If you wear eyeglasses, you know how it irritates when they pick some dirt or get scratched. The good news is you can remove the scratches with some DIY methods.
Learning how to remove scratches from eyeglasses plastic will save you some dollars, time, and maybe a headache.
Eyeglasses get scratched when you drop them accidentally, handle them poorly or store them without a proper casing. No matter the reason, scratched eyeglasses are a nightmare for users, particularly those using prescription eyeglasses.
Well, do not give up. Here is a guide you can follow and learn how to remove scratches from eyeglasses plastic.
Before removing the scratches, let’s first go through some tips and precautions
Tips and Precautions
If you regularly get your eyeglasses scratched, invest in a protective coating. But, these coatings will also get scratched, so exercise safety when the glasses are not in use.
If the scratches remain despite using the methods, seek professional care from the optometrists. They have the equipment and technical know-how to re-polish the eyeglasses.
Avoid using paper towels, tissues, and shirt fabrics because they are too coarse and may cause minor scratches to build upon the eyeglasses. In the long run, the eyeglasses will appear foggy and lose clarity.
Acetone is harmful and will damage or melt the eyeglasses if left on the surface for long. So avoid using products such as nail polish remover to clean the eyeglasses because they contain acetone.
Using saliva often appears like a quick fix when removing smudges from your eyeglasses. However, it is not what you think because the germs from your mouth will accumulate, making the eyeglass lose clarity over time.
Well, that was significant. So let’s now remove scratches from our eyeglasses.
How to Remove Scratches from Eyeglasses Plastic
You can use baking soda, toothpaste, metal polish, or glass etching cream to remove the scratches from eyeglasses plastic.
- Apply toothpaste, baking soda paste, metal polish, or glass etching cream over the scratched areas.
- Buff with a microfiber towel in circular motions for a few minutes.
- Wipe the surface clean with a clean microfiber towel.
- Repeat the process if all the scratches don’t remove on the first attempt.
How to Remove Scratches from Eyeglasses Plastic with Toothpaste
Using toothpaste is a great hack on cleaning scratches from plastic eyeglasses. It is a fast and simple way to remove light scratches.
Use non-abrasive toothpaste to avoid introducing new scratches. Radioactive Dentin Abrasiveness (RDA) measures abrasiveness, and abrasiveness ranging between 70 and 80 is deemed low.
While choosing the best toothpaste for this task, avoid toothpaste used for plaque removal or whitening. Some of the suitable kinds of toothpaste you can use are Colgate Total (70 RDA), Arm & Hammer Dental Care Sensitive (48 RDA), Colgate Regular (68 RDA), and Sensodyne (79 RDA).
The Supplies You Will Need
- Water
- Microfiber towel
- Toothpaste
- Dish soap
- Cotton ball
The Steps
Step 1: Clean the eyeglasses. Thoroughly cleaning the eyeglasses will help you to determine the areas with scratches. Use a cleaner such as Koala Eyeglass Lens Cleaner and a microfiber towel to clean the eyeglasses. Grab the eyeglass cleaner from an eyeglass store or optometrist’s office.
You can also use soapy water and a sponge to clean the eyeglasses’ plastic.
Step 2: Spread the toothpaste over the scratches.
Step 3: Using a cotton ball, rub the toothpaste over the surface as you rinse after a few passes to check progress.
Step 4: Repeat the process until your remove all the scratches.
Step 5: Once clean, rinse the eyeglasses plastic with cool water and dry with a towel.
How to Remove Scratches from Eyeglasses Plastic with Baking Soda
If you don’t want to waste your toothpaste, you can use baking soda to remove scratches from your eyeglass.
Baking soda is an everyday household item making it an inexpensive option. Pick one from the nearest corner shop if you don’t have it at home.
With an abrasion rate of 7 RDA, baking soda is a safe remover because it will lift off the scratches without introducing new scratches.
The Supplies You Will Need
- Baking soda
- Water
- Stirring stick
- Microfiber cloth
The Steps
Step 1: Wash the eyeglasses plastic with clean water to identify the scratches. Washing the plastic surfaces removes the dirt making the scratches identifiable. It also helps to avoid creating more scratches when dabbing the scratch remover.
