Last year I graduated from cheap reading glasses to bona fide progressive lenses. Up until recently things have been great. I don’t need them for driving or watching TV, but definitely for reading or cooking and the like.
Anyway, just in the last month small scratches have started to appear on the lenses. These are coated (presumably plastic) lenses and are supposed to be scratch-resistant. It’s not like I’ve been rough on them, but I do take them off often enough because I don’t need them unless I’m operating within say 15 feet or so.
Long story short: can small abrasions be buffed out somehow? These were purchased at Costco 13 months ago. Can I get these reworked, or do I need to spring for new glasses or lenses?
There may be some DIY methods - that may work or wreck your lenses. Attempt at your own risk.
There is not any sort of factory or professional polishing available because once the lens is cut to fit in your frame, it no longer fits in the polishing machine. Lens blanks start out as a large circle - about 3 inches in diameter. The blanks are polished first, then ground down on the sides to fit the frames. The polishing machines can only polish the lens blanks before they are ground down to frame size.
That’s good information. Thanks. I’ve read on-line that the scratches may just be on the coating. There’s lot of conflicting information on whether or not these can be reworked. The Costco optician seemed quite proficient; I’ll drop in and chat with one of them tomorrow I guess.
The answer and, if it is possible, the best method depends on what the lens is made of and what coating(s) were used. Talking to the optician is the best answer so far!
Sure, but they’re still perfectly serviceable, and completely ruining them at this point is kinda counterproductive. I can’t get another free pair till next March.
I’ve done this as well (on my watch crystal), and it works great. A fingernail buffer (not emery board!) also works pretty well. Haven’t tried either on eyeglasses, though.
Do the glasses have an anti-reflective coating? This is applied on top of the scratch-resistant coating, and is relatively soft. It can be stripped off and reapplied.
BTW, I once had glasses with an anti-reflective coating. I hated it - the coating would show any little bit of skin oil. Like Poysyn, I’m a fanatic about keeping my lenses clean, which meant I was constantly cleaning these glasses. This caused the coating to wear out prematurely. The optician who sold me the glasses told me this is a common problem, and stripped off the coating, leaving just the anti-scratch coating underneath.
It’s a good idea to use only microfiber cloths or lens tissues when cleaning your glasses. Most other things you might use are abrasive. Facial tissues like Kleenex will scratch your lenses. Even using the hem of a T-shirt is a bad idea.
BTW, have the people who are recommending polishing the lenses with toothpaste actually done it themselves on eyeglass lenses? I’d be afraid of fogging the lenses with a bunch of microscratches.