Sound technical content, curated with aloha by
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ
The authoritative public forum
for Metal Finishing since 1989
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Titanium stain on porcelain sink
Q. I don't know if you can help me. I have a white porcelain sink that I installed yesterday. I have a titanium wedding band. When I installed the sink my ring made a few grey streaks on the sink. I've tried to remove it with comet and a sponge, and also with a pencil eraser. Neither technique worked. I do not believe it is scratched, rather I believe it is leaving a mark that I can't remove. Have you heard of this type of thing, and do you know of anything that is good remove titanium? or is it probably a scratch.
Thanks,
Joshua T [surname deleted due to age of posting]
- Martinsville, New Jersey
2003
Q. I am having the same problem with my wedding band, and my wife is ready to get me a new one. I did find one article on line that said to try; toothpaste, a pencil eraser or Whink rust stain remover ⇦this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] . Haven't tried any yet. If anyone has any other option, please give advice.
Greg B [surname deleted due to age of posting]- Russellville, Arkansas
2003
Ed. note: According to the SDS, Whink contains hydrofluoric acid. I would not use it. But if you do, please do so only with gloves ⇦this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] and goggles ⇦this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] .
A. Use Lime-A-Way Toilet Bowl Cleaner [affil links] (only the toilet bowl cleaner, not other lime away products)..let sit for a few minutes and wipe and rinse.
Shannon B [surname deleted due to age of posting]- Katy, Texas
2003
A. I tried all the other suggestions and none worked. For Titanium scratches in a porcelain sink use ultra-fine sandpaper. The kind Body shops use to wet sand cars. It takes a little rubbing, but the scratches came out in the end.
Jay P [surname deleted due to age of posting]- Salt Lake City, Utah
2004
I tried the toothpaste solution when my wife's golf clubs had left some ugly scratches in our bathroom sink, and it WORKED! It takes some serious rubbing, but in a few minutes the scratches had disappeared without a trace.
Niclas E [surname deleted due to age of posting]- Stockholm, Sweden
2004
A. Toothpaste (Colgate Baking Soda & Peroxide Whitening to be exact) and a little bit of Oxiclean ⇨
...it takes a bit of scrubbing, but don't give up! My husband scratched our white sink with his ring at 6 am and by 6:30 am we had all of the scratches out!
- Amsterdam, New York
2006
All the pesky little daily chores perkily completed by 6:30 AM, eh, Julie?
Please put the coffee on tomorrow and wake me up around 9 :-)
... and if you feel like making eggs ...
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Colgate & Oxiclean ⇦this on eBay or Amazon (affil link)] worked for me in 2 minutes of scrubbing. Great hint.
Preston Y [surname deleted due to age of posting]- Greensboro, North Carolina
2006
A. I had the same thing happen and I tried the toothpaste and it worked great. You have to scrub for a bit but the stains come off. It even smells nice while you're doing it.
Barb G [surname deleted due to age of posting]- Aberdeen, South Dakota
2007
It worked, I love you all (and so does my husband!). Although the Colgate method took a bit longer than 2 minutes, more like half an hour. I am not sure that I would have fancied using sandpaper on my sink.
A Silveston- Devon, UK
2007
A. Had scratch-like stains on my bathroom sink found to be from my titanium watch. Tried the things published here. Didn't get good results until I used chrome polishing paste intended for car maintenance.
F Yngvason- Akureyri, Iceland
October 10, 2008
A. Hello, I too went to the internet to find a way to get a titanium ring scratch off of a porcelain sink. After trying various chemicals and Mr. Clean Magic Eraser pad, the toothpaste seemed to work the best. About 5-10 minutes of heavy scrubbing with toothpaste and Magic Eraser ⇦this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] got the scratches mostly gone.
Jeff Stevens- Vancouver, Washington
March 22, 2009
A. I tried most of the ideas mentioned above above and had no success with removing the mark. The sandpaper idea freaked me out a bit for obvious reasons until my (amazing) wife had the idea to use a nail file - which to my utter delight shifted the titanium mark !
David M. Hall- Melbourne, australia
November 24, 2010
Used Barkeepers Friend ⇦this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] on scratches made by oven racks in a white porcelain tub. Worked like a charm!
Traci Bodette- Essex, Massachusetts
January 26, 2011
A. Use any automotive paint cutting compound. For hard-to-remove marks, use a fine grade of emery paper (wet rub) e.g. 360 grade.
Matt Gibbs- Melbourne VIC Australia
August 11, 2013
Rubbing compound ⇦this on eBay or Amazon [affil links] works in 10 seconds.
Josh blogus- jacksonville, Florida USA
October 20, 2019
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