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Is a scratched stainless steel sink a fact of life?

15 years ago

Gosh, my sink has barely been in a week and I already have multiple scratches. It's hardly had heavy use since the rest of the kitchen is still not up and running, so no heavy pots washed up, etc.

Is this a fact of life with stainless? I even saw a little RUST on one scratch. Is that it, once it's scratched, it's scratched ....?

I have an Elkay lustertone. The only thing I can think that's caused so many scratches is that I washed some floors the other day and tipped the water down the sink after and maybe the water was gritty from all the construction.

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Comments (7)

neesie
15 years ago
Get yourself a sink grid and empty your dirty bucket outside for starters!

I know someone posted once about sanding scratches in SS with a few varieties of sandpaper, working down to the finest grit. But I didn't pay a whole lot of attention because I wasn't going with SS. Are you using Bar Keepers Friend? I leave it at that and let the TKO's respond. Good luck to you, I know you're sad to see your new sink get a boo-boo.
marlene_2007
15 years ago
I thought it was a fact of life until I learned about grids. I wish I had known about grids with my other stainless steel sinks.
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I have no idea, but if you find something that works, please post it here. I also have a scratch in my stainless that I don't know how to get rid of. I did find some interesting links that I've posted here, but I've never personally tried them myself. http://www.finishing.com/4000-4199/4148.shtml http://www.selectappliance.com/exec/ce-product/rs_wssbgh8c http://ask.metafilter.com/33604/How-do-I-remove-scratches-from-stainless-steel Good luck!
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Let it get scratched! It looks great over time...that's what SS does. We put in the huge Franke pro sink (the biggest and deepest one they make), and I spent a month trying to keep it pristine. Then the first scratches happened from normal metal on metal contact and I quickly got over my scratch phobia. Part of the problem is the brushed #4 finish the sinks and appliance companies use. It's pretty fragile because you have delicate grooves running in one direction. It's very easy to scratch across the grooves. We have a Franke bar sink with a smooth matte SS, and it's still scratch free 2 years later. Our FP double ovens have the smooth matte iridium SS that FP offers, and it's also scratch and stain free after several years. A kitchen sink is meant to be used, not preserved like a piece of art. Kind of like your pots and pans...after several years of hard use, they will show the wear and tear. But it's a good thing to let that happen, and totally natural.
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Sorry to have taken everyone off topic. What happened is that my daughter hit a patch of black ice on her way to work. Inexperience and an empty pickup were a bad combo. There were several things to be thankful for. My dh had tools in the truck and she had text books...all flying around her head as she turned over and over. She said she had visions of being killed by a wrench or her own math book! (So what you carry loose in the car can be a big problem) The side of the road she was traveling on has a big drop-off on one side, but she crossed the road and ended up upside down in someone's driveway. It was early Sat. morning, so there were no other cars around to be involved. That big crunch in the truck was from a brick lamppost she hit while flipping. Even though it was solid, about 2 x 2 ft and planted 4 ft into the ground with concrete, it was completely pulled out. Just thankful the box of the truck hit it instead of the cab. She ended up with bruises from her seatbelt and a new respect for cold mornings. (There was no frost or anything to indicate ice should be a problem that day, but there were so many accidents no policemen even made it to hers, since it was 1 car, no injuries.) God apparently had more things for her to accomplish, and we're glad of that. My heart flips and my stomach turns every time the phone rings when I know the kids are on the road. Our 3rd is just about ready for her license. The driving thing does add a whole new, scarier dimension to parenting! Now, back to scratched fridges, from before I got so dramatic!...
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Haven't a clue why my response was posted twice above, at almost an hour apart. I do not know which thread here you are speaking of but I did just do a Web Search under "fixing scratches in stainless steel". I read several pages worth at a number of sites and there's a world of info out there on scratch fixes. You may want to take a look yourself as I did not see a clear cut winner. Be careful if you do try something. Do report back on how it turns out.
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rosie
15 years ago
Scratchies are from Venus, Pristines are from Mars, yes, but life's so much simpler and serene on Venus. SS is a wonderful workhorse material, and scratching the heck out of it plays to its very best quality.
abejadulce_z9b
15 years ago
This is the third time I've read this thread. i was just going to say "yes," but the truth is that the scratches were never what put me off of SS. The water spots drove me nuts.

I'm NOT going to wipe the sink dry every time that I use it. Even if I trained me, myself and I to do it, that other person, DH, never will. So, I can either nag him continually and make life not worth living for either of us, clean up after him, live with it or make a different choice - I chose the latter. there is a Blanco Silgranit sink in our future.
rosie
15 years ago
Another Venusian. So wise! Truth to tell, here where our well water is soft and tastes fantasic, and spots are relatively dainty, I don't care as long as the sink's nice and clean. Ohmmmm....
friedajune
15 years ago
After a time a SS sink gets so many scratches it blends into a "patina", and you don't notice them any more. That's what my SS sink is like. The first few scratches really bothered me, but now it is all blended in, and I don't give it a thought until a thread like this one comes up. I would never go to the trouble of sanding it. I agree with the other posters that the water spots bother me so much more. If I could do it over, I'd get a Silgranite sink, but I didn't know about Silgranite when I was choosing my sink. Having said that, I still like my SS sink - especially when I drop glasses or something, and they don't break!
cat_mom
15 years ago
One thing I've found that helps cut down on the spotting (for a few days, at least), is wiping the sink down with something like 3M SS Cleaner/Polish spray, or another oil-based SS product. The light film left behind helps to retard water spotting to some degree (much like a fresh coat of wax on your car).

For some reason I'll even find a little less spotting right after cleaning the sink with Cameo only--skipping the 3M spray (not after using BKF, though).

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