It is estimated that every 14 seconds, someone breaks, loses, scratches, or sits on their sunglasses.
The situation: You’re late for an important date and you’ve decided that in order to save yourself an extra minute or two, you decide to make a mad dash from the parking lot to the front door to where you need to be. However, those sunglasses you’re wearing never really fit you properly and due to the jolting and bouncing around the naturally comes with awkwardly run-walking, you’re sunglasses hit the pavement — hard.
You pick them up to find your sunglass lenses have a few scratches on them. Now what? Can you fix scratched sunglasses?
The solution: You may not know how to fix scratched sunglasses, but here is your step by step guide to fixing small scratches in plastic lenses.
- >strong>Wood Cleaner: Spray wood cleaner on the lenses and wipe it off. Next, spray liquid petroleum jelly on the lenses and wipe it off; this should fill in the shallow scratches and make them less noticeable. If need be, repeat both steps until all the scratches have been filled in.
- Brass and/or Silver Polish: When it comes to how to fix scratched sunglasses, this is one of the most effective methods. Rub the desired polish on the lenses and wipe off any excess polish with a soft clean rag. Repeat the procedure until you don’t notice the scratch.
- DVD Cleaner: Although not everyone has DVD cleaning spray at home, it can be easily bought at an electronics store. The solution is specifically designed to fix scratched CDs and DVDs, but can easily work with plastic sunglasses. Spray the solution and wipe with a soft rag.
- Toothpaste Method: We’ve all heard about this one, but it can be useful for plastic lenses. Rub non-abrasive toothpaste on the lens in a circular motion with a cotton ball. Rinse with cold water, and repeat as desired.
- Baking Soda: There are so many uses for baking soda, one being to fix scratched lenses. Simply combine the baking soda with water in a bowl and mix until a thick paste forms. Rub the paste in a circular motion and rinse off.
These are just a few methods on how to fix scratched sunglasses. For sunglasses that don’t have plastic lenses, you may need replacement sunglass lenses. These can sometimes be expensive, with replacement Oakley lenses running upwards of $75 — but well worth it if that means not staring into a big scratch in the middle of your line of sight.
Sunglasses generate an estimated $34 billion dollars in global revenue every year, with the most protective sunglasses blocking roughly 99% of UVA and UVB rays. Invest in a nice pair, but make sure to put them in a protective case. Get more on this here: Sunglass lenses
