Over 50% of Americans break their sunglasses every year, and every 14 minutes, someone loses, sits on or breaks a pair of sunglasses. Some breaks can’t be repaired, but it’s often possible to fix scratched sunglass lenses or order replacement sunglass lenses to save your favorite pairs. Here are six methods for salvaging your favorite sunglasses:
1. Toothpaste
Get the most regular toothpaste you can find. Abrasive, minty, whitening or gel toothpaste will damage rather than fix scratched sunglass lenses. Use a cotton ball to rub the paste on the scratch in a circular motion for about ten seconds, then rinse the toothpaste with cold water. Repeat this process until the scratch disappears.
2. Baking Soda
Mix one part water and two parts baking soda until you have a thick paste, then rub it into a scratch for 10 seconds with a cotton ball. Rinse the paste with cool water and wipe off the rest with lint-free cloth to fix scratched sunglass lenses.
3. Nail Polish
Dab brass or silver nail polish on the lenses, then use a cotton ball to gently rub it around. Clean off any extra with a clean, lint-free cloth and repeat until you can no longer see the scratch. Make sure you go with a nail polish that won’t crack or yellow over time. Clear polishes often have this problem.
4. Lemon Pledge
Spray lenses very lightly with Lemon Pledge, and rub it around with a lint-free cloth until you can no longer see the pledge or the scratch. This is a temporary fix, however, and will have to be repeated every few days.
5. Replace Your Lenses
If your glasses are beyond simple home repair, it might be time to consider replacing scratched sunglass lenses. Sunglass lens replacement is often cheaper than buying a new pair, especially if your scratched glasses are brand-name or designer. Remember, polarized sunglass are made out of a specific material and have to be replaced with identical polarized replacement lenses if broken. Still, you don’t need to consider replacing sunglass lenses until other methods fail to fix that scratch.
Have any good home remedies of your own? Share them in the comments!
