# Stainless Steel Sink Question



## jamiedolan (Sep 2, 2008)

Hello;

We're doing well with our kitchen remodel and will be putting in blocks for the drawer slides today. 

We installed a 18 gage stainless steel sink (I thought it was a bit higher end sink, there were many cheaper ones that were 20 or 22 gage). I remember our old sink was rather scratched up over all (but it was almost 50 years old, so I can't really use that as a point of comparison), so I don't know if that is just normal for a stainless steel sink or not. I do have a smaller sink installed in our coffee / prep counter, and I have not noticed any scratches showing up in it, but it isn't as shiny of as surface as this one either.

We have been fairly careful and have not pushed heavy pots around in the sink, they normally go right into the dishwasher (but have had pots sit in there, such as when filling with water). We have a number of obvious scratches that have shown up in the finish / surface of the sink. I just want to know if this is a defect (or that we got a low quality sink, which I didn't really think we did, since it is 18 gage) or if this is normal and it is just more obvious because it is new.

Sink:








The most obvious and largest scratches:








Some additional scratches I've noticed on the other side of the sink:








We seriously have not been hard on it. I would never have imagined stainless steel scratching up so easily that we don't even know how we did it. 

Any thoughts on what is going on? If there any way to hide it or blend it in? I tried a softscrub type of cleaner, it didn't seem to do anything, it seems they are scratches right into the surface of the sink.

Thanks

Jamie


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## fabrk8r (Feb 12, 2010)

It's normal. Stainless steel isn't as tough as a lot of people imagine. It's basically just mild steel with extra ingredients added. Besides looking pretty it's quality is that the chromium and nickel added to the alloy allow it to resist rust and other forms of corrosion.

There's no getting around scratches, and over time I think it adds character. I build custom stainless steel counter tops and sinks for a living. About all you can do is try to blend the scratch in using a scotch-brite pad and following the direction of the grain. One trick to making stainless steel look like new is to clean the surface with foaming glass cleaner then apply a little olive or mineral oil to the entire surface with a rag, making sure to wipe away the excess.


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## jamiedolan (Sep 2, 2008)

fabrk8r said:


> It's normal. Stainless steel isn't as tough as a lot of people imagine. It's basically just mild steel with extra ingredients added. Besides looking pretty it's quality is that the chromium and nickel added to the alloy allow it to resist rust and other forms of corrosion.


Thanks very much for the information and the tips. I'm relived to know that it isn't a defect and that it will blend in over time.

I never even though of using stainless steel for counters in a home, I just looked up some pictures of homes with stainless steel counters and some of them are really impressive. I looked at several different types of counter tops but just ended up going with a nice quality laminate. 

Thanks again.


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## Ron6519 (Mar 28, 2007)

They grates that sit on the sink bottom and protect it from these issues. Buff out the scratches and put one in.
Ron


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