I hate to mention this after-the-fact, but it could be something that Pam can investigate for us, and report on. There is a company in Illinois — Custom Ceramic Coatings — that does actual REAL porcelain enameling (the baked-on kind). I’ve seen them mentioned on a couple of different websites. I don’t know how much the cost is, but I think it would be worth checking out and having the information handy just in case someone here wants to save their current sink. It is my understanding that they are the only company in the country to do real old fashioned authentic fired on porcelain enamel work.

Tami

Well, I followed up on Tami’s tip, made a phone call, and yes — Custom Ceramic’s owner John Ballantyne says that, indeed, he does true, old-fashioned re-porcelaining of sinks, tubs, stove parts and even vintage motorcycle parts. And, as far as he knows, he is the only small businessperson in the U.S. offering this service. He does lots of (all the?) reporcelaining work for companies that take apart and re-manufacture vintage stoves piece by piece, for example.

John says can strip and then re-porcelain onto steel substrates, and usually, onto cast iron, although he tells me there is an issue with cast iron right now:

As I told you on the phone, I have been having some trouble with the thick heavy cast iron pieces since I had to change my porcelain supplier.  My old supplier went out of business and we had things matched up pretty good. The stamped steel sinks are no problem.  We are working with the porcelain for the cast and it has recently worked out on some pieces that had failed badly for outgassing. Once I try a couple of sinks that have failed and if they work out now,  then I will return to doing the heavy cast iron again.

The porcelain re-enameling process is not cheap, because it is time-consuming and requires craftsmanship, materials and the tools and equipment. John explains that porcelain = glass. To re-porcelain a piece, he says, he first must blast away all the old porcelain down to the bare metal. He then applies a “ground coat” — a special primer, more or less — usually two coats, each fired separately. Then, he creates a special chemical mixture of ground glass and other materials — this is called “slip” — and applies thin coats in a wet spray, drying and firing in between. The firing all occurs at up to 1500 degrees F. The “outgassing” he refers to, is when there are problems getting the porcelain coats to adhere to the ground coats during the firing process. Expansion, contraction, chemical formulations — all must be just right or you get bubbles and pocks and flaking or worse.

John can create white porcelain, or color-match to about any color you want. Vibrant reds and yellows are more expensive, he warns, because the formula for these colors use cadmium, an EPA-controlled substance requiring special procedures.

Costs vary according to the piece. John read to me from his rate card: A 42″ sink runs $750-$800, plus shipping. As you can imagine, shipping can be a substantial part of the expense, too. For example, John is in Illinois, just across the border from St. Louis, and one-way shipping to California for a piece sitting in his shop while we talked was looking like $230. He says he works with a special shipper to help get the best cost possible.
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That said, remember that it’s probably at least $1,500 for an Elkay Lustertone stainless steel drainboard sink. And I bet if anyone ever started making porcelain drainboard sinks new, they would be in that price range or higher. As I’ve said before, if you want or need to aim for cheap and cheerful: Take your measurements for a drainboard sink with you everywhere you go. Stalk your Re-Store, even renovation sites, and look for a sink top that is as perfect as possible. Or not-so-perfect, and use one of the porcelain repair products from deabath.com and don’t sweat perfection.

A 40″ stovetop, in white, with four burner holes, would be about $335, John said.

He can also do stove grates, with simple single grates starting at $50.50.

Currently, lead times are three-to-four weeks.

John says that he started his business in 1997, after running a large porcelain plant in St. Louis. He got his start when he reporcelained the exhaust pipes on his Harleys.

Link: Custom Ceramic Coatings — tell John you heard about him on Retro Renovation!

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1. Joe replaces a vintage porcelain drainboard kitchen sink with a new Elkay stainless steel drainboard sink In my recent story about authentic 1950s 1960s and 1970s...
2. Vintage style drainboard sink – Clarion by Strom Plumbing This story has been updated — there are actually two,...
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When I wrote about Joe and his project to replace his timeworn porcelain drainboard sink with a similar, new Elkay stainless steel model, I had the darnedest time finding the Elkay examples on their website. As in: I could not find them at all. Elkay’s communications team was very helpful, though. So, here for your reference — shown above — are the eight models and model-numbers of Elkay Lustertone stainless steel drainboard sinks you may want to consider for your retro kitchen renovation. They start at 48″ wide, one drainboard, one bowl… and go all the way up to 84″ wide, two drainboards, two bowls.

