What is your definition of affordable?

Most things you could buy in Mexico are available on this side of the border for pretty much the same price if you are not an importer. Shopping here is a lot safer than driving a truck into Mexico since Mexican border cities are among the most dangerous places in the world right now. I used to shop in Mexico all the time and live within relatively easy driving distance, but would not even consider it now.

Most copper sinks are made in Michoacan which is a long way from the border so even ignoring the safety factor, your expenses would erase any savings.

I ordered my copper sinks directly from the manufacturer in Mexico, they arrived by UPS within days and shipping was free and in perfect condition. I found them on ebay, perhaps you can find someone who will do this for you.

...i guess the "importer" aspect is what i would have an issue with... i probably couldnt even drive down there and bring them back...

we found some sinks on ebay as well at "affordable" prices. i consider affordable to be half price of what everyone else is selling them at...we have seen some websites selling dropins for less than $100 and found a nice vessel or two on ebay for about $175...course that doesnt include drains (faucets) which drives the prices up...

there are some vanities that already have the sink installed that are at a minimum - eye catching...and those we havent found really less than in the mid-$1000's...

by saying you ordered them from the manufacturer - i guess you just had to filter through all the sellers - you didnt know the seller going in when you started searching?

if there was an easy answer everyone would be doing it.. :-) .. we are looking to furnish an entire house...sigh.

To order the sinks I just used the ebay feedback and standard research you can find on the web and it worked out great. I have not ordered furniture though.

We are just a few hours north of the border and have Mexican import shops all over town so I knew what the local prices were and that I could get exactly the sink I wanted for less money.

Those copper topped vanities are gorgeous, but you do pay for that.

If the license plates at the local mall are any indication, the Peso is still strong against the dollar so don't expect bargains from Mexico any time soon.

Just a note, If you have a separate question it's best to start a new thread so others can find it and make suggestions too.

I spent weeks researching before I purchased a copper sink. I read several comments on garden web, plus other sites. Almost all the copper sinks I found were imported and required drying after each use and occasional waxing. No wonder some folks hate their copper sinks. We ended up with a Rachiele copper sinks and could not be happier. These are made in the USA by a small company in Florida. The owner seems to be very knowledgeable about the properties of copper. They age the interior of every sink with vinegar. Sounds weird, but my sink came and we were amazed at how beautiful it was. We use it all the time and there is no maintenance at all. We just wash with dish soap. Whe we first got the sink we were so careful, worrying about hurting the patina. We have teenagers and they are nothing but tornadoes in the kitchen. Nothing has hurt our sink, including bleach, my husbands goop that he manages to bring in from the garage on his hands, etc. Now we have gotten to the point that we call it our bullet proof sink. No worries, just fun. My original search on Google brought me to a very informative site called about coppersinks.org. I then called the copper development association to verify what I read on the Rachiele web site. (I am not a trusting person). Claims were made that Rachiele sinks were antimicrobial and that most others were falsely making the same claim. I spoke with a gentleman by the name of Adam Estelle at the Copper Development Association. He verified the claims made by Rachiele. He also warned me about the potential for lead and other dangerous impurities that might be found in imported copper sinks. By the way, the photos on the Rachiele web site do not do justice to the product. Our sink was far and away beyond our high expectations. They have an artist that does amazing Latinas on the apron portion of the sinks. We got a rustic patina with greens, blues, browns and oranges that matches our flooring perfectly.

Here is a link that might be useful: About copper sinks.org

"Touching such metal can cause a transfer of such impurities from sink to your body."

Except that you still need to get them into your body.

Like suck on your finger before washing it.

Or touch a cigarette and then burn it past that spot.

Did you now that excessive copper is poisonous?

And the reason old copper pans had a tin lining?

When the tin lining wore away, you had the pan 're-tinned' for many more years of use.
Modern copper pans typically have a stainless steel lining bonded to the copper. It cannot be repaired if you ever managed to wear through.

Some candy pans are bare copper since it effects how sugar cooks in the pan.

Unless you have full time staff to clean and polish a copper basin daily you are not going to keep it shiny like a 'new penny.'

Depending on what it is exposed to it can turn anything from deep brown, to almost black, to all sorts of shades of green (typically copper chloride) or even blue (copper sulphate).

You can use table salt to speed up the green, but you still have to be careful to not clean off the patina.

Any type of acid (even lemon juice) will strip the green off (and a lot of brown) almost instantly.

Where do you get your information?
Just because a sink is imported, that does not mean that it is impure. Where does this information come from? Ingesting too much copper can be poisonous, but using a copper sink or bathtub is not poisonous. Copper pipes have been used for household plumbing forever. The lead in the solder would be the only negative to having copper pipes. Copper naturally kills germs and bacteria. Check out copper.org for more information.
Copper pans have tin linings so that certain foods can turn bitter when cooked in a copper pan. People have been cooking in all copper cazos for years.
Copper bowls are the best for whipping egg white.
Yes, copper sinks in shiny will start to darken with the oil from hands. They do not need daily care to maintain the shiny appearance. A wax or oil can be applied to keep them shiny longer. I have both that I bought from Copper Sink Care.com.

