The previous tenants of our home, in their infinite wisdom, decided to paint the bathroom sink with what seems to be ordinary household paint. It’s flaking and chipping off all over the place, and looks like hell. We have been slowly scraping away with plastic tools, but some of that paint refuses to budge. Any ideas on how to get the paint off without destroying the enamel finish underneath? A strong household cleaner? Vinegar?
Maybe strong alcohol? Paint remover? Test on a small patch somewhere.
I wonder what would cause someone to paint a sink in the first place? That’s unusual, a bit extreme. My fear is that you’re going to go to a lot of trouble only to discover some defect underneath, what they were initially trying to cover themselves. If it’s that hard to get off, is replacing it an option?
The layer of paint is not that thick, so I don’t think there are any major defects (there are a couple of chips). The sink itself is an unlovely shade of yellow, but it looks lots better without the uneven chipping home paint job. As it’s just a rental place, we don’t really want to go to all the trouble to replace the sink.
Try ‘soaking’ it over night with plain old water. Paint does not adhere to most sink surfaces well. A little soaking and you should be good to go.
(For the counter part just soak an old towel in water and leave it there overnight, it should saturate and get under the paint.)
This may take a few trys but it’s a cheap thing to start with.
Also oven cleaner works OK
Paint thinner ? It comes in large quantities, you could put the stopper in the sink and fill it to soak.
If it’s latex paint, you can get a spray (don’t remember the name) that will loosen it so you can wipe it off. They use it for paint on windows in construction cleanup.
I had a similar experience, only it was our toilet that was yellow, painted white with wall paint by previous tenants. Of course it washed away below the waterline, leading to a toilet that looked perpetually filthy.
If it is typical latex interior wall paint, petroleum-based paint thinner isn’t going to do anything except make the room stink.
Soak towels in hot water, wring partially so they’re still oozing water but not gushing. Then lay them on the paint. Repeat every 30-ish minutes when they get cool. After 2 or 3 cycles, you’ll probably be able to get most of it up with a plastic scraper. On flat surfaces, a razor blade scaper can be used if you’re careful not to dig the corner of the blade into the surface.
I’ve had luck getting latex paint drips off the sink with Chore Boy steel wool pads. No, it didn’t scratch the sink.
If it is an actual enamel on cast iron sink, nothing short of physical grinding is going to hurt it, and you should have no problems with using “Goof-Off” (warning: it’s stinky stuff that requires ventilation!) and/or a light touch with a razor blade.
If the sink is fiberglass or resin, less agressive methods will be needed. A citrus-based solvent like “Goo Gone” will help soften the paint, but it will be fairly slow.
I guess I have a different take on this. You say that the sink is in a rental space. Fine, let the landlord deal with it. Tell him it’s a health hazard with all the chipping, flaking paint and ask him nicely to repair or replace it. It is his sink and if your biggest complaint is that it’s unsightly then you don’t get to modify it without permission.
At the very least, keep your landlord informed. He may be willing to spring for a new sink and save everyone a bit of labor.
Fine steel wool, either the plain type used for paint removal on wood or the soapy type for doing dishes should both work well. You don’t even need water to remove anything with them.