[Frank D]

We've been using this dishwasher for over 10 years and still washes fine. The entire rack is coated with a rubbery plastic that I assume is vinyl-- light blue in color. The lower dish rack has vinyl chipping off of some of the uprights that support the dishes. The bare metal is showing in some cases and starting to rust. Mostly, it is at the very top tip of the upright. At those spots, it sometimes will leave a small rust stain on a dish. I was looking for a new rack but shocked to see it costs $100-- that is about 20% of the cost of the entire dishwasher! I noticed that Whirlpool sells vinyl touch-up paint and also small covers but I haven't seen this specifically for Kitchen Aid dishwashers. Does anyone know if the Whirlpool product works to solve the problem?? Or is it mandatory to replace the rack? The color of the rack is blue. The Whirlpool vinyl touchup comes in blue so I assume it must be similar. The little slip on tip covers for the Whirlpool model look like the ideal solution but it says you need to glue them on. It seems like the dishwasher detergent would make those pop off even with glue plus I'm not certain they are sized to fit the Kitchen Aid uprights in the rack. Has anyone had experience with this problem and found a cure?? The replacement prices seem crazy to me-- if I had to replace both top and bottom dishracks, it would cost nearly $300!!! I thought there must be some sort of repair kit to deal with this but need a suggestion for the Kitchen Aid brand. Thanks.

[richappy]

I would just sand and dry each rust spot and smear a heavy coat of GE clear silicon cement on and form it to a heavy, smooth coat.