# Bending new plastic eyeglass frames for a perfect fit

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bending-new-plastic-eyeglass-frames-for-a-perfect-fit/275088>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 16, 2004, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bending-new-plastic-eyeglass-frames-for-a-perfect-fit/275088 "2004-11-16T18:22:22Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\
**Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bending-new-plastic-eyeglass-frames-for-a-perfect-fit/275088/1 "2004-11-16T18:22:22Z")

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I just bought a new pair of eyeglasses over the internet and saved a bundle. I’ve only got one complaint however. I don’t like the way the temple-pieces hug my face and ears. This problem can easily be solved by bending them to my liking, but I know you’re supposed to heat the frames before you bend them.

The pros use a tray of hot sand. How can I approximate the heating process at home? How hot is the right temperature? Any instructions/advice/tips you can offer are appreciated.

Thanks all.

PS – Please don’t suggest I go to a local eyecare shop and ask them to do it. I know that many of them will adjust frames for free as a good will gesture, but I’ve seen them do it and it’s obvious that most of the counterpeople have zero sense of mechanics or geometry.

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**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\
**Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bending-new-plastic-eyeglass-frames-for-a-perfect-fit/275088/2 "2004-11-16T18:43:30Z")

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I’ve used a pan of water about two minutes off the boil to make plastic frames malleable. That was a few years ago though, and who _knows_ what miracle plastics they’ve come up with now in order to make formerly simple operations more complex.

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**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\
**Post date:** [November 16, 2004, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bending-new-plastic-eyeglass-frames-for-a-perfect-fit/275088/3 "2004-11-16T22:22:09Z")

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Hair dryer.

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**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\
**Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bending-new-plastic-eyeglass-frames-for-a-perfect-fit/275088/4 "2004-11-17T10:20:06Z")

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Go to a local eye shop and ask them if YOU can do the bending.

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**Author:** ![KP](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a9adbd/32.png) [@KP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KP)\
**Post date:** [November 17, 2004, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bending-new-plastic-eyeglass-frames-for-a-perfect-fit/275088/5 "2004-11-17T18:05:50Z")

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The temperature really isn’t critical. In fact, the temperatue limit has little to do with the plastic itself.

Obviously, the plastic should be impervious at temperatures of 120F (50C) - roughly the upper end of “ordinary” air temperatures (e.g. the hottest of summer days) and a black car dashboard in direct summer sun can reach 140-170F in minutes. The human hand and face begin to experience discomfort at somewhere between 150-170F (65-75C).

I wouldn’t worry about damaging the plastic of your frames at any temperature your hands and face can comfortably tolerate.