I love these drainboard sinks, because (1) they are original vintage authentic — the same as they ever was… And, because a stainless steel drainboard is about as durable as you can get. I have Never heard of a stainless steel sink wearing out. DH really wanted one for our kitchen, but our salvaged Geneva cabinets came with four porcelain drainboard sinks, so I used one of those.

Joe's new Elkay drainboard sink -- installed on his vintage Beauty Queen steel sink base

As you can see from my screen shots of the eight Lustertone drainboard sinks from Elkay’s website, these puppies are not inexpensive. Note, however: The prices shown are Manufacturer Suggested Retail Prices (MSRPs). I typed one model number — S5419 (circled in the lead photo, above) — into google and, but quick, pulled up all kinds of online retailers discounting the MSRP by 1/3 or so. Maybe you can do even better with some deeper dive research once it’s clear what you need. Also, you should check if you can get similar discounts locally, through a brick-and-mortar store. For example, I checked online, and Lowes, Home Depot and Menards all carry Elkay (although these drainboards are not shown). It’s always nice to order something expensive like this from a “real” store — so that if there is a problem you may have better recourse. That said: Check the return policies on special orders wherever you buy.

Finally, if you want to aim for a super-deal, stalk your Re-Store and craigslist. These sinks are out there…. and like I said, they never drr, wear out. So with time and patience, you may be able to score a used sink at a phenomenal price compared to new-.

Link –> To find the Elkay stainless steel drainboard sink of your choice - type the model number — these are circled in my lead photo above — into the search box on Elkay’s homepage here.

Related posts:

1. Joe replaces a vintage porcelain drainboard kitchen sink with a new Elkay stainless steel drainboard sink In my recent story about authentic 1950s 1960s and 1970s...
2. Vintage 40s and 50s kitchen drainboard sinks In response to Friday’s post on the patriotic 40s kitchen,...
3. Vintage style drainboard sink – Clarion by Strom Plumbing This story has been updated — there are actually two,...

Joe's original drainboard sink -- the "Before". The sinktop was chipped and rusted. He had it refinished using an epoxy-based process. But, the new surface started to disintegrate in about two years, he reports.

Joe writes:

Hi Pam,

Finally got the Lustertone sink installed.

I would still have preferred to have replaced the original white enamel-on-steel top with another new one just like it….but no one seems to make them anymore. The stainless steel is just not as “warm feeling” as the white top. But a self draining unit was a priority and that does work fine.

No problems at all with the installation. Fit easily. I replaced the faucet with a kind of retro unit made by Chicago Faucets.

Note: I did have the original top taken out and refinished [with an epoxy-type finish] and that lasted about 2 years. Could not find someone to re-enamel.

Joe

Pam responds: I have NEVER heard of anyone having a good experience with re-enameled tops — although, I think for small repairs or if you really want to try and extend the life and refinish a porcelain sink on the cheap, you can try the products recommended and for sale at deabath.com. I am told that the reason that “refinishing” a vintage porcelain sink doesn’t work very well is that: The original porcelain-enamel finish is chemically: glass. “Refinishing” or “Re-enameling” is: Paint on Glass. No worky.

If you really really want to find a porcelain drainboard sink in great shape, I do think they are out there. Best bet: Take the measurements of the chippy wrecked one with you at all times. Watch like a hawk for something in Perfect shape. Stalk your Restore. All that said: Joe, I think your stainless steel drainboard sink from Elkay is beautiful — and oh-so-practical, as stainless steel will never chip! Thank you for sharing!

Related posts:

1. 8 vintage style Elkay drainboard sinks for a midcentury kitchen remodel When I wrote about Joe and his project to replace...
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3. Real porcelain enamel coating to restore your drainboard sink, tub or stove After Joe was unsuccessful in his attempt to epoxy-coat his...