Eyeglass Scratch Removal With Armour Etch

Most eyeglasses in the U.S. are made of plastic then coated with various layers to block UV light or make them scratch resistant or anti-reflective. Fine scratches that impair vision are often in these coatings rather than the lens itself. You can remove the scratches and coatings with Armour Etch. Note: this method will ruin lenses made of glass.

[@ferretface8782]

3:37 Actual process begins. Summary: Apply with cotton swab, wait 5 minutes, rinse with hot water, repeat if necessary.

[@jimmyhobbs5029]

I talked to my eye doctor's nurse today about the blue and yellow shadows in my lenses. She said that it the coating was coming off and suggested I come in and get new lenses. I tried the Armour Etch from Hobby Lobby for $10.99 and my glasses are like new. 7 minutes each for both lenses on both sides. AMAZING results! I tip my hat to you! You saved me several hundred dollars!

[@sewashburn0529]

Did they have it at the local store or did you buy it online? Did you use their 40% off coupon?

[@jimmyhobbs5029]

@@sewashburn0529 I went to the store about 20 minutes from my house. I didn't realize there was a coupon available so I paid $12 tax and all. It was well worth the trip and the money to get my lenses cleared up. It had been over 2 years since my last eye exam. My eye doctor wanted me to do the whole exam and buy new lenses etc. LOL. The $12 Armour Etch saved me hundreds of dollars

[@yourebusted5786]

I just tried this method on my plastic lenses. I can see the coating peeling off in spots so I ordered Armour Etch and coated both sides of each lens, waiting 5 mins before rinsing. Nothing changed. I reapplied and waited another 5 mins. Nothing changed. The coating looks exactly as it did before wasting money on Armour Etch but hey, it was worth a try. Hopefully others will see this and not waste their money.

[@hellfirepictures]

Unfortunately, you didn't do it correctly. I don't say that as a criticism - I thought the same when I first did it on my glasses. I THOUGHT it didn't work on mine so I shoved them in a drawer and forgot about them a year ago. Today I broke my normal glasses so needed my 'emergency' pair but the coating was too damaged. So decided to give it another go. If you still have them, do it again, use a cotton bud, and scrub that cotton bud against the lens (quite hard)! Leave for a bit, rinse with warm water, dry hard with a microfibre cloth, and do it again, and again, and again if necessary. Took me five goes each side - but if I'd used the cotton bud hard the first time I may have only needed to do it once. As I was doing it the last time, pressing hard and rubbing it into the lenses, I could actually see the three layers of the coatings coming off - which I hadn't seen the other times I did it! So this time, using the method I've outlined (with the hard use of the cotton bud), it did work for me and now my glasses actually look good as new.

[@mrbkk80]

This definitely works. I have a pair of 10 year old lenses that were all scratched up and had a purple/green tint. I did what was described in the video twice to get it all off, but now they look almost new. The only downside is that they are slightly more reflective of light sources, but they are MUCH better than before.

[@tabasco2152]

This saved me having to buy new glasses - I did my old pairs and now I have four pairs all good as new.

[@lnyenhuis3765]

This works! I did both sides of my lenses because they were in terrible shape. Thank you for sharing this video.

[@panthercombo9647]

Thanks for this video, I just got Armour etch today and used it on a pair of eyeglasses that were really scratched bad, they came out great.

[@ryanpinkham4119]

This 100% worked, I absolutely destroyed my glasses cleaning them in the rain with a napkin (was all I had). Did this treatment twice on both sides and they look brand new.

[@charlespratt8663]

Definitely works to remove damaged coating on plastic lens. I had a pair of $600 lens that were unusable due to the coating failing. For $12 I bought the 3oz size of Armour etch and gave it a go. The lens's were cleaned then the product applied with a Qtip. Do not agitate the product while waiting 10 minutes. Wash well to remove the product and failed coating. The lens were perfectly clear while before you couldnt see through them. Well worth the cost.

[@Inapeartree]

I tried this and it loosened the layers, but didn't take off after 4 times. I finished it off with scotch tape. After rinsing, drying, I rubbed Scotch tape on the lens, then pulled, over and over, new pieces each time. Took the layer right off. 👍

[@markevans8446]

Thankyou so much for this ; I was having problems seeing , but after 1 hour with this technique I have two pairs of servicable spectacles . Yay !!