Here is a link that might be useful: Copper Sink Care

The most amazing thing about information on copper sinks, is anyone can say anything. I clicked on the link above and it looks, at first, to be part of copper.org. As I read it, I see that it is really a site owned by Dino Rachiele, the guy who sells copper out of Florida. I have purchased a copper sink directly online and I love it. It is Mexican hammered copper and I use it and abuse it. Of course his site is going to bad mouth all other copper manufacturers...shame on him and his staff for trying to scare people out of buying from anyone but him...

I am also a bit perturbed about the claims made above by the new poster hawking Rachiele copper sinks in every post. I have no doubt that Rachiele sinks are high quality and am all in favor of buying American made products wherever possible, but you cannot make a scientific claim about "purity" based upon a vague presumption about other manufacturers' metal quality. That's just marketing flimflam.

If it's got copper, it's got antimicrobial qualities, full stop. A higher admixture of lead or any other element in the metal will not cancel that property out. If you lacquer over the metal, it loses that quality entirely.

I encourage people looking for copper sinks to check out Rachiele; their product is really gorgeous. It's true that by not lacquering the working interior of their sinks, they make them easier to care for -- no scratches to a lacquer-protected patina. This is the state of my copper counters -- the raw metal morphs and changes with use, and it slowly develops a lovely dark brown tone. But this tone WILL change and blotch with the many different acidic materials used in a kitchen. Either you accept that and love it, or else I encourage considering a different metal. But it IS indeed bombproof in the sense that you never need to carefully dry or polish it -- you can be as blithely neglectful with uncoated copper as you want.

Rachiele does put many layers of lacquer on the outside of their apron sinks, for what that's worth. It protects the patina they've created and will last for years before needing renewal - but it cancels out the antimicrobial nature of that surface of the sink.

... but honestly, if you're making your decision for a sink based on some presumed micropercentage more or less of "antimicrobiality", you should either be living with Howard Hughes or up your dosage of Risperidone.* Just sayin'. ;-)

*disclaimer: comments made regarding mental illness are pure hyperbole; no aspersions are intended towards those truly suffering from schizophrenia. I use the humor full knowingly, having someone with this illness in my own family.

I've never known this form to be PC. Self-deprecating, yes, but PC? No.

I laughed at the assumption that copper sink is behaving in a manner the OP didn't like. that = bad. bad = Chinese. Huh?
What about India where the water from the Ganges will practically eat your skin? Hammered copper (hammering covers impurities, remember?) or other metals are cooled in water that's extremely far from pure. Even if it isn't from the Ganges, their idea of pure would give us dysentery until we pooped ourselves stupid. (BTDT in Algeria.)

Silly.

Forcing an element to behave the way you want, ignoring its properties, is futile. It's like buying an oak tree and trimming it into bonsai. Why not buy a dwarf or miniature tree so bonsai doesn't fight its nature so?

I don't think copper is for the OP, and if it's brass? That, either. I suggest porcelain (watch the hard water stains!) or steel. Of course, there are other mediums that would work and not change like metal.

(Circuspeanut. I wrote "change like mental" first and laughed at you."

Christine

Actually, this is the part I found risible:

They have an artist that does amazing Latinas on the apron portion of the sinks.

You gotta love spell check! It even capitalized it!

"hammering covers impurities, remember?"

How does that work?

Hammering copper simply works the metal and actually makes it harder and stronger.
It does not affect the material composition any way (good or bad).

New copper plumbing leaches copper until a coating forms inside the pipes from solids dissolved in the water.
Luckily we are not all that copper sensitive, but using non-tinned copper pans routinely has resulted in copper poisoning. Any acidic food that 'cleans' the copper is releasing copper into the food being cooked.
Short term is rarely a real issue, long term can be.

LOL Angie, I saw that too. Wondered exactly what that might be ...

I have two copper sinks that appear to be heat treated. Is there any way to get the colors uniform? We purchased these directly from Mexico and were really disappointed. So, we ordered two more, which we love, and have had no problems. Ideas?

Just have to say, LOVE my two copper sinks! (Though I realize they are not for everyone.)

