Stainless Steel Kitchen Sink Rusting And Scratches

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Hi everyone,

My new house renovation was finished last year but i still haven't moved in yet and the kitchen already has a few problems. Last year there's a few drops of water leaked under the kitchen sink. My ID came a few times to fix it including changing the tap and applying silicone on few areas and finally in the end the water stopped leaking. That was Nov last year.

Then another problem occured. Since last year my stainless steel kitchen undermount sink started showing a number of brown stain spots and scratches. My ID came and cleaned the stain a few time but it reappeared after some time. I have not moved in and came only to my new house once or twice a week and yet the sink has already gotten brown stains and scratches. The sink is not cheap either. Cost me $500+.

Last week i came came across this product called Autosol and used it to clean the stain. It does remove almost all and the scratches looked a bit less obvious. Now the thing is my ID is willing to change for us to another new sink but to do that he has to remove the whole kitchen top and bottom kitchen cabinet. My wife and I just find such a hassle.

Now i'm thinking shall i change the undermount sink or just continue polishing and using Autosol if the stains reappeared? I'm afraid that if i change the sink the stains will reappeared and vice versa if i don't change. And will sillicone really helps to stop the water leaking for long or even permanently?

Sorry for my long post. Would greatly appreciate any suggestion. Thanks.

[w7_lee 11]

My opinion is that if the ID is doing it FOC, then go ahead since you are not staying there yet.

But nowadays, stainless steel sink are not as good as 'stainless steel' sink from before. The materials are not so pure. To keep cost low, which country do you think the steel came from?

Maybe when fixing the tap or during renovation, the workers might have place some tool (or screws) in the sink when working. There might have been water present subsequently, so rust forms later. The sink is not rusting but whatever tiny pieces of metal bur/chip from normal metal is causing it.

Regarding the rust stain, Autosol works fine. I had use it on my sink too. It'll remove most of the rust stain.

Yes, the area that you've polished will not have the mirror finish anymore but trust me, when you move in permanent, the sink will scratch when you do washing and you will loose the mirror finish. With usage, the rust normally does not form anymore (in my case).

One thing to be aware: do not leave a metal can in the sink for too long. Example are those ready to eat mushroom soup in a can. It's not the soup people's fault but those cans are made from ferrous metal (use a magnet to check). If the can is wet and you leave it in the sink (especially overnight), next morning you will find a perfect circular rust stain in the sink. My experience. It also explains why we do not want to buy cans that has dent.

Always wash the sink after use, especially if you have place such an above mentioned can in the sink. I am not certain why it is so but I think when the metal rust, some of the rusted metal stays on the sink even if the can is removed. So I will wash the sink using the sponge and dishwashing detergent to wash the sink. It removes the oil too.

Soft drink cans (aluminium) and glass sauce do not give this problem.

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Thanks w7_lee for your reply and wise information and suggestion. Ya nowadays not only the sink other things are also not as good as before. Think the steel might have came from China.

Yeah I will go ahead with changing the sink. I just hope that the new sink is ok and most importantly does not leak. Thanks again.