Today's plastic toilet cisterns rarely crack, but older porcelain tanks can crack due to damage or impact. It is common to replace a toilet tank when a crack occurs, since crack repair may require more time, effort and cost than a simple replacement. However, small cracks lend themselves to a quick repair job needing only a few materials and tools that can be easily obtained. Give a repair crack to the toilet tank one chance before looking for a new tank.
TOTO C744E#01 Drake Elongated Bowl, Cotton White
Instructions
1 Close the water to the tank and dry the tank completely. Clean the area of the crack.
2 Drill a hole completely through the porcelain with a Dremel tool and little rotary shredder with embedded diamonds. Pierce the farthest visible extension of the crack. Wet the bit periodically with a sponge to keep it cool, which will control dust and keep the crack from spreading.
3 Drill a V or U-shaped area along the crack to remove dirt and give the epoxy a large surface for bonding. Drill the area about 1/8 inch deep and 1/8 inch wide.
4 Fill the crack with industrial white epoxy. Soften the epoxy so that it rises just a little higher than the level of the surface of the toilet tank. Put a piece of clear adhesive tape on top of the epoxy-filled crack to keep the epoxy in place while it dries.
5 Sand the epoxy to the surface of the tank. Start with the coarser grain paper (40 to 60 grit) and gradually move to finer grain (600 grit sandpaper). Continue until the cracked area looks smooth. If air bubbles occur, add more epoxy and re-sand after the epoxy dries.
6 surface spray to repair renovation of the spray finish in the epoxy dries and let it dry, followed by a spray repair of the clear surface shine.
Tips and warnings
- Wear safety glasses for this project.