I purchased a prescription pair of eye glasses about 8 months back. It is a branded glass with an anti reflective coating. Now the left side lens is not clear, as the coating has developed some scratches. I want remove the total coating on both the lenses so that I can see clearly. How to do it?
By R. Srinivasan
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I'm not sure you can remove the coating yourself without damaging the lenses. Have you contacted your optometrist for help? Mine has always been really good about fixing issues with my family's glasses and there's never been a charge (and my boys are ROUGH on their frames). They may be able to remove the coating, or it's possible that the lenses may even be under warranty, although I do remember being warned that the protective UV coatings do scratch easily - worth checking at least.
I want to know who, when buying an anti-reflective coating, if any of you were ever told that heat will destroy an anti-reflective coating? By using a hair dryer, burning a fire in the back yard, cooking where an amount of heat is dispensed when opening an oven or grill. Leaving glasses in the car, etc, etc, etc.
I was at an optical place, not where I bought my glasses, when they had asked if I wanted my glasses adjusted? I thought Oh how nice of them. In doing so, they fried (spidered) the AR coating. I went to Sam's where I had purchased them, to let them know what happened and they acted like it was common knowledge about the heat issue. I was told "Oh, yes, a hair dryer will do that" I asked where that was in my written warranty? (there wasn't a warranty given) Sam's did replace the lenses, but according to them, "we are done". So I spent $544. on a pair of high index lenses that were destroyed in three months by a professional, You get a better warranty on a 30 dollar toaster.
The point, they sell the anti-reflective coating as though it is a cosmetic add on. But in reality there is an important reason for having the anti reflective coating. First, understand that I wear -9.25 and -11.25 diopter progressive high index lenses. That's very very nearsighted. the edge of my glasses are approx 1/2" thick at the edge. An anti-reflective coating will eliminate the internal reflection of light on the outside and the inside of the lens.
A lens has four surfaces. the outside of the front, and the outside of the back of the lens. but the other two surfaces are on the inside of the lens. The inside of the lens, on the back of the front surface and the other is the front inside surface of the back of the lens.
The lenses have reflectence off all four surfaces. Ex. if you stand in front of a mirror and there is an identical mirror behind you (the reflective coating of the mirrors are facing each other) and you look ahead into the mirror, the reflection will look as though there are several mirrors in play. The same thing happens inside an optical lens. The higher the - diopter or the more nearsighted you are, the more importance of having an anti reflective coating. (it eliminates the coke-bottle effect that you see with glasses without the coating, unless you are far sighted and that's another ball game).
The major problem that I see, is that the higher the diopter, or the higher the refractive index (oops New term, refractive index- you know when you put a straw into a glass of water, or a stick into water and the stick or straw appears to bend? that appearance of the stick or straw bending is the refractive property of the water. Hence, lenses have a refractive index to them.
The higher the Refractive index the more the light bends to achieve, hopefully for a proper correction for you to see. The lenses are denoted by this number= Index of refraction. Mine are in a 1.67 index of refraction lens. I would have preferred it to have been in a 1.74.) , the need for the anti-reflective coating becomes more important to have. Not as a cosmetic ad on, but for providing a more effective lens.
We are being sold a bill of goods, that is loop- holed as a cosmetic option, where in reality it is a medical necessity. And apparently it is not for the seller of the glasses to inform you of the life style change that is going to be required of you if you want your anti-reflective coating to last for the duration of the glasses, Not the life of the prescription, but the life of the glasses. When I pay 800 dollars for glasses, they better last me 10 years. but, if you use a hair dryer, oops, too bad here go spend another 800 dollars for glasses. Not there fault.
As a tax payer, we spend millions of dollars, through educationally funded research, missile defence, Nasa, etc for optic research for the aforementioned but also for the preservation of sight and better seeing capabilities. Why can I not get the anti -reflective coating through the research performed in order to come up with the hubble telescope anti-reflective coating, or the anti-scratch that is on the scanner glass at the super market. Why are we sold inferior products for that which is a medical device and not cosmetic option/ We deserve better. We need to demand better!
Excellent & honest info.A very Good/accurate assessment of the !eyeglass industry
I bought my first pair of glasses with that coating on them and no one at the dr. office seems to have any answers as to why the coating is chipping off. My dr. actually looked at them like he's never witnessed anything like that in his life. These people have good game!!!!! I want to thank you all for in lighting me as to the truth because I also have high index lenses paying $500+ for them only to get my feelings hurt.
Lenses coatings don't hold up for me either. If I get 2 years out of a pair of lenses I call that a success, as dirty and as scratched mine get working and be active.
It takes about 30 miniutes to remove the coating with a few cents worth of toothpaste. I've taken off the glare coating on one pair andthe scratch resistant coating on another pair using it.
I'm just glad I wasn't born in a poor and undeveloped area of the world where people don't have acces to eye care, because I can see very little without my glasses.
Maybe you should get contacts if your sigmatizm isn't off the map?
TOOTHPASTE - Only seriously scratched my lenses more. Gently massaged onto top/front & back/rear of @ lens - going circular & back-&-forth with my pointer finger.
Washed with Foaming Anti-Bact Hand Soap inbetween @ product ~
Then 'USED/TRIED' :
* Baking Soda into a paste w/ water = more scratches
* Auto Body SCRATCH COVER = NOT
* WD-40 = NOT
* Soaked in 91% Alcohol = NOT
* OFF = PERMANENTLY etched /fogged them
* ARMOR ETCH - 2 applications 5 & 15 min = NOTHING
Off to get an Eye Exam & to DISPENSARY to have new specs made 'While U Wait' = COSTLY and 24 hours unable to see.
Yes, I was told heat would damage the coating. I am concerned because I don't think to take them off when I open an oven which I often do in my line of work
I got desperate I have very little income so I tried Turtle Wax Headlight Lens Restorer.I didn't use the pads just the white polish . Took about 20 minutes but worked great.
thank you for good information given in informative structure- I knew the terms but loved your explination
No I was not told any thing about damage to the coating. Got my glasses from lens crafters
why would they, when you can be charged for the coating and when the lenses become cloudy , you will assume that your eyesight has changed and start the process again.
If it's only been 8 months the lenses should be under warranty and they should replace them free.
The scratch resitant coating and glare resitant coating didn't hold up very long for me. I don't plan on haveing any type of coating applied on my lenses from now on. I'd rather put up with the glare.
I polished the anti-glare coating off my newer pair, and the scratch resistaint coating off my older pair with toothpaste. The scratch resistant coating came off quicker. It took alot of hard rubbing to remove the anti-glare coating, but it eventually poliahed off.
if your not careful you can be had evey which way you turn. and we have no one but ourselves to blame. And It won't be long until our civilization will be destroyed like all the other dismal ones that thought they were cutting a big hog in the ass at everyone elses expense.
Tried the toothpaste and no luck. Then l put my thinking cap and remembered a automobile rejuvenator kit i used and had some pads left and some rubbing compound. So I followed the directions just like you do headlight lenses. Wow what a difference. I was ready to throw them away. The headlight lense cleaning kit is made by 3m.
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