I've had Hi-Macs countertops for about a decade. I bought it because I liked the pattern (dark with speckles). It gets these milky-white stains that I can't get rid of (have tried every chemical suggested for Hi-Macs) and nothing gets rid of it. I have tried contacting the manufacturer: I think they're out of business. I have not been able to get a callback from anybody who says they refinish countertops. Ideas?

Thought some more about this overnight. My dad was a dentist. Also built his own dental office. Corian everywhere. I have health issues, including a couple of surgeries. When you go to the doctor, or the hospital, Corian everywhere. Until I read this thread, I never really thought about why. I worked in a hospital 40 years ago, if I recall correctly, stainless steel was the thing then. It's all about keeping things clean. We have hard water, as do most people in the USA. Did not realize that hard water affects stone. I have never cut directly on a countertop, it will ruin your knives. I have never put a hot pot on a countertop and have no desire to do so. We do put hot pots in the sink, pour boiling water in the sink, so I am going to need a steel or enamel sink. Want a farmhouse sink anyway. This has been a very thought provoking discussion. Learned a lot.

Thank you, everybody, for your reactions. I was really thrown off by the fact that experienced people here expected nothing but trouble, while I knew that it is a common (even THE most common) way of installing a sink in the Netherlands. So I googled around on Dutch sites for some time, and it seems that everybody was right ;-). Sinks are flush mounted without any trouble in laminate on a base of plywood made with water resistant glues. If the base of the laminate is particleboard, most installers will only use top mount, as they agree with people here that the slightest leak will cause trouble. Done on the right material, the only disadvantage of mounting the sink flush with the counter, is price. Btw, they also use the same method with solid materials like granite, in which case a layer of the stone is carved out (term?) to accomodate the rim of the sink. They also do undermounts, mostly for aesthetic reasons, as with the flush mounting method the side of the sink protects the edge of the stone against scratches from pans and possible discolouration from acidic liquids etc. One person had done some extensive googling, and had discovered with surprise that in North America people do not mount their sinks flush with the countertop ;-). Anyway, everyone was right in their own situation. And I will have top mount sinks, as I don't want to spend the money on two extra large Karran sinks... The dream was great while it lasted. Two days.

Am planning a bathroom makeover that will include replacing a small vanity top made of cultured marble. Does Corian offer integrated sinks in a different color than the vanity top? I know Swanstone does, but their color choices are very limited. For the counter I like Corian's Gray Onyx and Silver Birch and would love to do a white sink.