I had no luck trying to find someone to do this in upstate NY. I ended up taking it to a powder coating place that normally does car / motorcycle frames. They were pretty cheap but the finish wasn't as even as I would have liked, it had bubbles and puddles in places. It was $100 (discounted from the original price of $200 due to the outcome) but in general I can't recommend other take this route unless you are willing to have it done more than once or take it to someone who specializes in this type of work.

Don't know how close this is to Chicago, but I spoke to the fellow who runs Custom Ceramics in Lenzburg, IL, about reporcelaining parts of my vintage stove, and he made a positive, very knowledgable impression. In fact he appears to do a good turnover, so must be popular with those who want real ceramic re-firing rather than just powdercoating. There are photos of vintage sinks in his gallery.

I haven't gotten around to shipping my stove grates off yet so can't comment on the quality, but he was warmly recommended by my antique stove repairman.

tel. (618) 475-2710

Here is a link that might be useful: Custom Ceramic in Lenzburg

circuspeanut, I called Custom Ceramics in Lenburg, Il. They are no longer taking large objects such as bathtubs and sinks because the guy was in an accident. It did not sound like he would be resuming large objects anytime in the future. I really need to get this sink to someone within the next several days. You would think there would be more people doing this in the midwest.

circuspeanut, I called Custom Ceramics in Lenburg, Il. They are no longer taking large objects such as bathtubs and sinks because the guy was in an accident. It did not sound like he would be resuming large objects anytime in the future. I really need to get this sink to someone within the next several days. You would think there would be more people doing this in the midwest.

Similar outfit in Independence, MO, for what it's worth:

Here is a link that might be useful: Independence Porcelain Enamel

Thanks for the info circuspeanut. I did call the place in Independence Mo. per your suggestion. Of course they were not open on Fridays, so hopefully they will answer me on Monday. I am excited to hear from them. In the meantime, I am still hunting for someone a little closer to home. But if push comes to shove, I can go to Missouri! Thanks for the help.

I emailed a place that I think is called Vintage Plumbing a couple years ago about this topic. And I asked at a Vintage sink shop in Berkeley. Both places were skeptical at best, saying no new finish is as good as the old one, and putting on a new one requires removing the original one with acid. But perhaps they were thinking of reglazing? I got the impression that no one truly refires items in a way that puts on an original quality "glass like" finish. I just don't know....

francy

Hey quiltgirl,
I can't be of too much help to you as I am in Ontario, Canada (near Toronto). I just wanted to concur with Francy for as much as it's worth. We were fortunate to inherit an antique farmhouse sink in the backyard of our house when we bought it. It has never been hooked up to plumbing for as long as we've owned it (15 yrs.), but we are currently in the midst of a backyard renovation and have decided to create some semblance of an outdoor kitchen by incorporating it.

A company here called Bathmaster came to see it last Saturday. They don't usually do sinks because it's too hard to hold up their end of the warranty with such a heavily used item (bathtubs don't have as many hard objects banging into them --- unless you've really been working out!). We called them because they reglazed our claw-footed tub 3 yrs ago. Some of the finish had bubbled/peeled where a bit of water pools after showers & there's a 5 yr. warranty. They are re-doing the tub (we've solved our pooling issue by getting 1/4 in. metal shims made at the local high school to slightly raise the back end of the tub for better drainage --- not visible) and Bathmaster has agreed to take on our sink (the guy fell in love with it).

All this detail is just to say that, yes, as Francy mentioned, they use an acid to remove the old glaze & they reglaze it with a shiny new epoxy. The finish really does look authentic, milky, & very shiny... but it is not quite as strong as the original. In our efforts to find someone, we did not come across anyone who did an actual re-firing. Perhaps someone does it, but they may be more difficult for you to find.

I've included the link to Bathmaster below. Although they are a Canadian company, maybe if you emailed them, they'd know of someone near you who does it.

Good luck!
Sandra
PS: Going to post this request separately, but if any of you have any pictures of antique farm sinks installed, please send them. The sink will have a stone enclosure to match the one around the bbq, but we can't quite figure out how we'll support it. Thx!

Here is a link that might be useful: Bathmaster Reglazing (Canada)

Yeah, re-glazing is a much easier service to find, thus the difficulty. The two outfits I mentioned above are about the only ones I've found that will do the re-firing with actual porcelain enamel; it requires sandblasting the original porcelain entirely off the steel and re-firing with glass.

The re-glazers (Bathmaster etc) will etch the original coating with some very smelly acid and apply a strong epoxy coating. I've had that done as well and it's fine if it's the only alternative (for instance for 500-lb iron bathtubs you can't exactly sling into the station wagon!), but definitely not as durable a finish. Ditto for the powdercoating you can have done at an auto body shop as Brickton describes.

Quiltgirl, keep us posted!

Thanks for the clarification Sandra and Peanut! Good to know the difference!

:-)

francy

Circuspeanut, I did call the place in Independence Mo. and they do not do cast iron objects, only steel. So far I have had no luck in finding anyone who does an actual porcelain" finish. I did get a quote on a "wet" application of a glaze or paint that is used on yachts etc. I was quoted $250 for this five foot sink which i did not think was too bad of a price. His best guesstimate was that the finish should last about 10 years as long as I am not dropping tools or heavy objects into the sink. Since it is a laundry room sink, I will only be bleaching clothes or washing my acrylic paint brushes or maybe potting a flower or two in there. It will not be our clean up sink for big paint jobs etc since that sink will be in the basement. Am still waiting for a couple of calls back from other companies. I did call Kohler to see if they knew anyone who did the porcelain firing, but no luck. All of their porcelain jobs are probably done in Mexico I am guessing. I wonder if there is a company who makes a new sink that is a reproduction of the old time sinks?