Some background:
I was originally going to go with a double corner sink, but then I figured out a way to bypass that and use a regular (straight) 33" double sink.

Anyway, I subsequently ordered a sink via Ebay which was advertised as having SilentShield Plus technology.

Upon arrival, I see it has black rubber on the underside of each bowl (and furthermore, the rubber is brittle & sorta crumbly). Also, the sink arrived dented & damaged, so I'm deciding whether they should replace it with a duplicate - though undamaged - sink, or whether to get a refund.

So my question is:
whether SilentShield Plus Technology **is** black rubber undercoating? Or is it rather cheap junk?

See, I'm chemical sensitive, and the smell of the rubber sorta gives me a headache. I have another sink in the house (Kindred) which also has coating underneath, but it isn't black rubber, rather rough-textured metal. And it's an excellent sink.

Should I ask for a refund rather than a replacement of another such brittle-rubber undercoated sink?

If you feel you will be sensitive to new rubber then you should not have this sink. I've not seen the pads become old and brittle. If you get a replacement they should not be brittle nor should they become so.

what you see on the bottom of the sink is automotive undercoating. if you like the sink, you can probably paint something over the black undercoating. i believe the coating is asphalt based not rubber but not being there, i'm only guessing.

Thank you both! Maybe it's junk after all.

In any case, can you please advise whether **genuine** SilentShield tech is actually metal rather than rubber?

Or is genuine SilentShield tech indeed rubber?

I forgot to mention the brand. It's C-Tech. Have you heard of C-Tech?

Silent Shield is the coating on a stainless steel sink which is supposed to cut down on the vibration noise. Few things actually accomplish that.

Uh, I still don't have the answer to my original question.

Is SilentShield Plus rubber?
Or is it a metal coating?

What is genuine SilentShield made of?

And is C-Tech supposed to be a good brand?

Are rubber undercoatings common nowadays or not?

(As for asking questions ahead of time, how was I supposed to know that some sinks have rubber undercoatings? Any sinks I ever saw never had that!!
And I sure **did** investigate prior to purchase, such as how deep the bowls were, how many faucet holes, length, width...

I feel like crying with frustration, seriously, because I've gotten many responses some of which just lectured me [groundlessly] instead of answering my questions.
I **do** appreciate some of the suggestions such as realization that people can be sensitive to new rubber, and painting the underpart (though not sure how to go about painting on rubber. And it **is** rubber, even if brittle and glued on.

Well, my first comment which may be unkind is that nothing good ever comes from eBay. That's my opinion and I'll let it go at that.



Now: SilentShield is a patented Sterling ( a Kohler company ) technology. It is a pad attached to the sides of the bowls to dampen vibrations which are a principal component of the noise. I don't know what it is made of, but I'm sure Sterling could let you know if there is something wrong with the material you have. Sight inseen, I suspect someone took a cheap stainless sink and glued some junk on. The Sterling website has pictures so you may be able to identify if the sink itself is really a Sterling.


Sterling is a good company. Like other sink manufacturers they offer products at different price and quaility levels. In stainless sinks, one of the most important features is the guage or thickness of the steel. ( Lower number is thicker) 22Ga is very thin and inexpensive. 21 or 20 better; and the very best sinks are often 18 Ga and very expensive. All manufacturers use some kind of coating on the undersides, depending on the price point, to help deaden the noise. Sterling's SilentShield pads seem to be in addition to a coating.

Thanks for your response!

And below is my URL with clear pics of the sink. Any comments?

I hear what you & the other guy say about Ebay, but note that I have already made a few purchases on Ebay, and was very satisfied. For example, I bought a used HP 6L laser printer & it works just fine.

Despite my above post, I just realized that it actually *did* show a picture of the underpart even though I hadn't taken note of it prior to purchase because I never even considered that as an issue. See, the guy I bought it from has a TOP rating - i.e. many people had purchased sinks from him & were very satisfied. So again I reiterate that I didn't go into it blindly, I *had* checked his rating & buyers' comments.

