A positive reveal is more work for the fabricator. They really have to pay attention to what they are doing or it will look horrible.
If you have a good fabricator then do the positive reveal.
I did it on both of my full size sinks because it is more custom looking. I can also see that the area is cleaned well. I would not do it any other way and am happy I insisted on the positive reveal. THey did try to talk me out of it and I stood my ground. Don't be surprised if they ask to take your sink. They may end up needing it to get a really good and even reveal.

I love GW. Thanks for reminding me that it is MY kitchen!

I prefer a zero or positive reveal...both for the "cleanability" factor as well as the look. It also has the added advantage of allowing you to place a custom-fit cutting board in/on it and having a surface flush with the counter...assuming, of course, there's one available for your sink (or, if you're handy, you could make your own!)

And, yes, it is your kitchen, not theirs! (Plus, you're paying them to do what you want, not what they want!)

The larger the reveal, the easier it is to fabricate.
Were you asking for a sliver of exposed area, or a large slice?

That's what I want, a positive reveal that lets me set a fitted cutting board into part of the space. Can all undermount sinks have a positive reveal? Some look like their rims are none too wide, and seems like some width would be needed for support. ?

Yeah, it will have to be cleaned with a toothbrush or so, but the tradeoff is extra work space right over the sink.

Where were the contractors worried about cleaning when my countertop was being covered with tile and white grout??!?! LOL.

mechanical support underneath is not visible from above, and not related.

So, yes, all undermount sinks MAY be installed to have a positive reveal.

I had wanted zero reveal but was told by the fabricator that it had to be positive.
They did take the sink (and took good care of it) and I am happy with the outcome.
It is easy to clean with a sponge and the advantage of being able to rest something ion it is nice

My advice though is to visit kitchen fixture stores and see how they look. I found this helped with so many decisions I had to make, from where to place the faucets and even for deciding on my granite edge. (pretend to be working in front of these installed sinks)

my humble input

Excellent post and a timely one for me.

I think I had read an earlier posting where it was rec'd to have a neg/zero reveal...and I made a note accordingly.

Now that it was pointed out that the 'reveal' could hold a custom-cut cutting board....which I'm sure my cabinet guy will have enough scrap wood from my cabinets...this idea has totally changed my mind.

I LOVE! this forum and the all the wonderful, generous members.

This is such a great forum - I learn so much with all you experienced kitchen people ;) We are about to install the cabinets and countertops and I have never even heard of neg/zero/pos reveal stuff. Guess I'd better look into this asap! Sometimes this remodel makes me feel like I am cramming for an exam... but the only problem is that it seems that new subjects are added to the test daily!

I think this depends on the sink, too. Ours has installation instructions that specify a negative reveal. Out of curiosity, I pulled the specs for the stainless version of the same sink (ours is fireclay, both standard undermount) and in stainless they specify a positive reveal. They're literally the same size sink, though the stainless has accessories that need the lip. Not sure why the fireclay has a negative reveal specified.

We have a stainless sink w/ positive reveal now, and it does get gunky, for whatever that's worth. I don't know that it would be much better with zero or negative reveal, though...

Elkay stainless sinks have models for different reveals. The positive reveal sink has a shiny lip, the model for negative reveal has a slightly smaller lip with no shine.

glad to know that this firm makes two types so you can have more hone or more shine, at the lip at the top.

keep in mind that one can draw the hole to be the size one wishes. They cut it for you. It can be bigger or smaller. You choose. A "template" for a sink hole is just one guy's best guess as to what will be deemed to look good here.

I guess mine is a 0 reveal - its flush. I did tell my fabricators that I didn't want a neg reveal or the one where I could potentially chip the granite on the edge because it overhangs too far. That happened to my SIL. So they made it flush (SS sink) and its just perfect.

I have a positive reveal and absolutely love it. I haven't had any issues with brushing things into the sink (things getting caught on the lip). The fabricators did a wonderful job making sure the reveal is uniform around the entire lip. I love being able to see where it needs to be cleaned.

A positive reveal doubles the chances for a ding or chip; both the countertop edge and the sink edge are vulnerable. That was part of my decision-making process, and helped me decide upon a negative reveal when I fabricated my soapstone. I could better accept and deal with a ding to the SS than to the fireclay sink.
Casey

I got a full bullnose edge on my sink reveal, and that is my insurance policy against chips. An edge has a "radius" of curvature if you take a cross section of it. The smaller the radius, the more vulnerable it is to being chipped.

I got an overhang, In the forum here it's called "negative reveal". Cleaning under it was never going to be a deal breaker concept to me. So we clean under it. Ok, what next?

@sombreuil_mongrel, I bet that's the reason for the differing Franke specs for fireclay and stainless! (Of course, now to figure out---do I *want* a positive or negative reveal? Should we switch to the stainless?? :)