Mine have built a decent number of very small scratches and they’re getting annoying so I’d like to get rid if at all possible.
I’ve seen various things suggested including:
- lens scratch repair kit (reviews don’t look great on amazon)
- baking soda paste
- non-abrasive toothpaste
- furniture polish (temporarily fills in the scratch from what I can tell)
I’m reluctant to try any of them without some first hand accounts. No lens coating on these so no worries there.
Thank you in advance!
edit: I just want to say thanks very much to everyone. I ended up getting my prescription emailed to me and buying a new pair for €17 (about $19 USD) delivered on a site that one helpful poster linked. Looks like they will take about 3 weeks to get here so I’ll put up with the scratchy ones until they get here.
When they do arrive I will take some pictures and test the various methods I found online then post up what works and what wrecks the lenses.
Afaik you would destroy the coating on modern lenses, making it worse. That’s why I am intensely careful with mine, I only carefully wash them under warm water (not hot) with dish soap without additives, and then use a microfibre cloth to dry. Water and dish soap first to remove anything that could scratch, even microscopic stuff.
After around 4 years of this, mine are almost as good as new still.
Ah unfortunately they’ve taken a bit of abuse over the years. Nothing major so the scratches are really tiny but enough of them have built up from rough and tumble with the kids etc. that they’re a constant annoyance now. :(
I do actually do the dishsoap / warm water thing myself and find it great.
These were my backup pair on a 2 for 1 offer so I didn’t get any lens coating / thinner lens thing on them.
I don’t know about outer coatings, but I always wondered if lapping film would work on glass lenses. Think super fine sandpaper for fiber optic cables.
You pay more initially, and have to look around more for it, but glass lenses hold up. Drop them. Stick them in your pocket with your car keys and pens. Clean them with whatever. Lose the case on day one. And they stay scratch free. For years.
Granted, this is only tenable if you have a “lighter” prescription.
I remove mine for close up stuff and thus my prescription has remained the same for over 20 years. I get new glasses not because the lenses scratch up, but because the frames break. I average new glasses every 8-10yrs.
Glass lenses.
I’ve never even been offered glass lenses. I thought they were phased out so that people would never get broken glass in their eyes.
Quality plastic lenses can last that long. Often being able to keep glasses that long depends most on the stability of your prescription, and not going for bottom of the barrel coatings.
Glass lenses are harder to scratch, but are heavier for the same prescription and if you get hit in the face can shatter into shards that are quite damaging to the eyes.
If getting hit in the face is not a risk for you and you dont mind the extra weight go for it, but it’s worth noting there are some downsides as well.
I’ve done it before, using a Dremel tool with a polishing wheel and wax polishing compound, then toothpaste on a rag.
It took me two days, per lens to get anything close to usably clear. So I hate to say it, but you’re probably better off getting new lenses.
TL;DR the next part, shit used to be made to last…
Or, if you hit a dumb stroke of luck like I recently did, get some vintage glasses made in the 1980s. It’s very rare that I stumble into prescription glasses that match my prescription, but I accidentally came across a perfect matching pair that was manufactured around 1988, and they just refuse to scratch!
Yes, that’s almost impossible to stumble across, but you never know what you might find in a thrift store or flea market.
two days, per lens
HOLY MOLY! Fair play to you for the perseverance though.
That’s because they’re glass lenses. The plastic whatever crap is just another form of planned obsolescence.
I think my eyesight getting progressively worse every year is a bigger contributor to the glasses industry than planned obsolescence 😭
Nope, can confirm 100%, they’re plastic. I just tested the edge with a razor blade, 100% plastic, made before the modern day enshittification and planned obsolescence era.
Buffing your lens with a tool will damage the coating and worst, it can change the shape and distort your view.
Even if you use a softer method, it will still affect the coating and your glasses will get dirtier faster and be harder to clean
The best solution is to not mess with it and simply get new glasses if it becomes too unbearable.
Could a local optician sort it?
You know, this is so blindingly obvious I never thought of it. Haha! Great idea.
edit: I actually can’t believe I didn’t think of this. Chuckling away to myself here.
edit 2: I looked up the opticians I bought from and they have a page about scratches that says they can’t unfortunately. :( It recommends new lenses. Not sure if that’s profit motive or not though.
Polishing is how the lenses are shaped into your prescription; buffing out scratches would change the shape of the lens
my undaeratanding is that lens material is so optically tuned for weight that removal of any amount of material makes a difference to the focusing - not to mention the possible coatings on the lens. this is what I have been told, I have no other evidence.
Costco’s optometrist said they couldn’t buff out the scratches on mine since they don’t actually use glass anymore. They use polycarbonate lenses which are strong and won’t shatter if broken (I’ve definitely tested this on accident…)
blindingly obvious
Perfect.
Code at checkout: BOGO
Last time I bought glasses there, it cost me ~60$ for 2 pairs. Both with scratch resistant coatings, and one with a photochromic coating (auto tint in sunlight).
Just wanted to come back and say thanks. I emailed my optician for my prescription and bought a pair of glasses off this site for €17 delivered (about $19 USD). Do you mind me asking how long yours took to arrive? I’m in one of the “standard delivery” countries.
If I remember right, it was just over 2 weeks; but it’s been a couple years since I ordered.
I’ve ordered my last 2 sets from there, and had at least 3 family members ordering from there too. We’ve never had any issues aside from one poorly fitting set, which they returned and got fresh ones free of charge. I really couldn’t be happier with goggles4u.
I’ve really got to get around to seeing the optometrist and getting a fresh prescription… Time flies.
Thanks. Just had a look and that is incredibly cheap. They also do
freestandard shipping to my country so I will seriously consider this.Zenni optical is another affordable online option! Or eye buy direct. I’ve only used Zenni, but all of my glasses since like 2011 have come from them and I’ve had 0 issues!
Ah! I knew there was a place someone had mentioned to me before that they were happy with and couldn’t remember the name. It was Zenni. I ended up buying from that site linked above for very cheap and I’m going to do some experimenting with these scratched ones when the new ones get here.
Stuff like toothpaste is way too coarse for things like this. It isn’t something I have tried as I don’t wear glasses but have you considered trying something like a rubbing compound used during paintwork on cars etc?
It is basically a fine grade liquid sandpaper and is used to buff up the final laquer coat to a good shine.
Pretty sure you can get different grit levels and may require some elbow grease but may be an option worth looking at?
I recently viewed and saved a post regarding modern day lens coatings. Took me a bit to find it…
https://lemmy.world/post/18532120
There’s also a particular comment in that thread that says what chemical they use to remove that coating. Check back soon and I’ll reply to this comment with a link to that particular comment…
Addendum, found the comment of interest…
If they’re scratches in the actual lens I’d be skeptical of buffing them out, but if you’re talking about that premium anti-glare coating, I’ve used a Dremel and the soft and fluffy polish applicator with some car wax and water to strip all of it away. Feather lightly, many passes, use water to keep the pad from getting dry and hot, royal pita. Car wax was just the straight carnauba stuff, not anything meant for fixing automotive paint, just something to keep the friction down
I don’t think it would work in the slightest either way but rather than buff them out, maybe find something to fill in the scratches.
Yeah one of the recommended things I saw was furniture polish or car wax to fill them in. Both would only be temporary. Based on the replies so far I may give this a whirl as I don’t see it being damaging.
Don’t have a solution, want to leave this here for the advice
