First you need to determine what the sink is actually made out of.
this post was submitted on 07 Nov 2025
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How can I find out?
Most people can tell by touch. Knock on it and you'll feel and hear if its porcelain or enameled steel/iron like most are. If its dead sounding, like knocking on a coffee cup its porcelaine, if it rings a bit, enameled steel.
As long as its one of those two, you can try scrubbing 000 or 0000 steel wool. If its soft plastic, don't as you'll scratch it.
If it's soft plastic (acrylic), what could I do instead?
The burn would be IN the platic not on it. Best solution would be to replace it. If you really can't do that, you can consider some combination of bleaching it to lighten the colour, or gently polishing it away (like a dremel and rouge) then clear coating.
Go find a discount building material store.. most larger metropolitan areas I've been in have them. You can find a replacement sink for pennies on the dollar because contractors screwed up the order, or the owner changed their mind.
Adding, habitat Re-store is a common option in the US.
Nice, I've never heard of that one.
What's a rouge?
Very fine polishing compound. Often called jeweller's rouge because they use it to polish fine jewelry. Find it at home depot, some craft stores, comes with a dremel kit etc...
Could power tools be too powerful as oppose to using very fine sand paper.
Could? Maybe. It's more about the abrasiveness of the paper/compound and how agressive you are with working it. Rouge is as gentle as it gets. You can use it manually, but be prepared to work it for a long while.
If it's acrylic, you can use an acrylic tub/sink repair kit but you need to use the right kind of kit so make sure you know which it is before you try. Based on what it looks like, it appears to be some sort of plastic.
Tap on it: Does it sound plastic? Metal/ceramic maybe? Do magnets stick? If so, it's probably some sort of enamel over steel.
Does it flex at all? If so, probably plastic.
Alternately, you could replace it entirely. If money is tight, hit up surplus stores or used item stores for a decent deal (Habitat for Humanity Re-Store, flea markets, Craigslist, thrift store, etc.).
This is an after-picture after using 800 grit sandpaper.
If nothing else works, maybe make the best out of it, grab a lighter (or soldering iron) and just burn a cool pattern on it?
Actually, that's a great idea. I'm going to draw some penises instead.
That's the spirit! You got it!
Basically Kintsugi, but made by someone 13-year-old mentally 😂 Exactly what I imagined too
Just make sure you don't inhale any fumes from the plastic
Mr Clean magic eraser with some isopropyl alcohol, give it a scrub?
I'd be tempted to try sandpaper, and find some matching acrylic paint to reseal it.
I would likely try the methods of car headlight repair:
- fine sandpaper (e.g. 600)
- followed by ultra fine sandpaper (e.g. 1000)
- followed by polishing sandpaper (e.g. 2000 or even more)
- followed by polishing paste (e.g. cerium oxide) on a felt pad
However, since I see that the sink has a glossy surface... I would be deterred by that. The method I mention may reach a layer which isn't burnt, but will wear off glossy finish and there's no certainty of it returning in the same tone after polishing is done.
What paint to use - sorry, no idea.
Try rubbing with mild abrasive such as toothpaste - it'll take a while if it's going to work though and you might be left with a dull spot.