Decorative metallic coatings are a popular way to dress up concrete floors (see Adding Dazzle with Metallic Coatings). But you can also apply these coatings to concrete countertops, vanities, and even sinks to add some glitz and glamour to a humdrum bathroom. On this project, Olvin Espinosa of Concrete Decor Studio applied a silver metallic coating to a master bathroom sink and vanity for homeowners who feel in love with the look when they visited his company’s showroom.

“The clients came in with the goal of having a two-person sink, but they did not want to take up a lot of space,” says Espinosa. “They decided on a 30-inch trough-style sink and saw a table we had applied a metallic coating to and wanted the same look for their sink and vanity. We told them we had never tried to put a metallic coating on a bowl-shaped sink because we thought it would run down the sides. But we tried it on a sample first and, surprisingly, it clung to the sides and covered evenly. The clients loved the way the finish looked and decided to go with it.”

Concrete Decor cast the sink using a GFRC concrete mix from Surecrete and gave it a 1 1/2-inch rock-face edge to add some dimension. Before applying the metallic coating, they ground the surface of the piece with a 50-grit diamond-impregnated pad, followed by the application of a scratch coat of the Surecrete mix to ensure better coating adhesion. For the metallic finish, they used clear HP Sparta-Flex (a polyaspartic concrete coating) tinted with a silver metallic pigment and topped it off with a clear seal coat. As you can see, the project was a big success, resulting in a distinctive high-end look.

“This was the first time we applied a metallic coating to a sink. We completed the project about a year ago and have not had any call backs. The customers are extremely happy. Since that time, we’ve done a few more sinks like this for other clients,” says Espinosa.

Materials used
Precast concrete mix: Surecrete Xtreme GFRC mix
Metallic coating: HP Sparta-Flex tinted with a silver metallic pigment

Contractor
Olvin Espinosa
Concrete Decor Studio, Bethlehem, Pa.
www.concretedecorstudio.com

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