Wow - I'm learning a lot from these blogs. My sister loves her copper sinks in her kitchen. She bought a farmhouse sink and prep sink from Copper Sinks Online. We're now in the process of doing the same. What's interesting is that in the four years or so that she has used them she has done nothing but use soap and water for cleaning. She doesn't wipe her sink down after every use (saw that -really?). It drains fine. It's stout and durable. Occasionally something gets in the sink that brightens a spot but it darkens back up over time. Hey, it's a living finish - that is what's so cool about them in my opinion. I also like that its made from recycled copper. Just my $0.02

we bought a sink from Native Trails. The minute we got a water treatment system to take out the iron our sink became "spotty" at first shiny copper and then green/white powder every where a drop of water lay. It looks hideous. The company told me to use WD40 lock oil which did indeed take out the green/white powder but I have no real hope that it wont happen again. Now it is just spotty dark and light.

I'm surprised this thread came up again. I like the sink now. I sanded it, and got it back to a nicer patina look. I now know that I can use fine sandpaper and bring it back to a shine, or let it go and turn more brown.

One of the reasons we have copper sinks in our kitchen is the fact we have SS, marble and cork, all surfaces that change over time and they look awesome. Of course the anti-bacterial properties are another reason. Our sinks are constantly changing, we knew they would when we installed them. I saw a post of someone who wrote a message to her daughter in ketchup on the bottom of her sink and thought that was pretty cool. I've done the same since, doesn't last long. I can't imagine having a copper sink and then covering it was an impervious coating to preserve the 'finish', to me all the goodness of having copper would be lost. Like soapstone they aren't for everyone. I almost chuckled to myself when I read the initial post, uh yeah, they get splotchy (you could call it that, ours are almost more smeary at times), it's copper. How long does a penny stay 'bright' and shiny? Not long. You can always bring it back to that state if you want. I don't really like the bright look, I like 'em dark and splotchy :) Honestly they should really never turn green unless you just don't like wiping them out. I use a soft cloth, hot water and dishsoap to clean mine, that's it. We've had 2 in the kitchen for over 2 years and they look just as good today as when they were installed.

How do you get soap scum off a copper bathroom sink? Ours are the kinds you're supposed to wax, but—oops, didn't do that, and now they are dull and scummy. I'm wondering how to get them cleaned up and looking good again. Patina is fine, but scum is not!

There's a cleanser called BonAmi. I use it on my SS appliances, SS plated trays, copper teapot, and just about any metal(brass)I have in the house. My Mother was *advised* to use it back in the early '60's when they put in all SS appliances,which included a 'drop-in stove top', but no fridge. I swear by this stuff. Have no fear, it will not scratch!

You are not alone. I bought a house it has a copper sink, never heard of it before. Absolutely hate it, thought I could live with it but it gets green crap everywhere on my sponges and edge of the sink. I am counting down the days when I have extra money to replace it with SS. The faucet is SS not sure why so mismatched.

Is bar keepers friend good to use on copper

According to the 9th reply in this very thread, no.

ok Im really wanting a copper sink. I read all these posts and still not sure about it. Plus I dont have the dollars to buy from the Florida guy. Any advice on a nice sink that wont kill the bank?

We have two copper sinks that I struggle with. I wouldn't mind the patina turning brown but we have areas that are black and difficult to remove. I have been using bar keepers friend but now read in this thread that that is a bad idea. Does anyone else struggle with blackening?

Here is what my sink looks like. In addition, when wiping down the sink I get black residue on the towel. Does this happen to others?

You're wiping away the brown patina.

We bought a "native trails " copper sink over a year ago. It immediately began to react to stuff. Salt turned it green lemon made it shiny and it is full of black spots like yours I use W2 lock oil for the green stuff and it comes out nicely. I had some words with the company who insisted that copper is a natural material and should be allowed to go through it's changes. I have now adopted that attitude and I do love the sink but I cannot get the black out of it and I think the company is irresponsible for not educating the customer pre buying. We expect an expensive item to stay looking the way it did when we bought it and if something is going to develop other properties the consumer should know what they are in for. Of course the supply place where we bought it also should have told us but I guess their sales people didn't know anything about copper sinks. My advice is to look at it as a living changing organism and use the lock oil!

Thanks for the advice! I will pick up some lock oil at the hardware store. Sophie, is this normal, to have the patina wipe off? Is it the result of using Barkeepers Friend? I also just read that super fine sandpaper can be used to restore copper sinks.

"We expect an expensive item to stay looking the way it did when we bought it and if something is going to develop other properties the consumer should know what they are in for. Of course the supply place where we bought it also should have told us but I guess their sales people didn't know anything about copper sinks."

I find it astonishing that anyone would not know that copper is a living finish. Have you ever seen copper that stays bright? Copper pipes? Copper roofs? Copper statues? Copper wind vanes? Copper gutters? Copper pans? The copper penny? The Statue of Liberty? You should not say at all that the company is "irresponsible" or that the supply place didn't know anything because somehow you had no idea that copper does not stay looking the way it did when new.

"Have you ever seen copper that stays bright?" Actually the Native trails sink was NOT shiny it was a very dulled patina, which was one reason we thought it was going to stay that way. The company actually told us AFTER THE FACT that if we wanted the sink to be non reactive there was a wax we could use on it. So in fact - we were not as stupid as you infer - there IS a way to keep the dull patina from changing we just were not told.

