How can I repair an old ceramic sink?

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The fastest, easiest, most assured way of having a brand new sink is simply to buy a new one. Considering the age of the sink and how it has deteriorated, it may not be cost effective to spend money on materials, and to put the time of your labour into it. You may arrive in the end only with a patched up old sink that may not be as durable or attractive as a brand new one.

As long as the sink isn't pitted to deep its worth repairing but remember it will have to be redone every couple years. Unless you take it in and have it professionally redone. Buy good not cheep Epoxy fill and paint.Do the whole thing not just areas.

It will look nice for a while.Good Luck.

For a temporary fix (while you're gaining the courage to buy the self-leveling ceramic repair can) ... 1) Get some Hydrogen Peroxide (3%) 2) Add some baking soda to it for a mild abrasive; 3) Add a little bit of Dawn dish detergent; 4) A little bit of water...Then using a nylon brush scrub in a circular motion - You will be amazed with how quick this works to remove stains from waning ceramic and it will keep the sink looking pristine until your permanent repair!

Being on Malta, I am sure you have craftspersons that can reglaze for you. That is my vote. If done properly, can last another 25 - 50 years. I had my mom's bathtub reglazed in 2007 and still looks brand new today. And was a fraction of the cost of replacing. If that is not an option, I would do research on line for porcelain repair kits that you could order.

it's most likely porcelain over cast iron; not ceramic; look into having it reglazed .

Perfect! Thanks Tom

I just spent a weekend sanding the paint off a old cast porcelain tub. It had been redone over the years, The last attempt was by a professional. (or one that claimed to be.) The home was an old friends' and my son bought it a few years back. So I knew the history of the several attempts at "painting" it to cover the rust.

It looked great the first six months, then started to degrade. I am not sure which products were used but all had claimed to be for porcelain tubs and sinks.

It looked awful, (horrendous) and My son was thinking about replacing it, as he knows few of these get restored with DIY kits. I started with 80 grit wet sand paper and quickly went to 220 once the "paint" was gone . I was overly aggressive as this was the last attempt to save this really nicely styled mid century modern tub. I found that the paint adhered well to the chips and in areas where the surface was marred. But came off really easy on the decent surfaces, which was 98% of the tub.

Sadly (maybe ironically) the actual rust was more from staining then from surface erosion/wear. So a serious cleaning would have made it look a 1000% better. ( I used Mr. Clean majic erasures and a wet pumice stones.) Then wet sanded again with 400 grit,. and may go higher on grit later. It's shine came back!! The "paint" is still in the chips and deeper marred area. Noticeable more because they are not the same white color as the tub. So we may re-paint those areas to blend the color better and then re-sand later. (from what I have encountered, most porcelain tubs are actually a icy white with a slight blue tint when really shined up.) and few kits offer that type of color tint.

With all that said,. clean,. "get aggressive if need" be till it looks like the shine will come back or you see actual metal. (the cast iron base) Might surprise you how "dirty" it is and how the old surface shines. If you go with a "paint". Expect to strip it again. BUT, it will stick better if you are really aggressive in the cleaning / prep. (prior tip that you received is great advice on using hydrogen peroxide cleaning it properly. ) but may not be enough to restore shine.

I have used Zud Multi-Purpose Cream Cleanser on may different things. Removes Grease, Rust and other Stains. Pat -Washington

I have used ZUD cleanser to remove rust and old stains from old sinks and tubs many times for more than 30 years. Works great!