Step 2: Pour baking soda into a bowl and add water progressively as you mix to form a thick paste.
Step 3: Spread the paste over the scratched sections. The paste should cover all the scratches efficiently.
Step 4: Rub the paste over the scratches with a microfiber cloth. Working on the scratches in back and forth motions increases the impact as the cloth captures all the scratches. In addition, a steady pressure reduces the chances of creating other scratches.
Step 5: Wipe off excess baking soda paste and check your progress. If not smooth, repeat the process until you remove all the scratches.
Step 6: Once smooth, rinse with clean water and wipe dry with a microfiber towel.
How to Remove Scratches from Eyeglasses Plastic with Metal Polish
Metal polish and rubbing alcohol come in handy when removing scratches from eyeglasses plastic.
Pick on a low abrasive metal polish since an abrasive polish may introduce new scratches. You can use brass polish.
However, note that the process will take some of your productive time. So embrace patience.
The Supplies You Will Need
- Metal polish
- Rubbing alcohol
- Microfiber towel
- Cotton bud
- Lenses cleaning cloth
The Steps
Step 1: Dampen a microfiber towel with metal polish. Ensure the towel is saturated with the polish.
Step 2: Polish the scratches. Rub the polish dampened microfiber towel on the scratches for about 5-10 minutes. The glasses should turn foggy as you continue polishing.
Step 3: Continue rubbing inside and outside to rub off all the scratches. The scratches can be on either side of your eyeglass.
Step 4: Wipe off excess polish to check progress. If the scratches still exist, continue polishing to remove them all.
Step 5: Dip a cotton bud in a bottle of rubbing alcohol and go over the surface. Rubbing alcohol gives the surface a thorough cleaning.
Step 6: Wipe the alcohol off with lenses cleaning cloth to have brighter and scratch-free eyeglasses.
If the eyeglasses don’t remove on the first attempt, repeat the process.
How to Remove Scratches from Plastic with Glass Etching Cream
Glass etching cream is effective on plastic that most manufacturers use to make reading and prescription eyeglasses.
Glass etching cream such as Armour Etch contains hydrofluoric acid as the main ingredient that aids the removal of the outer coating, buffing away the scratches off the plastic.
You can use any glass etching cream that contains hydrofluoric acid.
The glass etching cream, despite being great, is unsafe for eyeglasses that are not plastic, so avoid it.
The Supplies You Will Need
- Glass etching cream
- Water
- Microfiber towel
- Plastic eyeglass cleaner
The Steps
Step 1: Clean the surface. Wipe the surface clean with a moist cloth or spray some plastic eyeglass cleaner and wipe off with a microfiber towel.
Step 2: Apply a thick coat of glass etching cream on the surface using a microfiber towel.
Step 3: Let the cream work on the scratches for 2-5 minutes. Do not let the cream stay on the surface for more than 5 minutes because the eyeglasses plastic will wear out.
Step 4: Rinse the surface with clean water and wipe with a clean microfiber towel. Rinsing enables the scratches to peel off along with the glass etching cream residue.
Repeat the process if necessary.
How to Remove Scratches from Eyeglasses Plastic with Car Wax
Car wax acts as a scratch-filling product. However, the scratch filling technique should be the last resort because it is a temporary solution.
You can use Turtle wax or furniture polishes with wax, such as Lemon Pledge.
The Supplies You Will Need
- Car wax
- Lemon pledge
- Armor edge
- Windex
- Microfiber towels
The Steps
Step 1: Apply a small amount of car wax on the surface and spread it over the scratched areas.
Step 2: Buff the surface with a microfiber towel in circular motions.
Step 3: Once the scratches disappear, wipe off excess wax with a clean microfiber towel.
Alternative
Step 1: Spray lemon pledge over the scratched eyeglasses plastic.
Step 2: Buff the surface with a clean microfiber towel in circular motions while maintaining a steady pressure.
Step 3: Clean the surface with Windex to remove the cloudy look.
