Damaged SS kitchen sink. Can it be fixed

[manny]

Hello everyone hope your enjoying the extended weekend.
Right here we have a expensive brushed SS sink which was damaged in transit.
Could I attempt a DIY fix or would a fabricator be my best option.











There aint any 'kinks' on the parts that have folded over. Could I bend them back and what would be the best way. Or shall I find a fabricator.

Look forward to any replies.

Manny.

[pfb5]

It can be done but you need to take great care & thought - do NOT use anything with hard teeth or serrations such as grips or pliers, or that has damaged faces such as a knackered hammer. I did do panel-beating at automotive college, tools should be highly polished.

You could use softwood and hammers, but trying to hold four things with two hands would be awkward, a clean plastic mallet may suffice if you glue a piece of felt or cork mat to the face. You could use a g-clamp and two pieces of softwood either side and bend it gently, but I'd do it this way:

HOLD a heavy lump hammer (faced with felt, cork or wood) with your left hand (assuming you are right-handed) UNDER the corner that is bent down, you do not swing or move this, just hold it there as 'support'.

Using a hammer faced with felt cork or timber, or a very clean mallet, gently, slowly, tap-tap the TOP of the bent angle. Each time you TAP the corner will move upwards, the lump hammer will absorb the blow and bounce downwards - hard to describe! The 'support' goes under the corner, the 'tapper' goes on the bend.
______
Paul

[pfb5]

I add, because it is brushed-stainless, it may be better to work on it upside-down. Meaning, hold the lump hammer (your 'dolly') under the bend, and tap down on the underside, so any marks that you might make don't show, as you won't be able to replicate the brushing very easily.

You might find some 'hammer-dolly' videos on youtube, though they'll be to do with car body repairs.

[Hitch]

Is it not an option to return it?

If not, i can't add much more than the above, other than tap it lots of times gently, and make sure you strike with a nice flat hammer blow, so the edge of the head or wooden block doenst mark the stainless.

If you've no felt/cork to hand, a good number of layers of tape does the trick too.


You may well find that a lot of the bend will push back without too much difficultyby hand as its a pretty shallow bend and thin sheet.

If you do damage the brushed finish a little, all is not lost, it can be sorted...
Let us know how you get on.

[wine~o]

As per Hitch.. return it, you are well within your rights to ask for a replacement if goods arrive damaged...

[Hitch]

As per Hitch.. return it, you are well within your rights to ask for a replacement if goods arrive damaged...

I know its not really in the spirit, but that would be my first choice...as a fabricator/sheet metal worker...

[pfb5]

Maybe OP already has a refund for damaged goods and now wants to save some money?

[manny]

Thanks for replies. I will have a go lets hope it works out. I did attempt to bend the corners back by hand but they didn't budge! Maybe I should have had my weetabix .

[manny]

Maybe OP already has a refund for damaged goods and now wants to save some money?

Yup that's it. Or I might even sell it on. The mrs wants a white sink now! But I really like this one.

[manny]

Just say I did take this to a fabricator how much would it cost to remedy?

[pfb5]

AHA!

Tell her not to go for a white sink, it will never look clean. Even a scratched/polished/wire-wooled s/s sink looks better than a grubby white one.

Fabricator, panel beater, car body shop, ten minutes and grease his palm a tenner cash. Fifteen for both corners if feeling generous!



I've thought of another way.

Lay two bits of 4x2 across the jaws of a workmate, drop a bit of cloth down between them. Insert the bent lip of the sink into the slot. Slowly (i) tighten the w/mate jaws (to flatten out the curve) (ii) at the same time straighten up the sink at the severest part of the bend.

This idea came from thinking, what I did in college was use a thing like a mangle to create a curve in sheet metal, now we need to reverse it.

But if you're going to sell it on, who's to say it won't get damaged in transit again? Some things just don't suit mail-order.
______
Paul

[manny]

AHA!

Tell her not to go for a white sink, it will never look clean. Even a scratched/polished/wire-wooled s/s sink looks better than a grubby white one.


But if you're going to sell it on, who's to say it won't get damaged in transit again? Some things just don't suit mail-order.
______
Paul

Thanks for the heads up. looks like I will be keeping it! I wasn't to keen on a white sink.

[manny]

HOLD a heavy lump hammer (faced with felt, cork or wood) with your left hand (assuming you are right-handed) UNDER the corner that is bent down, you do not swing or move this, just hold it there as 'support'.

Using a hammer faced with felt cork or timber, or a very clean mallet, gently, slowly, tap-tap the TOP of the bent angle. Each time you TAP the corner will move upwards, the lump hammer will absorb the blow and bounce downwards - hard to describe! The 'support' goes under the corner, the 'tapper' goes on the bend.
______
Paul

Have I got this right?

[pfb5]

Please realise that this is to be a slow and gentle process, you are reversing the stresses caused when the damage occurred. At the point of the bend, the molecules in the top of the steel were stretched, and underneath, they were compressed.

You are trying to reverse this process, if you hit it too hard you will flatten out the metal, making it thinner, so the edges will expand and 'grow'.

Have I got this right?

• Turn the lump hammer in your left hand clockwise a bit so that the face is flatter against the inside of the tongue bent down.
  Personally I would use something better than parcel tape...... or more of it.
  Cover the head of that claw hammer if that's what you're going to tap it with, you must not mark the brushed surface finish*.
  Tap gently along the angle of the bend (not against the lump hammer).

sink.jpg (95.24 KiB) Viewed 3646 times

* You could put masking tape over the steel but then you won't see what's happening.
IF it looks like the corner is bending up but the damage is not straightening in the right place, (you're creating a new bend) adjust the position of the lump hammer.

Sorry, I know what I mean but don't blame me if it goes wrong. Take your time & do not hit it too hard.
Good luck.