How to clean glasses and sunglasses without damaging them: lenses, acetate, titanium
Lukewarm water, a drop of neutral soap, a microfibre cloth. Everything else, from your shirt tail to alcohol, ruins lenses and frames. How to clean your glasses every day, what to do about scratches, and when to bring them to the shop.
Most of the scratched lenses we see in the boutique were not scratched by a fall: they were rubbed dry, with a shirt tail, a paper tissue or a jumper sleeve. Cleaning glasses properly takes thirty seconds, but it has to be done the right way. This is the procedure we use in the workshop and recommend to anyone who buys a frame from us, from Japanese titanium to sculpted acetate.
How to clean glasses every day
- Rinse under lukewarm water. Never hot: heat warps acetate and can lift anti-reflective coatings. Water carries away dust and grit that would scratch when rubbed.
- One drop of neutral dish soap on your fingertips, without moisturisers or harsh degreasers. Massage lenses, nose pads and hinges: that is where sebum and make-up build up.
- Rinse and pat dry with a clean microfibre cloth. Pat, do not rub.
- Wash the microfibre cloth every two weeks, without fabric softener: a dirty cloth is fine sandpaper.
Out and about: a lens cleaning spray (a dedicated one, alcohol-free) and a microfibre cloth. If you have nothing, better to wait than to use paper.
What never to use
- Tissues and toilet paper: wood fibres scratch coatings.
- Alcohol, acetone, glass cleaners, ammonia: they dissolve lens coatings and dull acetate.
- Your breath and your T-shirt: the most common combination and the worst.
- Dishwasher, boiling water, the car dashboard in the sun: acetate warps above 60 °C.
- Generic wet wipes: they often contain alcohol or perfume.
How to remove scratches from glasses
The honest answer: a scratch on a lens cannot be removed. Modern lenses are made of layers, anti-reflective, scratch-resistant, blue-light filter, and any home remedy, from toothpaste to baking soda to car wax, eats the surface layer and leaves a haze more visible than the scratch. If the scratch is in your field of view, the lens is replaced; if it is at the edge, you live with it. Frames are different: a scratch on acetate is polished out in the workshop, dulled titanium is revived, worn gold plating cannot be restored.
Cleaning and caring for the frame, material by material
Acetate
The cellulose acetate of Kuboraum, Lesca or AHLEM is a living material: over the years it tends to dull and, exposed to sweat and sunscreen, to lighten on the surface. Lukewarm water and neutral soap are enough day to day; once a year a workshop polish brings back the original finish. Never leave them in the car in summer.
Titanium
The titanium of KameManNen, EYEVAN 7285 or Akoni does not oxidise and causes no allergies: it only needs rinsing to remove the salt of sweat, which stains finishes over time. Mind the colours: on many Japanese frames the colour is a plating, not a paint, and it resists well, but it should not be rubbed with abrasive sponges.
Gold and plating
The 22-carat gold parts of AHLEM, the 18-carat gold of T HENRI or Leisure Society: water and cloth only. No sprays, and no perfume or hairspray near the frame, which corrode plating more than anything else.
Horn
Buffalo horn, as in Akoni's Crafted Cosmo, is a natural material: keep it away from prolonged contact with water and nourish it now and then with a drop of almond oil on a cloth. In the boutique we do it for you.
How to tighten glasses that slip
Do not do it by hand: acetate has to be warmed to be bent, and titanium has an elastic memory that breaks if forced cold. Hinge screws are tightened with an optician's screwdriver, half a turn, no more. Adjusting temples, nose pads and tilt is a five-minute job in the workshop: in Crema it is done without appointment, on any frame, even one not bought from us.
Where to keep them
In the hard case, lenses facing up, never resting on the lenses. Independent brands' cases are designed for the frame they contain: use that one.
Cleaning glasses: frequently asked questions
Can I clean glasses with alcohol?
No. Alcohol dissolves anti-reflective coatings and dulls acetate. Lukewarm water and neutral soap.
Does toothpaste remove scratches?
No: it is abrasive and eats the lens coating, leaving a haze. A scratch in the viewing area is solved only by replacing the lens.
How often should I clean the lenses?
Every day, in the morning, under running water. It takes thirty seconds and lenses last years longer.
How do I wash microfibre cloths?
In the washing machine at 40 °C, without softener, or by hand with neutral soap. Every two weeks.
Do you clean and adjust glasses in the shop?
Yes. At OCCHIO!, Via XX Settembre 15, Crema, Italy: ultrasonic cleaning, acetate polishing and adjustment, also on frames not bought from us.
Further reading: the six habits that make a frame last · titanium or acetate · how to read frame measurements · distance try-on.