cleaning a delta sink

weasel · Dec 17, 2017

Been slowly building a darkroom. My brother in law gave me a delta darkroom sink that he had for some reason in is garage. Very cool, will save me time to build one. The sink is badly stained- any insight in how to clean it? Can they be painted?

John Koehrer · Dec 18, 2017

What's it made of? Steel or plastic(ABS)

weasel · Dec 18, 2017

plastic

CMoore · Dec 19, 2017

Will it create a problem.?
If it does not rinse off with water.....Are you worried about a Darkroom Sink being......"Stained/Dirty".?

jim10219 · Dec 19, 2017

I guess it would depend on what chemicals stained it. Some chemicals clean up easier than others. Plastic is porous. If the staining is bad enough, you'd likely have to sand it down to get rid of the stains, and that might cause even more issues. I wouldn't think that would be worth the hassle, especially since you'll likely stain it yourself as you use it.

My advice: just don't look at the sink while the lights are on.

Doremus Scudder · Dec 19, 2017

Some stains just won't come out. I had fairly good luck cleaning the Delta sink I used to have with Comet cleanser and a bit of chlorine bleach. If that doesn't do the trick, then it may be better to just live with it.

If the cosmetics disturb you, you could look into painting it with a good chemical-resistant spray paint that is designed for plastic/fiberglass. That will likely stain too, but you'll be starting from scratch.

Best,

Doremus

John Koehrer · Dec 19, 2017

With Plastic, what the others said. In the long run it won't matter unless it disturbs your finer sensibilities. It would make me
and my OCD leanings bad dreams.

mshchem · Dec 20, 2017

John Koehrer said:
With Plastic, what the others said. In the long run it won't matter unless it disturbs your finer sensibilities. It would make me
and my OCD leanings bad dreams.

+1

DWThomas · Dec 20, 2017

Way back when, I recall there was a tray cleaner recipe in one of the Kodak books. It was an acid dichromate solution much like the reversal bleach which likely means it strikes terror in the hearts of folks today. I suppose there is also the possibility it might not work, depending on exactly what the stains are from.

Rick A · Dec 20, 2017

Plug the drain, fill with water, dump in a box of denture cleaning tablets, let it stand over night. Drain out and rinse. Whatever stain is left, live with it.

darkroommike · Dec 20, 2017

What, are you the type that wanted a new sink so you could make your own marks? Sounds like the price was right, and no, most paints will not stick unless you do a ton of prep work, and any paint you use, if you go that route, will be less durable and stain more readily than the original plastic. As for the tray cleaners, they will turn silver "stains" back into silver haloids, which you can then fix or bleach to remove (BE DARN CAREFUL TO FLUSH THE SINK WITH ABOUT A MILLION GALLONS OF WATER AFTER YOU CLEAN THE SINK AND BEFORE YOU BLEACH IT), if it is "tar" from color processes rather than silver stains, Lysol toilet bowl cleaner might get most of it off. I never bothered with my old sink. My new sink is stainless steel and shines up right purdy.

CMoore · Dec 20, 2017

darkroommike said:
What, are you the type that wanted a new sink so you could make your own marks? Sounds like the price was right, and no, most paints will not stick unless you do a ton of prep work, and any paint you use, if you go that route, will be less durable and stain more readily than the original plastic. As for the tray cleaners, they will turn silver "stains" back into silver haloids, which you can then fix or bleach to remove (BE DARN CAREFUL TO FLUSH THE SINK WITH ABOUT A MILLION GALLONS OF WATER AFTER YOU CLEAN THE SINK AND BEFORE YOU BLEACH IT), if it is "tar" from color processes rather than silver stains, Lysol toilet bowl cleaner might get most of it off. I never bothered with my old sink. My new sink is stainless steel and shines up right purdy.

I wonder if that stuff will work on rubber.
I have a herd time keeping the tires on my car clean.

cleaning a delta sink

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