Help... Destroyed our sink

A concentrated tiny bottle of CitraSolv (citrus based cleaner) spilled on our bathroom sink. By the time we got to it, it was too late. Yellow colored surface drips, deep etching, and plastic that is so soft you can dent it with a nail. I tried to get the stuff off but it is now part of the sink plastic. Don't know if it will do further damage.

We are on the road for another month. What to do? I need to first of all prevent further damage, and then figure out if there is any way to repair this. It's ugly!

Thanks for any ideas.

Ideas at your own risk--need to check for chemical compatability.

1. Cat litter, baking soda, sawdust, other absorbent clean-up if any spilled citrus concentrate left (plug drain before dumping absorbent stuff in sink).

2. If citrus concentrate is water soluble, run tons of water all over sink to dilute any residue. Would empty graywater tank immediately and continuously as you don't need holes in your tank. If this stuff is really concentrated, may not want to dilute into graywater tank (could take off sink drain and jerry rig a drain to outside/bucket so don't get stuff into graywater tank).

CitraSolv website says not recommended for plastic, etc., as may dissolve/mar (but they have multiple products).

Short-term fix.

1. If sink turns out okay except for discoloration, maybe a whitening solution of vinegar and baking soda, or toothpaste might work (after there is no citrus stuff left).

2. If a hole pops up in sink, use a plastic weld epoxy glue on underside to keep sink together or an adhesive roof sealing tape on underside. Just make sure any adhesive is not sent down drain.

I was either wearing sunscreen or bug spray when I accidentally brushed against the gray hard plastic trim near the sliding door. Tried everything to get rid of the stain/spot, but was left with a 3" square shiny spot. Months later, the stain/spot disappeared by itself (maybe evaporated or migrated further into plastic).

The bathroom sink is not that sturdy. I have small hairline cracks near the corner edges where the bolts are. Someday, might look around to see if a refinishing layer can be sprayed on (like the commercials for refinishing bathtubs). That might be a possibility--might pick a darker color than white (maybe 60's orange).

Believe Discus replaced his bathroom sink with a Corian countertop and stainless steel bowl sink. The Corian countertop has same dimensions as original sink so sliding door remains (so must have groove in the underside of the Corian countertop).

So this might be an opportunity for you to upgrade the bathroom sink.

After all the cleanup, want to continue diluting/absorbing/leeching.

Plug up drain, fill sink with water, and let sit. Hopefully, will dilute. Any stuff on outside of sink basin, cover with wet towels/sawdust/etc. to absorb.

Later, could try some whitening chemicals (but caution re any residue mixing and any adverse reactions from new chemicals). Old standbys include vinegar and baking soda, hydrogen peroxide, or bleach (may be too caustic)--each a separate option--don't combine and create a toxic cloud.

Commercial chemicals might include SoftScrub, etc.

To be on safe side, lots and lots of ventilation.

Good luck and let us know what works and what doesn't. At least it doesn't sound like anything spilled on the walls or shower pan, just the sink.

Thanks for all the great ideas. What I did so far after trying my best to remove what was there with water was get a bunch of different wet sandpaper pieces. I sanded by hand down from 220 to 1200 grit. I was able to remove some of the yellowing, but most of it remains because it has fused to the plastic and created it's own texture. At least I think I accomplished removing the substance enough that it won't be causing further damage.



Before painting, I'd like to try to restore the surface if possible. Theoretically I should be able to sand down the damage and then sand it to a shine. However, the thinness in some areas might make that impossible.

In some areas there are some pretty deep crater-like depressions in the plastic which is quite thin to begin with. It's clear that to improve things further requires a power tool. I am thinking about getting a headlight repair kit from 3M (which worked great on my headlights BTW) and using it with the drill when I get home.

Also, being in Austin at the moment, it turns out there is a Sportsmobile factory here. We're going to take a trip up there today and see if they can fabricate a replacement sink top that fits the cabinet and then potentially do the stainless steel sink idea, which I love.

Will keep you posted...

Wow--that concentrated cleaner really was strong.

Another sink idea is to put the sink bowl on top of the countertop versus inside the countertop. That way, you'd get a higher sink and more storage in cabinet. Would need a different faucet.

Sink bowl could be stainless steel or a glass bowl (several glass artists attend the Westyfests).

As this is a wet bath, water spilling onto sink countertop and then floor wouldn't be a big deal but you could still add a lip to the edge of the countertop.

The irony is that CitraSolv is supposed to be an "eco" cleaner. Hmmm...

So Sportmobile had nothing to offer. They said they are 14 months out on builds for van customers and can't take a technician away to deal with this.

