The kitchen sink that came with the Euro Mini’s sink cabinet was very shallow and not exactly what I wanted.
The hole in the top of the cabinet for the sink was deep, so there was plenty of room to add a deeper sink. My attempts at making a sink out of polymer clay were lumpy and rather sad. So, I built one out of 1/8″ basswood and balsa.
I first measured and cut the vertical pieces to fit inside the opening in the cabinet. I then glued them onto a thin sheet of balsa using a jig. Before enclosing the box, I used a metal sewing eyelet to punch a hole for a drain.
Once the basic box was dry, I cut the balsa base to fit and drilled a hole in the base cabinet to match up with the drain.
Using 1/4″ half round strip wood, I built a frame for the top of the sink box.
I used a tiny bit of spackling to fill in any gaps between the frame and the box.
I watered down the paint so the finish would dry without any brush marks, sanding in between coats to remove any imperfections that would give away the fact that the sink is wood and not porcelain. Once the paint finish was dry, I added a couple of coats of gloss sealer (Delta Ceramcoat gloss varnish). To get the effect in the bottom of the sink, I let the gloss sealer pool. I also covered it after applying the gloss to keep dust from settling on the finish.
UPDATE (01-12-10)
Alas, the above sink is no more. The gloss varnish cracked and yellowed in the thicker areas when it dried. I had used it on the faux granite without a problem. Thin coats of this varnish work great.
I made a second sink, and this time I used Triple Thick Brilliant Brush-On Gloss Glaze by DecoArt for the finish.
The finish turned out like porcelain again, though the glaze was definitely thick and not easy to use. You have to work fast because it dries so fast. I am pleased with the second sink but disappointed that the varnish I had used ruined the first.
Here the sink is installed in the cabinet with the sewing eyelet drain pressed into place. Crisis averted! :D
Update 02-20-10:
Well, I spoke too soon. The second varnish (Triple Thick Brilliant Brush-On Gloss Glaze by DecoArt) turned yellow, too. There are big letters on the front of the package that read, “Non-Yellowing,” so I don’t know what happened.
I wasn’t going to give up on the second sink without trying to fix it first. I removed it from the cabinet, removed the hardware and gave it two coats of Krylon indoor/outdoor gloss white spray paint. It worked! :D
