HELP PLEASE I've scratched my glasses by cleaning them with some type of unsavory fabric, do you know any methods with which to remove the scratches?

I found out that licking my glasses helps and wiping with a cotton shirt helps.

@talljasperman To remove actual scratches?!

Just a temporary fix. Sometimes I run them under hot water.

@deni I think the apathetic person is right, the surfaces are part of the prescription and any changes ( filler or repairs ) will change the lenses and may give you a “Wavy” outlook on life.

Do you have your lens prescription from your Drs. office? If not get it and use one of the Internet services available to get new glasses.

They DON’T HAVE TO cost an arm and a leg.

Here’s one resource. Check it out.

www.warbyparker.com

Here’s another one which @LuckyGuy has used and been very satisfied with. He got his for UNDER $10 (ten dollars). That’s not a typo.

www.zennioptical.com

Another thing which might be worth a try is to ask them if they can just replace the lenses in the frames you already have.

(I don’t know for sure if they would do that but it makes sense to me since it’s only the lenses which are scratched. It’s worth a try to ask.)

Try to imagine what it would mean to “remove the scratches”... you’d either have to wear down the surface of the whole lens to meet the (hopefully uniformly deep) scratches, or else you’d have to fill the scratches with something so that the surface of the lens is restored.

You can find solutions for both methods on the internet, but I’m going to bet that none of them work very well, and will probably leave you wishing you had left them alone.

Polishing – Here’s some advice about polishing: “ask an optician about using a polishing kit to buff the scratch out. They are not recommended for lenses with certain coatings, so ask before using and follow all directions to avoid harming the glasses.” Here’s a guy using metal polish to remove small scratches. Armor Edge etching cream is another thing people talk about.

Filling – Again, lots of home remedies offered, like petroleum jelly or Pledge. And again, if you have coated lenses (who doesn’t, these days?) this probably won’t work (assuming it would have if they weren’t coated). But at least you can wash this stuff off after trying. Just… you know… be careful with that.

And, in case I didn’t make this clear already, I wouldn’t try any of these methods. I am guessing they would only make things worse. Just get yourself another pair, and consider it a life lesson. Lenses are not that expensive if you’re keeping the same frames. I’ve heard good things about Zenni Optical and Clearly Contacts. Good luck!

First, a disclaimer: I’ve not tried any of these products myself. But OTC at your local drugstore or grocery or even at the optician’s, there are products that claim to remove minor scratches. These are cheap and you could these a try. The main question is, how deep are the scratches.

Also, it may not be the cloth or fabric that is to blame. Sometimes dust particles and dirt can have very minute sharp edges, so when you moved them around on the glass surface with the cloth, it was the dust that actually scratched your eyeglasses.

@dappled_leaves Ah god, alright, these answers were a bit more dismal than I’d hoped for, but I guess thats life. I suppose at some point I will just go in and have them sent away and get new lenses in them….anyone know roughly how much that costs? I definitely don’t need new frames.

This is not a helpful answer, it’s a celebration of your wonderful phrase “unsavory fabric”. You made my day. I love this sooooo much! Good luck with the new lenses. You’ll enjoy them Im sure.

I agree with the advice above to just get new lenses. If you are in a big city try Chinatown; I got lenses replaced in my old frames there for like $30.

One other thing – coated lenses are not always the best way to go. Though the coating can prevent dings and scores along the glass, it itself picks up tiny scratches from cleaning and rubbing. The last time I got my lenses replaced the salesperson advised against the coating based on the lightly-but-thoroughly scratched up state of my old glasses, and I’m a lot happer with my current non-coated pair.

@wildpotato I seem to have the same problem with the right lens only – the coating eventually looks cracked and webbed. But I haven’t yet had the guts to try uncoated. Maybe next time, after your recommendation.

The scratches would need to be filled by some product and that would have to affect your ability to see through them.

I too think you’re going to need new lenses. How annoying for you. Hope it’s not too expensive.

@wildpotato I don’t think I have coated lenses, I generally say no to everything but the very basic lens so I’ll just do that again this time.

Thanks for the advice folks. No Chinatown nearby but I can’t imagine it’s too much for just new lenses, plus I do have some type of new insurance, we will see how that goes!