You can also use Armor Edge if you don’t have Lemon Pledge.
The car wax, lemon pledge, or armor edge only fills out the scratches making the eyeglasses smooth and clean. You will need to reapply as the wax or lemon pledge filler will wear out over time.
How to Prevent Scratches on Eyeglasses Plastic
While they say prevention is better than cure, there is nothing you can do to prevent eyeglasses from scratching. However, you can abide by these tips to delay and minimize the risk of scratching the glasses.
Clean the eyeglasses regularly
Cleaning the eyeglasses frequently helps to remove dirt that might cause scratches. However, it would be best to use the right tools and procedures to reduce the chances of introducing new scratches.
How to Clean Your Eyeglasses
You will need;
- Water
- Microfiber cloths
- Rubbing alcohol
- Dish soap
- Special optical wipes
The Steps
Step 1: Run the eyeglasses under warm water. Avoid hot water.
Step 2: Pour some dish soap on your fingertips and gently buff both sides of the glasses and nose pads.
Step 3: Rinse the eyeglass with warm water and wipe clean with a dry microfiber towel leaving the eyeglasses gloss and clean.
Step 4: Use the optical wipes to clean your eyeglasses frequently as advised by the optician, keeping the eyeglasses sparkling clean every day.
Alternatively,
Add some rubbing alcohol into an empty spray bottle, spray over the dirty eyeglasses, and then buff with a microfiber cloth. Finally, wipe off excess alcohol with optical wipes.
Use a protective case.
Keeping the eyeglass in a strong eyeglass case reduces the risk of scratching and breaking.
Opt for a sturdy casing that has a soft inner lining. Do not leave the casing far away from your glasses. Have it either in your car, purse, or backpack.
Always ensure the lenses are fronting downwards while in the casing and avoid storing metal or sharp objects in the eyeglass cases.
Clean with the right lens cleaner
Many people always pick the nearest item to wipe off the dirt from their eyeglasses. Unfortunately, some of these materials are abrasive and therefore scratch the eyeglasses.
Always use a microfiber cloth and recommended cleaning solutions to clean your eyeglasses. The items are available from the optometrist office near you.
Go for anti-scratch lenses.
All the eyeglasses will get scratched sooner or later, but there are certain coatings you can add to both sides of the lenses, making them more scratch-resistant.
This method works best on children’s glasses.
Remove and handle the eyeglasses carefully.
Hold the glasses by the arms or temples because it prevents scratches by limiting your chances of touching the frame and lenses.
Further, holding the eyeglasses with the temples increases the grip, reducing the chances of dropping them.
Set them down properly
Avoid placing the eyeglass where the pets or children can knock them down. Setting them down properly in a specific area continuously reduces the chances of losing them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you remove scratches from polycarbonate glasses?
Yes, you can remove them with toothpaste.
You will need;
- Toothpaste
- Cool water
- Microfiber cloths
- Black wax china marker
- Clean, soft cloth
The Steps
Step 1: Squeeze out some amount of plastic onto a clean microfiber cloth and rub it over the scratched polycarbonate lens for 10-20 seconds.
Step 2: Moisten a microfiber towel and rub it over the lens to remove excess toothpaste and dry with a clean, soft cloth.
Step 3: If the scratches persist, apply the black wax china marker to both sides of the lens. Wipe the wax off immediately with a microfiber towel. Then buff with the clean side of the microfiber cloth.
The scratches should be gone. If it didn’t help, seek professional services.
How do you remove oxidation from plastic eyeglass frames?
A paste of Bar Keepers Friend and water removes oxidation from plastic eyeglass frames. Mix equal parts of water and Bar Keepers Friend and apply over the affected area. Rub for 3-5 minutes before wiping clean with a microfiber towel. The frames should be oxidation-free.
Bottom Line
The DIY methods above are quick fixes that have been tried; however, there is no guarantee the scratches will remove. They work best on light scratches compared to deep scratches.
Still, they are effective but detrimental because you might damage your eyeglasses if you don’t observe the precautions.
If the scratches don’t remove despite trying the methods, seek expert services from the nearest optometrist.