As an aside, I always wanted to tour their facility. They are nice folks and probably the best in the business this side of the pond. That said, I toured several of their vans and was extremely disappointed in their designs compared to Westfalia. They were cramped, used unattractive materials (fake wood), poor use of space, cabinets in your face, no thought to crash safety, claustrophobic... basically somewhere I wouldn't want to spend any real time. There is simply no comparison to the Westy. It was a shocking difference and I came away telling my wife that we are keeping Westy on the road forever.

Meanwhile, the chemical damage has stabilized and we have dumped the tanks as a precaution. Next step is to try the headlight restorer stuff on the current sink. Need to locate a drill. Will get to it, either on our current trip of when we get home. Perhaps some sort of resin or epoxy first, to fill in deeper gouges?

Thanks for the continued ideas. I did replace the faucet just recently with the original model (found via eBay), so it would be nice to keep it. Also, it seems a round sink would be much smaller than the current shape, but this might actually be an advantage for soaking things or shaving and using less water.

The original sink is very thin. Mine was completely brittle and cracking near the sink drain so I decided to replace it rather than do a fiberglass recovery since even the fiberglass resin did not stick very well.

I decided to use a 8" round stainless steel bar sink on mine. The existing sink sits on a frame and the upper track is attached to that one so you don' t need to worry about the door. Once you have the sink removed, you can use that as a template.

I got the corian from solidsurface.com. They have many brands other than corian and if you go through the list, sometimes they will have small pieces on clearance for dirt cheap. You have to cut the new top about 1/2" bigger than the existing sink and use a router with ogee bit or half round to finish the edge.

You clamp the old sink upside on the countertop and use that as the guide for the router. Do shallow cuts to get a feel of it once you are ready, reposition your sink guide to the final place.

One of the benefits of the countertop is it seems to make the door track better. The entire cabinet is more rigid and now I have place to put down stuff on either side of the round sink.


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Great info on how to make new countertop.

If you get a chance, would you mind posting a photo looking at the underneath of your new bathroom sink--especially the edge where the sliding door fits and the frame you mentioned (and same bolt attachments?).

Thanks.

Thanks so much for the detailed instructions. Would also love to see pics top & bottom. The round shape and resulting added "counter" space sounds perfect. I wasn't sure how easy corian is to work with, having never done it before. Was thinking about this more and possibly trying marine grade plywood with several coats of poly. Might be a nice look with the SS sink and easier to work with.

I will take pictures tomorrow. Corian is easy to work with. Much easier than plywood as far as Im concerned. you can use a jigsaw to cut the rough shape then practice on the piece you will throw away first. Any wood router will cut a nice edge, use a bit that has a bearing at the end and cut with an even slow speed and dont stop until you reach the other end.


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That is encouraging! I don't have a router but I do have a Dremel. Do you think I could work with that, or do I use this as the excuse to get a router?

Replacement sink and cabinet from Reimo (from James Cook Friends German forum:

http://forum.james-cook-freunde.de/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=2537

Back then, seems Westy sink was still available for a price but another thread had folks looking to special order a minimum run of sinks from another source.

Here's the picture under the countertop.


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Discus, it looks like you took off the sink and just mounted a flat piece of coriander over the substructure underneath, so that no ridges were needed in the coriander, just the perimeter cut. Is that right?

My sink is also starting to show hairline cracks, wanted to replace it with a SS triangle/corner sink, but have yet to find one. Maybe from an airplane lavatory? In the meantime, I found this on Amazon:

Ambassador Marine Oval Stainless Steel Sink

http://www.amazon.com/Ambassador-Marine-Stainless-Bottom-Brushed/dp/B00GZH5CV4

Outside Flange Dimensions 13 1/4in x 10 1/2in, looks like it might fit, but not sure until you make a template.

This one looks good: 8 inch round interior SS - Wayfair and a good price. I plan to work on this once we are back east. Can Discus or someone else confirm that all we need to do is take the existing sink off and place the Corian on top cut to the right size, with no ridges underneath?

From looking at Discus' photo and my own Westy sink, looks like you can cut a piece of Corian and glue/adhere to the underlayment subframe. That subframe has the recessed groove for the top of sliding door.

I can see a tiny gap between that subframe and the curved lip of the one-piece sink overlapping and covering the subframe.

The sink is about 19" x 19" so could look for a 20" x 20" piece to cut down. Wouldn't be surprised if kitchen sink cutout leftover piece might work as kitchen sinks can be pretty big (especially farm/country apron ones).

Large tiles are often 20" x 20" but would be hard to cut (although some tile/countertop places could probably do). That would open up more possibilities than woodworking-compatible Corian/solid surfaces.

Weight is probably something to watch as the subframe doesn't look too thick.

Would be nice to have a complete integrated stainless steel sink like the original acrylic one, but would probably cost a lot to make. Same with a stainless steel showerpan.

Look forward to seeing what Wassabi and others do.