[Pentland]

Looking for a new under mount kitchen sink.

Currently have a stainless steel one which has been bomb proof. The only downside is it started all polished but soon scratched to the point of looking like it is actually a bushed steel version. No biggy though.

Does anyone have experience with composite sinks? Thinking of getting a grey one.
I live in a soft water area so will have no limescale issues and we don’t drink tea.

Thanks in advance.

[SkyJawa]

Originally Posted by Pentland

Looking for a new under mount kitchen sink.

Currently have a stainless steel one which has been bomb proof. The only downside is it started all polished but soon scratched to the point of looking like it is actually a bushed steel version. No biggy though.

Does anyone have experience with composite sinks? Thinking of getting a grey one.
I live in a soft water area so will have no limescale issues and we don’t drink tea.

Thanks in advance.

we got one with our kitchen, its ok but do find the edges have chipped alot more than I was expecting. However my Mum also had a composite installed and that seems to be holding up better but hers is a 1 bowl and ours is 1.5.

[Alscoob]

Can't comment on the question, but will say that our stainless steel sink suffereed similar to yours, the answer for me was to polish it back up.

Simple task with Autosol metal polish and some elbow grease did also use my DA polisher with a small pad on larger areas... looks bling now

[stevei]

i've just fitted this one into our kitchen
https://www.reginox.co.uk/quadra-105-white
Good solid sink but i should have gone for the grey colour as it's less likely to show marks up

[theabbot]

My son had an expensive dark grey composite one installed in the kitchen, his wife left something in it to bleach and they now have a two tone sink, not saying all sinks would suffer the same but it's a question I would be asking from whoever is supplying it

[Watsey]

Depends on the precise nature of the composite material that you are considering, but personally I'd avoid. Many of the polymer composite materials are too soft and/or not resistant to chemicals - not worth the risk or the extra hassle, and they can look tired very quickly.

Stainless steel and china are generally bomb-proof, and ultimately it's a sink not a showcase item.

[flashollie]

Originally Posted by Watsey

Depends on the precise nature of the composite material that you are considering, but personally I'd avoid. Many of the polymer composite materials are too soft and/or not resistant to chemicals - not worth the risk or the extra hassle, and they can look tired very quickly.

Stainless steel and china are generally bomb-proof, and ultimately it's a sink not a showcase item.

This.
There a reson why most commercial kitchen use stianless everywhere.
We only use stainless at work in our lab environments becuase composite dont last 2 minutes. 316 stainless and as mention before if its marked just buff it out.
Also composite are hard and if you drop anything in it the item can smash. We als smashed a compostiyte sink too but that was when an iron weight was dropped in it so less likely in a kitchen

[JustChris]

Id say go SS again and just got soemthing like this (just got this in our new place)

https://www.johnlewis.com/joseph-jos...l/grey/p391057

Infact you could just get this and insert and no one will see the current SS scratches.

Boom!

[Pentland]

Originally Posted by Watsey

ultimately it's a sink not a showcase item.

Disagree with that. The sink, tap, waste disposal combo can easily amount to a comparable cost or more than other kitchen appliances. It can also be a centre piece part if used on an island for example or a statement piece as anyone with a Belfast sink will affirm. The most used item in the kitchen, anyone with a tatty sink will be hating it every day.

[MashinBenzin]

Originally Posted by Pentland

Disagree with that. The sink, tap, waste disposal combo can easily amount to a comparable cost or more than other kitchen appliances. It can also be a centre piece part if used on an island for example or a statement piece as anyone with a Belfast sink will affirm. The most used item in the kitchen, anyone with a tatty sink will be hating it every day.

Had a Belfast sink and felt it was a very impractical statement. A good steel sink is much better. And a plenty good enough statement with quality taps.

[Sennen]

Thankfully the craze for Belfast Sinks appears to be on the wane now........ hideous looking things. I would go for a good quality Stainless unit personally.

[Watsey]

Originally Posted by Pentland

Disagree with that. The sink, tap, waste disposal combo can easily amount to a comparable cost or more than other kitchen appliances. It can also be a centre piece part if used on an island for example or a statement piece as anyone with a Belfast sink will affirm. The most used item in the kitchen, anyone with a tatty sink will be hating it every day.

We've got a double Belfast sink and a Franke tri-flow tap, but they're functional items. They are there to do a job, reliably and built to last - certainly don't regard them as showcase to try and impress ourselves or anyone else.

[MashinBenzin]

Originally Posted by Watsey

We've got a double Belfast sink and a Franke tai-flow tap, but they're functional items. They are there to do a job, reliably and built to last - certainly don't regard them as showcase to try and impress ourselves or anyone else.

I just had one worry with the Belfast sink and that was the risk of smashing. Either dropping China/glass that would smash, or dropping a heavy pan and cracking/chipping the sink. Never actually happened, but that's why I personally prefer steel.

Seconded on Franke, had their taps in three properties and sinks in two, very good stuff.

[Nibbles]

Originally Posted by MashinBenzin

Had a Belfast sink and felt it was a very impractical statement. A good steel sink is much better. And a plenty good enough statement with quality taps.

I've got a large butler sink from Shaws and find it's really good. It helps that we got the sink grid with it so that even though Mrs Nibbles has teflon hands, when she drops things it doesn't get chipped. Cleans up easily and looks as good as new after quite a few years. I think it just depends on the type of kitchen you have, a steel sink would look a bit odd in ours but a ceramic or butler/belfast fits in much better.

[225]

We have a Villeroy and Boche ceramic sink and it is good, doesn't really mark and looks a lot nicer than stainless steel.

[Pentland]

Visited a friend at the weekend who had a black composite sink. It looked terrible white marks and every bit of dirt showing.

Brushed stainless steel under mount ordered.

[NotGotABimmer23]

With undermount sinks they all look much of a muchness, it's more about the worktop. With the overmount (just made that word up) style I can't stand stainless, would go for ceramic I think, in a light colour.

[Sennen]

Originally Posted by Pentland

Visited a friend at the weekend who had a black composite sink. It looked terrible white marks and every bit of dirt showing.

Brushed stainless steel under mount ordered.

Very wise, it will look better for longer

[JR1664]

We have a Franke stainless steel job. Pretty basic but clean it with pink stuff or similar and it comes up like new. It's 13 years old and is treated pretty badly as we're looking for a new kitchen.

Trying to persuade the better half to keep with stainless steel simply doesn't fit with the narrative and we've looked at all sorts of composite stuff in our quotes.

So its good timing reading this, brushed stainless steel will go with the light switches ovens etc

[Pentland]

Went with the 1.5 under mount one of these…
https://www.franke.com/gb/en/hs/prod...filters=262619