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Discussion Forum

Scratched eyeglasses

FastEddie | Posted in General Discussion on July 31, 2008 02:32am

Anyone have a solution for scratched eyeglasses?  Not talking about deep scratches, but the really fine ones that seem to multiple every month.  Makes it hard to see at night and when looking at bright light.

I did a search and found a lengthy discussion about using Armor Etch from Michaels to remove the anti-glare coating.  many people say that the coating is what’s scratched, and once it it removed the lenses are liek new.  Even had a picture where someone had done half a lens.  It makes sense, if you assume the anti-glare coating is a coating like a film finish, and it is taking on the very fine scratches.

“Put your creed in your deed.”   Emerson

“When asked if you can do something, tell’em “Why certainly I can”, then get busy and find a way to do it.”  T. Roosevelt

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  1. Hudson Valley Carpenter | Jul 31, 2008 03:22pm | #1

    Hi Eddie,

    Where've ya been lately?   Are you familiar with Mequire's automotive paint care products? 

    They make a plastic cleaner which does a fine job of removing minor scratches from surfaces like Lexan windows, motorcycle helmet face shields and the plastic coating on lenses of sun glasses, etc. 

    http://www.meguiars.com/?pro-clear-plastic-care/Mirror-Glaze-Clear-Plastic-Cleaner

    I looked it up for you because they make a lot of different formulations.  I've been using the one linked above to clean minor scratches off the plastic windshields of airplanes. as well as the other types of surfaces I mentioned, for more than thirty years.  I does a great job. 

    The companion product, called Mirror Glaze Plastic Polish, can be applied after using the cleaner, to get an even clearer view, but it's not as dramatic an improvement as the cleaner provides by itself. 

    PS: I just clicked on "read raves" on that link.  Lots of interesting comments, including one person who's been using the plastic cleaner and polish to restore CDs.

     

     




    Edited 7/31/2008 8:34 am by Hudson Valley Carpenter

  2. DanH | Jul 31, 2008 04:37pm | #2

    There is a product I have at home that you can use to coat your lenses and fill in fine scratches. Works sorta OK.

    It is an ironic habit of human beings to run faster when we have lost our way. --Rollo May
    1. LeeLamb | Jul 31, 2008 05:10pm | #3

      Please post the name of it when you get home. I, too, need to take care of a bazillion scratches on my specs.  Thanks!

      1. DanH | Aug 01, 2008 03:43am | #12

        Swipes brand "Lens CPR".

        View Image
        It is an ironic habit of human beings to run faster when we have lost our way. --Rollo May

        1. LeeLamb | Aug 01, 2008 03:17pm | #14

          Thanks!  I'll keep an eye out for it.  My new specs are horrid. My old ones great, but scratched.  I'll try the Swipes.

  3. Norman | Jul 31, 2008 05:34pm | #4

    Minor scratches are usually just in the anti-scratch coating, presuming your lenses have this option (mine always do, cuz I am hard on glasses). If so, your optician can strip and re-coat the lenses, which will then look like new.

    Given the high cost of my lenses, which have dang near every option,  my optician has drilled me in the proper way to clean them, which is the source of most scratches in the 1st place.

    Always wet clean and then dry with a soft, clean cloth towel. Bath towels are excellent. Never dry clean, the dirt becomes an abrasive. Avoid paper towels for the same reason.

    Been doing this for the last 10 years and my lenses last much longer than they used to before having to be recoated.

    Good luck.

     

     

    1. BryanSayer | Jul 31, 2008 05:41pm | #5

      A bit more specifically, avoid cleaning with any paper product because the wood fibers will scratch the plastic. This includes even bathroom or facial tissue.

      Edited 7/31/2008 10:41 am ET by BryanSayer

      1. Norman | Jul 31, 2008 05:50pm | #6

        Yup! Cloth only, wet only. Lenses stay scratch free for a long time.

        1. frammer52 | Jul 31, 2008 09:30pm | #7

          Or better yet, buy real glass.  i have found for work, safety glasses they can't be beat.  A little on the heavy side but you get used to it.

    2. FastEddie | Jul 31, 2008 10:53pm | #9

      I always wet-clean, usually with windex, sometimes with dish soap and water, sometimes with shaving cream.  I usually dry them with an old clean cotton dishtowel, or a clean t-shirt out of the drawer.  But after about 18 months the scratches start to become a problem."Put your creed in your deed."   Emerson

      "When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it."  T. Roosevelt

  4. CJM | Jul 31, 2008 09:41pm | #8

    "Anyone got a solution..."
    Yeah, http://zennioptical.com/cart/home.php

    Complete eyeglasses including anti-scratch and UV $8.00
    Can't go wrong at that price.

    "Makes it hard to see at night and when looking at bright light."
    Dang, I had the same issue, turns out I had cataracts, early 50's, maybe from welding.

  5. Shep | Aug 01, 2008 01:52am | #10

    I'm not sure I could see if I had glasses without scratches.

  6. MSA1 | Aug 01, 2008 03:24am | #11

    No solution but its amazing what the human eye will get used to. it always blows me away when I get new glasses and realize what i've been looking through for the last two years.

    Just ignore the scratches for a week or so, they'll disappear before your eyes.

  7. etherhuffer | Aug 01, 2008 03:56am | #13

    Stripping the old hard coat works, but then the base lens gets scratched. In the old days of glass lenses, Johnson's Paste Wax was the thing. The wax filled in the microscratches but was clear enough not to leave a haze. Can't do that with plastic.

    Get a small spray bottle of just a few ounces and put in a couple drops of Dawn liquid. Rinse the glasses, soap em up, rinse again and use a soft cotton towel. No terry cloth or paper. You should see 2 years or so of use that way. Avoid solvents like 409 as they hurt the coating.

    If you have a local optician that has an ultrasonic cleaner, visit them every 3 or 4 months and they will buzz the oil out of the eyewires. Then you don't drag dirt and oil over from where the lens and frame meet.

    And, pony up for threadlocker screws. They cost the optician 2 bucks a screw! But worth every penny to keep lenses and temples in place.

    http://www.etherhuffer.typepad.com

  8. FastEddie | Aug 10, 2008 08:12pm | #15

    Update ... got new glasses a week ago so I thought I would try Armor Etch on the old ones.  Works great.  Bought a small bottle at Michaels for $10.  The instructions have two options for etching glass, one says 60 seconds, the other says 5 minutes, I don't know why.  Also says it does not etch plastic.  I had to do it twice ... the first time it took off 80% of the anti-glare coating, probably didn't take it all off because I didn't smear it on well.  There are still a couple of very small spots that I need to do again, but wow does it make a difference.

    Someone mentioned that now the plastic lenses will scratch.  probably.  But after 1-1/2 years the old ones were scratched to the point of being difficult to see through, and now they are crystal clear, so it could delay the purchase of new glasses for at least a year.  Bottom line ... worth every penny.  There's enough goop in the small bottle to do 5-6 applications..

    "Put your creed in your deed."   Emerson

    "When asked if you can do something, tell'em "Why certainly I can", then get busy and find a way to do it."  T. Roosevelt

    1. Ken | Aug 15, 2008 04:58pm | #16

      Here's one more option, for posterity since you found a solution.I used the automotive headlight lens polisher, worked well.

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