Topaz wash basin cracked

The bathroom basin in our 2001 Topaz has developed a crack in the 'drain gulley' (for want of a better name) which the tip-up basin tips into:



Just to be clear, this is the (normally hidden) channel which the contents of the basin tips into.
It seems that cracking is a common issue caused by the plastic becoming brittle with age.
The basin is similat to the "Cleo" one here [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] except that the basin suround seems to be integral to the entire shower area wall, rather than a separate part. In fact it is possible that a repair has already been done here as the 'drain gulley' section is a separate piece, less faded than the moulding around it, and apears to have been glued in place.
Does anyone know whether a replacement 'drain gulley' is available, or alternatively, has anyone any experience of (successfully) repairing this ?

We can certaily obtain new bathroom fittings so that is no problem. There are also some very good products to reseal showers and basins but it needs to be in a workshop to do a reseal. We need pictures of the full sink assembly to fully identify which one it is, there a few similar ones out there and it important to get the right one.

Let me know if you need some more information. (reseals are less expensive than new fittings).

Hi there,

From the photograph it looks as if the "hole" itself is sound so I would tend to go for a simple repair as follows:

o Use a stainless steel pan cleaner to clean up the plastic surrounding the "hole".

o Vacuum the dust away.

o Use a Dremel and a "V" shaped burr to clean out around the "hole" and the crack for about 2mm deep.

o Vacuum the dust away.

o Wipe the area with a lint-free rag dipped in white spirit to make sure that there was no dust in the area.

o Make sure that there was no "wetness" (from water OR white spirits) anywhere near the "hole" or the crack.

o Mix up some ordinary Araldite and (using the end of a paper-clip) gently "stroke" the Araldite into the crack and around the edge of the "hole".

Done properly I would expect a repair like that to last quite a few years without leaking.

Best regards,

Ian

I did a similar repair around the taps of my tip-up sink where the plastic had lost all strength. I applied masking tape to the 'visible side' and then Araldite to the rear side. Importantly, I applied successive layers of glass fibre tape and Araldite on the rear side to give the repair strength. On removing the masking tape the finish was really quite good and needed no further finishing. The strength was probably better than it was originally.

Bartfarst

So long as the area is totally clean & dry, a white polyurathane (PU) adhesive can by applied with a finger to the underside, squished through to

the topside, then more 'fingered' on the top, Finnish off with a wet finger & it will be smooth & last forever as its also flexible.

If done correctly, it will NOT fail again, years ago, I had a GRP hi-top made for my Transit, we 'glued' it on using only PU, a very small 'drip' of PU

dropped onto the inside rear door, when I tried to remove it with much difficulty, it brought the factory baked paint with it!!

Many thanks for your suggestions - it looks like a repair is imminent