Here's the pics:

[eclectives.bravehost.com]

I found some sites selling C-tech, and looked at the specs. They seem to be high end, very heavy, very expensive. Can't seem to find anything about the COMPANY, which leads me to believe it is not a company per say, but a BRAND sold through design houses.

SilentShield is a Sterling(Kohler) trademark so it seems to be a mixup to be talking about that and C-Tech in the same product.


I shop extensively on the internet, and have no problems. All my research on eBay however indicates that much of the merchandise is either fraudulently or innocently mis-identified, stolen, of just not actually in possession of the seller (scam). I know eBay would say that the percentage is minor. You do what you want , but that's my story and I'm sticking to it.
In the case of your sink, I don't know what you paid, but I assume a substantial discount against MSRP. Do you ever wonder just how they can sell so cheap. ( There are of course legitimate reasons possible). How did they come into possession of these sinks? Are they used? Are they seconds, or mfg. returns?


If you feel that your product was simply damaged in transit, then you either have a claim against the shipping co. or perhaps a reputable seller will replace it.

Jimmy did you see the pic of the sinks that I posted in my other response to you above? Here it is again, and note the seller had a very high rating and many Ebay buyers feedbacked that they were very satisfied with the sinks they purchased from him.

So I didn't go blindly into the purchase.

And though I hadn't realized it, he actually *had* posted a pic of the underside as well. Anyway, once again, here's the pics:

[eclectives.bravehost.com]

So - what do you think, based on the pics?

P.S. Point taken about Ebay, and thanks for the info.

Almost all "good" stainless steel sinks have a coating of some kind as a sound suppressor. Elkay coats the bottoms and then attaches a "pad" in a crucial place for additional deadening. The material is not too important. What is important is to give the bottom of the sink some "mass" so it is resistant to the "drumming" sound when the water is flowing against it. Almost all will vibrate when a disposer is running.

E-bay purchases are no better than the person you buy from. But that picture of the silent shield shows nothing but a large sound absorber. It will be more effective than a simple coating, or small individual pads, but anything that would stabilize the bottom of the sink would work as well.

Return the sink and get another one with certification that it doesn't contain rubber or rubber compound.
Do it now as your medical condition demands it.
Best Wishes

Minni;

Have you ever considered closing up the kitchen and eating out? That sink has been a thorn in your flesh for what seems like weeks now, and it appears that you are now going to do it somewhat like was suggested at the very beginning.

Thanks! I'm a newb at this & learning the ropes, but actually as I realize now, the material it's made of *is* important if one is chemical sensitive to rubber.

Ya live & ya learn.

OK, thank you.

Nah, methinks I'll open up shop mah-self once kitchen is installed (whenever that miracle day arrives!

Will you patronize my minni-restaurant complete with sulphurous-rubber sink?

It might be interesting to see if the final result is worth all the aggravation it has caused you. Promise you will not pass out from the result of your allergy to it.

How does one with a sensitivity to rubber live in the modern world, with Latex everywhere unless you are not sensitive to that, car tires everywhere you turn around, and rubber items all over the house and business places?

Good point. The answers to some things are elusive - you'd have to be *inside* me to know. For example, I went into a carpet store, and the smell HIT me. As for smell of tires on the car, it's not a true comparison, because if the tires would be inside a kitchen cabinet, their smell would probably hit me every time I opened the cabinet door.

Could be I'd get used to the smell of the rubber underparts on sinks, but that doesn't mean it would be healthy for me. Listen, most people don't like the smell of manure, but if they'd live with manure long enough they'd get used to it - I think. But that doesn't make it a healthy environment to live in, does it?

Also note there are times when I'm feeling sorta under the weather, and at those times, smells bother me more than at times I'm not feeling that way. And I think it has gotten worse as I've gotten older.

Note that I have heavy metal toxicity, and there may be a correlation between that & various sensitivities. I can't tolerate Lysol, perfume, and alot more. I was once at my sister's house, and she had sprayed bathroom spray at the other corner of the house. As soon as she sprayed it, I was able to detect it & asked "ugh, what's that smell?" even though I was at the opposite corner of the house. As soon as she entered the room, my brother-in-law asked, "did you just use the spray?" and she responded affirmatively.