Even if it seems obvious to some, the customer should be told what they are in for.

Sorry, but common sense and 5 minutes of research would have disabused you of that assumption. Copper will constantly change color. Even wax won't really stop that.

"Even if it seems obvious to some, the customer should be told what they are in for."

Your Native Trails sink has a Native Trails website. On the Native Trails website the living finish of copper is mentioned repeatedly, including entire pages devoted to the topic.

Native Trails Website: "The Magic of Copper"

Native Trails Website: "What is Copper Patina or Living Finish?"

I did read the native trails website and I decided that I could not live with copper. So I do think they do an EXCELLENT job of describing their copper sinks and their properties.... Not to mention the various colors of copper of the pennies that I have been using my entire life. Rather than try to blame a bad case of buyer's remorse on the sink manufacturer why don't you decide what you would like to replace it with and get on with your life? I went with Blanco Silgranit I really like it. Maybe you like metal and you'll pick stainless steel. But just get on with it.

For those reading this thread trying to decide on copper here is my two (copper) cents: I have two copper sinks in my kitchen and LOVE them. I am a rustic kind of girl, however. I love to camp and ride horses, have a cabin type home surrounded by trees and two big dogs that roam throughout the house. In other words I don't mind my world getting a little messy. If, however, you immediately sweep up the autumn leaves when they litter your driveway, can't tolerate a dog hair on your clothes, or like to scrub your kitchen sink clean every night before you go to bed then a copper sink may not be for you.

I thought I stated that I actually like the sink now but was surprised when it began to react. I understand how some if you thought we were stupid, but I am only explaining to someone else what we went through. We did not go on line - we went to a high end store that sold us many fixtures including a fabulous Blanco kitchen sink,and yes I do feel it should be communicated to a buyer who oohs and awes over a copper sink what they are in for. And the folder that came with the sink also did not mention it. Later when I was doing research I saw the on line information.

So stupid or not I am just trying to help someone else who obviously found themselves in a similar situation. My last word is that once you understand it is a living organism it becomes quite a wonderful thing to behold over time.

I don't think you were stupid. There are a lot of decisions to be made when putting together an entire kitchen. The people on this site are like me and research the heck out of everything they are buying. But I think that's the exception, not the rule. Most just go somewhere, talk to a designer or sales person and pick out stuff. They make the assumption what they are buying is going to look just like it did in the showroom as long as you take care of it which is not an unreasonable assumption. I agree if you are dealing with a salesperson they should educate you on something like a copper sink but it doesn't surprise me that they sometimes don't.

I've been reading all the comments, suggestions & recommendations to clean a copper sink, and they've been helpful. I've been using mild detergent to clean mine but there are some stains (green & white- see 1st picture) that won't seem to go away. Also, some time back I hired someone to clean my house, and unfortunately, she used a cleaning solution to clean my sink. You will see the front of the sink (2nd picture)has an uneven look. I was not happy about this when it happened. What can I do to restore my sink to its original look? Please help. Thanks!

Idalusia I think you should start a new thread with the pictures of your sink.

idaluisa, where did you purchase the back splash? P.S. would think over time natural color will come back after plain soap and water cleaning. My son spilled lemonade in the sink and the (etch) took 3 months to color over.

" What can I do to restore my sink to its original look?"

This, some very fine sandpaper, and a red Scotch Brite pad will do it.

My farmhouse sink is feeling gummy. I don't think the previous owner cleaned it regularly with even soap and water. I want to take it back to shiny and let it start over again. I bought Wright's Copper Cream which has cleaned it pretty well, except in along the sides the "dimples" are staying black. So my sink looks like a leopard in some areas. How can I get those spots cleaned so I can let my sink start it's patina working again? And should I was it immediately it after getting it cleaned or wait until a few days for a patina to form again?

Give Dino Rachiele a call, please. He has people who finish copper sinks all day long.

If you use as scotch brite pad, you should be able to get into the "dimples". You can also visit our Info pages where there is a lot of information garnered over 20 years selling copper sinks (and over 17,000 sold).

Ketchup and salt is all that is ever needed to brighten copper. Not kidding.

I've actually never done more than wipe out the sink--when I think about it. Here it is after a bit over a year.

The bright spots are from the overhead lights.

Ketchup and salt or let ketchup sit on the surface and rub with 0000 steel wool to get into the dimples and corners to remove black and green "gunk".

You can clean copper with toothpaste:

https://www.hunker.com/12602012/how-to-clean-copper-with-toothpaste

I HATE MY COPPER SINKS!!!!!!!!!!

Welcome to the club. I replace copper kitchen sinks regularly. They're a lot like marble countertops. Look good and romantic, but then you get them home and they turn on you.