaner polish. I might try it....

I should mention that the two photos of the scratches are very zoomed in. They might be 2 inches high or less.

I have had a Kohler black cast iron sink for 4 year and have been happy with it so if I were you, I would go for it.

The style looks like a Brookfield which is the style I have.

That is one of my favorite shades of blue in the whole world, and my inspiration/dominant color for my kitchen, and one of my friends practically ordered me to put that sink in my kitchen, but...
1. Dark colors show water spots -- you'll have to dry your sink after running water in it or tolerate the spots.
2. Trends come and go, and that sink reflects two trends: the color, which seems to have been replaced by the spa blue + chocolate trend, and the trend of colored bathroom/kitchen fixtures generally. I don't care about trendy colors, as I love my cobalt, but will you care? And do you need to worry about a purchaser?
3. IMO there are things in one's life that should be exciting and colorful. Sinks are not one of them.
Blue

For 20? and a color I was in luvvv with? It would already been in my car!(In the past I have lost out by hesitating) You can try the polish, and if you don't like how it looks to you- sell the sink on CL maybe for a few bucks more than you paid since it will look so much better!

$20 bucks for cast iron, I'd find a use with glee!

No, because I had one that same color in a house in the eighties. It was in a bathroom, already there when I moved in. The other bath had an orange sink. LOL!

I love, love, love cobalt blue, but I have to say that sink looks seriously damaged. Not sure I'd trust Kohler on this one.

Just saying, and for $20 and an $8 spray can I'd probably risk it and replace later if I had to.

A sink is going to get scratches once you use it, so yes, if you love the color, and if that is a big zoom-in photo and they don't really look as bad as that, I would most definitely get it and enjoy it -- assuming that it is an OVERmount sink (which it looks like it is.) That way it will not be a problem to change it out should you tire of it.

Assuming also that whatever that white powder in the bottom is, it can be cleaned out.

I had a tub that was scratched up and I painted it again. Don't know if you can do that with this sink though. If you could, then I'd buy it. If not, I don't like all the scratches. Plus all the scratches tell me the sink scratches easily. I don't like that. Even for $20 I wouldn't want the sink with the scratches showing.

I saw the posts on the kitchen forum also. It is such a pretty color (you don't need to explain that one to me -- I get it!) that I'd be reluctant to let it go altogether. Is anyone here good at coming up with trash-to-treasure repurposing? I'm not.

I think as we age we become more practical. To me it wouldn't be the $20 part; it would be the work of changing the sink out, which isn't fun, and which I can't do all by myself. I'd only want to do that job one time, if I must. The hardest things to change in my house, jobs I never want to do or pay for again, are selected with resale in mind. It's far easier to change out towels, curtains, (one-story) wall color, pillows, and so on, so that is the place to go wild with all your color dreams, IME. Besides that, there is something about a gleaming white sink that says "clean" in a way a gleaming blue sink can't.

We came across a black Kohler sink, in the clearance section of Lowe's, a few years back and it was marked $110.
We found out that it had been special ordered and the lady who ordered it changed her mind about her counter top
and could not use it, since it was an undermount. It was priced at $800 to order it!

We grabbed it, and used it in our laundry room and my husband managed a design room of a tool shop and they came up with
donut silicon circles to use on top of the holes in the sink so we could mount it on top!

It looks great in our laundry room, but I will warn you, as others have, the upkeep is intensive--you dare not let water sit on it
or it will look awful--needs to always shine and it's beautiful when it does!!

I have not found the upkeep of my black sink hard at all. I clean it with Bar Keepers Friend and when I want it to shine, I wipe it down with Windex.

Okay--"intensive" really is too strong a term on the upkeep of my
black sink--consistency might be a better word! :o)

I would not, personally. It is very scratched up (I like perfect) and I don't particularly like blue.... but it's what YOU like and what makes YOU happy that matters!
Best wishes in whatever you decide...

The extent of the scratches do worry me, but if they could potentially be buffed out with a minimum of expense (but prob a maximum of elbow grease!), I'd go for it.

And why shouldn't be sinks be colorful? If you get a little thrill looking at it, hooray! (Might make dishwashing a little bit better!)

And... resale, schmeesale. Live for today and yourself. Don't be borrowing trouble and stressing that a potential buyer's gonna balk when you do sell later down the line (or maybe you'll never sell!)

