Never saw or heard of Swanstone..I can tell you that we have had our Blanco Anthracite SS for about a month and I absolutely LUV IT! Did you do a quick search on GW for Swanstone? Go straight to the bottom of all the posts under kitchens forum and type in "Swanstone".

Just found this post...on the GW..hope it helps..is the sink your considering Acrylic?

Posted by Angie_DIY (My Page) on Mon, Sep 26, 11 at 1:45

Not sure if they have changed, but we had an acrylic sink (Swanstone -- the older Swanstone) that I hated. This would have been from about 1994 or so. It was a light color, and it stained very easily. Looked clean for all of 5 minutes after cleaning

The Blanco is a far better sink. Swanstone is a mix of acrylic and fiberglass like reinforcing. THe blanco is made from 80% granite

I am one of the very few who actually have had long-term (2 decades) of experience with Swanstone. I respectfully must differ from Angie_NY's post.

They DO make a line of cheaper acrylic products, but their solid-surface Swanstone line is EXCELLENT. Swanstone solid surface by Swan Corp. (which later changed its name to reflect its primary product) came out very shortly after DuPont introduced Corian.

Like Corian it is matte finish, unlike Corian the sinks come in all 38 colors. I do think that DuPont's Corian has some new nicer colors, but durability- and cleanability-wise, there is NO DIFFERENCE, assuming you have the 'real' Swanstone and not their cheaper acrylic line. A good friend of mine has Corian so we have often compared notes.

I have had Swanstone integral bathroom sinks for over 20 yrs that have undergone very hard usage - bleach, jet black hair dye, burning cigarettes. They still look new and are in perfect shape.

We were so pleased by the performance of the vanity tops, that for our kitchen update in 2003 we put in Swanstone counters and a super-single Swanstone sink. Our sink is in Tahiti Ivory, a wonderful blend of light neutral beige with tiny cream flecks. You must look very, very closely to see that it is two colors, but it gives the basic beige color a really nice depth.

The performance has been outstanding and we could not be more pleased. We would have no hesitation to use Swanstone again. Like DuPont, Swanstone does not allow kitchen countertops to be installed by independents; only factory trained installers are used. But all other items can be DIY installed.

The sinks can be dropped in or undermounted. Sadly, we could not undermount as our cabinet wasn't large enough. However, the ledge is thin enough that I can sweep most crumbs right into the sink without a problem.

The sink is easy to clean, and I love the quietness of it (our master bedroom suite is right downstairs, and noise is a consideration which dictated many of our kitchen choices).

The ONE issue with it is minor. Cans left in the sink will leave a rust ring, which I have found will fade over a few weeks. It's the one thing Softscrub doesn't take out, but the rust rings do go away completely - it will happen naturally within a month's time, and you shouldn't waste any effort on it.

Everything else - saffron stains, blueberries, red wine, gray scrapemarks from aluminum pans, etc. - comes out completely. The sink needs only a soapy sponge on a daily basis to clean it. I use Softscrub only once a week at most, and usually less often than that. I love to cook, and since we prefer a variety of ethnic cuisines we place a high value on ease of maintenance and durability.

If you are buying a true Swanstone solid surface product, I believe you will be very pleased with it. It should be noted, BTW, Swanstone does not predrill the holes (or didn't, when I bought my kitchen sink) so you have some flexibility about placement for faucet, filter, air gap, etc.

jkom51 is dead on.......the Swanstone granite sinks are exceptional! I would definitely not go with a solid surace/acrylic sink as they cannot withstand heat like from boiling water, etc. Totally love the Swanstone granite sink and my sister has one and just adores it. Blanco is a good quality sink as well. Since they are different brands, I would say go with the style of sink you like best in either of them as they each offer different looks, features, and arrangements. The lighter colors will tend to show stains more, but not the darker colors like the browns and blacks though they can show water spots from time to time, but a few swipes with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser and they are good as new again.

>.with a solid surace/acrylic sink as they cannot withstand heat like from boiling water,>>

Thank you, but actually that is NOT what I said. I do have the solid surface sink, not the granite composite, and we have been exceptionally pleased with it. The Swanstone solid surface sink is far superior to the Kohler Executive Chef porcelain-clad cast iron sink we had previously.

The Kohler was a good sink but we hated having a double. We were very surprised that the Swanstone was actually much easier to clean than the Kohler. We also vastly preferred the matte finish because our kitchen gets an enormous amount of direct California sunlight and the less glare, the better.

The issue with boiling water into INTEGRAL sinks has been well documented with several brands. If you are doing an undermount or overmount, this is totally irrelevant. We make a lot of pasta, and gallons of boiling water have been poured into our Swanstone since 2003 without any issues whatsoever.

Swanstone's granite composite sinks, as far as I recall, come only in a limited color selection, similar to Blanco. I don't know anyone who has one, so cannot recommend one way or the other.

The only other person on these forums who has a true Swanstone solid surface sink bought one several years ago on my recommendation and is still very pleased with it - she and I still correspond - but she no longer contributes to this forum.

I hope this helps to clear up some of the misconceptions about the different lines which Swanstone Corp. offers.

Too bad the ascend won't fit into my space. Oh well, I guess it is back to the blanco for me.
Thank you all for your help.

Jkom51 - Thank you for all your info re: the Swanstone solid surface sink. Please let me know if this is the sink you have, KSSB-3322 (see link also). Can you post a picture (or e-mail it to me) of your Tahiti Ivory sink color? Online, the color looks more white. It's so hard to tell actual sink colors by their color samples online. Btw, for others interested, they now show that there is 1 pre-drilled hole (faucet) and 4 pre-scored for addl. holes if necessary. http://theswancorp.com/images/link_spec/kssb3322.pdf

Thanks.

Here is a link that might be useful: Swanstone Solid Surface Sink

Jkom51 - do you also have a bottom grid for it as well? I didn't see any options for one on their website. Thx.

Yes, that's the exact sink we have. I never use a grid, sorry. I strongly suggest you get color samples from Swanstone Corp.; Tahiti Ivory is gorgeous but no photo can show such a subtle color mix.

The one issue we have is our own fault on installation. We have a Grohe Ladylux Plus with the pull-out (not pull-down) and we should NEVER have placed it in the center position. Center is fine for a pull-down, but a pull-out requires substantially more 'elbow room' and should be placed at the far RH hand on the Swanstone 3322.

No, my Swanstone sink has never scratched. But I confess I have no idea whether they've changed the formulation; I have never checked on that. I'm truly surprised you could scratch it with just a fingernail - I wouldn't want that for myself either!