Even if you treat your glasses very carefully, scratches still often form during use. These can be small, almost invisible roughness to the eye or large damage. In any case, it looks ugly, and for the owner of the accessory it deforms the outlines of objects and people and keeps the eye muscle in constant tension. What to do? What actions can be taken to solve the problem at home and what means to use, read on.
How to determine the nature and severity of damage?
Take a close look at your glasses. If there are small abrasions, roughness, or scratches on the lenses, you can deal with them yourself using improvised means: soda, toothpaste, alcohol, soap. If the scratch is deep, then you cannot always fix the problem with your own hands. Often this may require a grinder or hydrofluoric acid abrasive.
Important! No home remedy can be used to completely guarantee that imperfections will disappear from the surface of your glasses. If unsuccessful, you should seek professional help from an optical store.
Plastic, Polaroid, lenses - how to choose a product?
Glasses can have glass or plastic lenses. Some of them have a polarizing filter developed by Polaroid. These are complex optical structures consisting of 7–11 layers with UV and anti-abrasion protection. Each type of lens has its own ways to remove scratches. And while it can be easy to remove defects from a plastic surface, working with glass is much more difficult (we’ll talk about this below).
And here It is better not to try to correct Polaroid lenses yourself. Experts will tell you whether there is any point in polishing them or whether the optics should be replaced immediately.
Features of polishing sunglasses
Often, glasses that protect your eyes from bright sunlight are covered with small scratches, which can lead to reduced visibility through the lens. Sometimes this ends up disrupting the polarization of the glasses, which disorients skiers and golfers. You can remove scratches from the surface of glasses by polishing and filling in rough edges using improvised means.. Examples of this include toothpaste, baking soda, and car or furniture wax.
If you choose toothpaste for work, then it should be the simplest, without the presence of bleaches for the surface of teeth, herbs, mint, colored gels, abrasive particles that can easily scratch the lens.
Important! If the scratches on your glasses are large, then the lenses need to be replaced. Using the methods discussed, only shallow, minor flaws can be eliminated.
Glass cleaning products
Glass lenses in glasses can be cleaned from scratches and minor abrasions using available home remedies. In many cases, the following materials are used as the main tool:
- soft microfiber cloth for wiping optics;
- cotton swab;
- a piece of clean soft cloth.
The following are used as cleaning agents:
- food additives – soda, vinegar, alcohol;
- household chemicals – toothpaste, dishwashing liquid, soap, shampoo;
- care compositions – for glass, furniture, metals, silver, cars;
- specialized mixtures - GOI paste, glass abrasive.
With soda
The most common way to deal with scratches is based on the use of soda. It can be found in any apartment, because not a single housewife can do without it. The algorithm of actions is as follows:
mix baking soda with a small amount of water until a paste forms;- Apply a small amount of the mixture onto a cotton swab or napkin;
- Gently rub the product into the lenses using circular movements;
- remove residues with running water;
- If the composition did not cope with the task the first time, then the processing must be repeated.
With toothpaste
This method is based on the action of microscopic abrasive particles found in toothpaste. These substances gently polish outer layer of the lens, eliminating roughness and damage. To remove scratches, proceed as follows:
- Apply a little toothpaste to the outside surface of the lens;
- Using a piece of soft cloth, rub this composition over the entire area of the glass, quickly distributing it with longitudinal movements;
- Do not keep the paste on the surface of the lens for more than a couple of minutes; wash it off with water or glass cleaner;
- Wipe your glasses dry with a special microfiber cloth. There should be no traces of the composition of the paste or fingerprints on the glass.
With Goya paste
Goya paste will remove scratches from glass lenses. This technical mixture, which includes finely dispersed chromium oxide and fatty components. The paste is designed for polishing optical glasses, so it easily copes with the task of eliminating roughness on the surface of household glasses. The method is most popular among the male half of the country's population. If the damaged lens can be removed from the frame, then work should continue as follows:
apply the paste to a felt piece;- Place the problem area on top of it;
- rotate the glass over the felt, rubbing in the paste and polishing it at the same time;
- Remove any remaining mixture with a clean soft cloth.
If this method causes inconvenience to the rotation of the glass on the paste, then simply apply the composition to the lens and rub it into the lens with circular movements in one direction. If it is impossible to remove it from the frame, do not refuse repairs. Try to be careful so that the mixture only gets on the glass and not on other parts of the glasses.
Important! The process is quite lengthy, but the result is usually pleasing: after grinding, the glasses look like new.
Using Goya paste, you can treat the damaged area in the same way, but do not rub in the chemical composition by hand, but use a grinder at low speed or a shaving machine for polishing. In this case, the knives should be removed and replaced with a napkin.
With vinegar or alcohol
Both products do an excellent job of removing small roughness if you add baking soda to them. Polishing the lens with the resulting mixture will eliminate shallow scratches, and running water will remove excess from the surface.. At the initial stage, you can try to get rid of the problem by simply wiping the glass with undiluted medical alcohol.
With shampoo, soap or dish soap
Any of the listed household chemicals gently polishes the lenses of glasses. Their action is based on the presence of microparticles of abrasives that lightly polish scratches and smooth out the edges. To fix the problem Lubricate the glass of your glasses with dishwashing detergent or shampoo, then remove any residue with a napkin made of microfiber or special material for caring for a computer screen. There is no need to rinse off the residue with water; this is done only if the product cannot be removed without streaks.
In a similar way, scratches can be removed using soap. The liquid composition is applied to the lenses, then removed with a microfiber cloth. If necessary, you can rinse the glass under running water. If abrasions remain, then you should add baking soda to the product.
Polished for silver
Liquid product copes well with scratches - polish for silver or copper. The lenses are sprayed with a cleaning mixture, which must be lightly rubbed into the surface. Removal of unnecessary residues is carried out with a piece of soft, clean cloth. If scratches remain on the glasses, the procedure must be repeated until they disappear completely.
With special polishes
In addition to the mixtures and compositions listed, you can use many other means:
polish for metal products;- household furniture polish;
- car polish-wax;
- water-repellent composition for windshield.
- CD polishing spray.
The work flow is simple: Apply the composition to the surface of the lens, rub it in lightly, remove the residue with a soft cloth. The chemicals can be applied to a clean cloth and then the glass can be polished with the cloth. The best results will be obtained by using any of these products if you first apply a little Vaseline to problem areas.
What professional products are there?
If deep scratches form, you need to act in more serious ways. One of them is the use glass abrasive with hydrofluoric acid. This composition is used only if you are working with plastic lenses, from which the top layer will be removed during the process. If you are ready to part with an anti-reflective, anti-abrasive, shading coating, then buy such an abrasive at a craft store.
Important! Glass cannot be exposed to the mixture, only plastic.
If the above methods do not give the desired result, you need to seek help from specialists. They have equipment in their arsenal that will allow you to polish lenses and remove scratches. You will need to pay for the work, although in some optical shops this operation will be performed free of charge for regular customers.
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