Well, you already know my thoughts.

Did you get it???????

I think it's too damaged. The chip can never be repaired without have it refinished and the companies that do tub refinishing are often limited in the colors they use.

I've installed and uninstalled those sink and can tell you it's not a simple project. Getting it in is difficult enough, but removing one is even harder. There's no guarantee the counter won't be damaged during removal when you're trying to get some leverage to lift it. Those sinks require two strong people!

Thanks, everyone, for your input!

I couldn't go back last night or this morning (found it during lunch yesterday), but I'm going to go back today at lunch. If it's still there, I'm gettin' it!

I really do appreciate all the feedback. It's been very helpful in figuring out the issues. But when you mention that it's already scratched and wouldn't I rather have new? Well, if I buy new, I probably can't afford more than $200 and I would have gone with stainless. Booooorrrrrrrrrring! (more on that later!) Now I can spend more on the type of faucet I really want. But also, to answer the scratches issue--I'm the kinda girl who would rather have a used car that's a little beat-up but reliable because it's such a freaking relief to not have to worry about that first scratch or ding in the paint! Yes, I'm a klutz. I kinda feel the same way about this sink. I'll try to be careful with it, but at the same time, it'll be OKAY to put the pan in the sink. I need that.

Also, as far as the color goes..... perhaps "adore" wasn't an accurate enough picture. When I saw the color of this sink, it made me stop in my tracks and my jaw hit the floor. I LOVE this color blue. I have been in love with this color for literally half of my life! And it will go perfectly with the cobalt glass bottles I've collected here and there, plus all of the other retro kitchen stuff I've been collecting.

With all that said, I don't think I can pass it up for $30! And if it doesn't work out for some reason, I'll turn it into an outdoor sink for the back yard!

I LOVE that sink and the color. For that money I'd grab it and hopefully be able to restore it. I hope it's still there when you go back today!

Parhelia,

Good for you! I'm glad you are getting something that makes you happy! That's what it's all about!

Back to the "perfect" thing.... See, it's great that you recognize yourself... I on the other hand "need" everything to be perfect - and when it's not - it really bothers me. I have 3 small children and of course, nothing ever stays perfect. I stress and worry over some of the finishes in our home. I try very hard to train my kids to protect these things - but, you know, they are kids. My mother was this way when I was growing up. We had rooms that my brother and I were not even allowed to go in, sofas that were not allowed to sit in. We had to "shine" our faucets and wipe out our sinks before we were allowed to even go to school. She also checked our dresser drawers to make sure everything was folded properly before school - not everyday, but a lot. I swore that I would never, ever be like that.... But, I do have a little bit of it in me. Definitely, not to the degree that she was though. If you could see my kids closets - you would believe me - someone could get hurt in there! I think it's great that you recognize what you like and don't feel the "need" to be perfect. I wish I could be more like you!

Take care!

You can have the sink "re porcelainized" for less than the cost of a new one.
I would consider this a "trial sink" to see if you really do love a cobalt sink.....and if after a few months you still love the color, have it re done!
Linda C

I got it!!!

Turns out this sink was meant for me! :-) A woman shopping at the Habitat store nearly had a cow when they loaded it into my trunk. She had been there for nearly an hour and had walked right past it, but she assured me that if she had seen it, that sink would have already been paid for and loaded in her car!

We chatted for a while, and I found out she has her kitchen done up in crazy colors. I think I made a friend. :-) She's going to send me pictures of her kitchen, which I'm sort of dying to see.

amac, I might be lax about what happens around the house, but every year I get dinged on evaluations at work because I'm so focused on getting certain things perfect that I tend to be a little slow about deadlines.... We all have our issues! ;-) Me, I'm too tired from thinking all day to be perfect *anything* when I get home! (and you can tell, too! ahahaha !)

The very idea of this sink makes me giddy now! *big cheesy grin*

julie

I'm so happy for you, Julie! I'm sure if you love it now, you will love it in the long run, if you're like me, anyhow!

If I love something, instantly, I always love it and if I have to 'talk' myself into something, I usually wind
up wishing I hadn't gone that route!! :o)

Yay! I'm so happy for you! It definitely sounds as though this beauty was just meant to be yours! You know we expect photos once you get it home!

And how about trying to convince your new friend to join us here in the forum? (I have an ulterior motive ... I wanna see her pics too! ;-D)