basemint laundry/basin sink - cleaning agents? (bathtub, ceramic, faucets)

[bradykp]

i have what seems to be a ceramic basin sink in my basement. it's old, very old. at one point it was probably some sort of off-white or white color. but now, the bottom of both sides have a lot of buildup so the insides are brown with some stuff stuck to the sink.

it's a nice basin sink, so i'm wondering what cleaning agents would be best to try to clean it out?

then, i just need to get new faucets for it. it would be a shame to throw it out and replace it with one of those cheap plastic ones....

[bradykp]

i said ceramic, could easily be porcelain.

[MrRational]

Cast iron with porcelain over it like an old bathtub and formed concrete were common
Use the same basic things you might use in bathtub... but!

But being so old... the odds are that someone else has already used something caustic on it
maybe even an acid which has etched through the porcelain on the surface.

Does it look like one of these?
http://www.laurelleaffarm.com/pages/...undry-sink.htm

Vintage Standard Sanitary Co. Double Basin China Sink

[bradykp]

pretty much looks like the second one. and yeah, come to think of it, it's got some chips around the edges and it looks like concrete. it's got what looks like little cracks in the sink itself, but you can't fill them, so that might be "etched through" as you said.

i just hit it with some bleach and got a lot of the heavy stuff off. going to try some barkeeper's friend later when my wife gets home with it. i just don't want to go through getting new faucets and everything for it and then have it still not be useable due to the gunk in the bottom.

[bradykp]

how about CLR or ZEP?