[@sewashburn0529]

Thank you for posting this video. It worked for me and saved me from having to get another pair of glasses. This pair is my secondary pair of basically reading glasses that I keep at work and I only use them for reading for a short period of time to read labels or use the computer.

[@richardboyk3493]

Just used this method on a 5 year old set of very expensive Nikon Hi Index plastic lenses. Inside anti glare coating was foggy with very fine scratches. Armour Etch method worked fantastic. Completely removed the inside anti glare coating that was badly scratched. Took two applications in my case. But the lenses came out looking like new. I'm going to use these as a backup pair of work glasses when working on car etc. Already have a new set of $$$ prescription glasses.... but these will work perfectly well as a backup pair. Thank you very much for posting this video.

[@justasmith1235]

I had this same issue and tried the toothpaste, baking soda and metal polish. Nothing worked it just made it worse to the point my glasses were unusable like you were walking through a thick fog. I tried the armour etch and followed the instructions.... They are like new crystal clear again!

[@lucyswannsunsafespace7313]

I’ve tried all of the same, polished almost non-stop for 2 days; foggy haze is all my lenses are, with tiny bits of “anti-scratch coating”. Etching is my last resort. Ironically this happened due to the arm of original frame being broken completely off. I took them to the place I bought them, spent $200 on new frames, while she spent 45 minutes in the back getting the lenses in. That night, I noticed crusty spots on them. All I can figure is that she used something to fit them that got under the coating (through a small scratch that shouldn’t have been there) and then it slowly started bubbling up. It got to the point that wearing my glasses were impossible because they gave me headaches, due to my eyes constantly refocusing. They won’t give me new frames without a new exam (just more $$$ for them right?), so an expensive “repair” is now an even MORE expensive repair YAY me! I’ve been looking into etching them, and really at this point, what do I have to lose? 🤦🏻‍♀️

[@jime2290]

Thank you so much this worked out great! I used it on the outside of some trifocals, 7 minutes and rinsed in warm water. They are 95% scratch free !!!

[@andrewlevin7433]

Going to try this out manana! I made a bonfire and was moving wood around a very very hot fire and it singed the very outer coating---likely a scratch guard of some type--wish me luck gents.

[@hellfirepictures]

It took FIVE applications, each side of my lenses, with copious 'scrubbing' using a cotton bud to remove the coatings (what strange people call Q-tips. Why Q? Or should it be 'Cue'? But if it's 'cue' like a pool cue - why? Afterall, they look nothing like a 'cue' or a 'Q', and definitely not like a 'queue'!). Glasses have different applications of coatings, often multiple. Mine have anti-glare, anti-scratch, and anti-UV. And yes, as the Armor Etch works - using the cotton bud - one can see each of the layers being stripped away as they each have different optical properties. I can only assume the glasses used in this video had only one coating substance applied. With each application of Armor Etch, do use the cotton bud to 'scrub' it on - especially around the rims - leave it for a while (depending on the glasses anything from a couple of minutes to ten minutes each time), and ensure you wash it away with WARM water. Then 'scrub' the glasses dry using a micro-fibre towel/cloth to remove the last vestiges. If your lenses were properly coated by the optical suppliers, and if you have lenses that sit deeply/securely inside frames, then you will absolutely need to use a microfibre cloth to remove the traces of coatings from the lens where it touches the rims. Don't expect it to work as quickly or easily as some people have found - not all lenses are made equal 😄 You may need to have a great deal of patience. But don't give up. It DOES work on coatings. For scratches, you may be better off trying T-cut!

[@davidpressley1381]

Thank you sir! Pure genius 👏......this worked amazingly well. I saw several other videos that involved wet sanding and polishing that definitely made me very leery.

[@jandla3214]

When I used the Armor Etch, it seemed to fog everything pretty badly. I repeated the process 4x, obviously with nothing to loose at this point. However, praying about what to do, I decided to try to scrub the lenses then with Denatured Alcohol with q-tips (changing out the q-tips every 10 seconds or so). After doing so for several minutes on both sides, the lenses started drying clear! Several small spots needed more scrubbing but came clean and clear!!!

[@MaryOKC]

Excellent video! I don’t know why it’s not viral.

[@barryguyer8174]

Thank you so much sir I just got my armor etch Today. I had my doubts about it Because i have tried so many things that didn't work. Finally something that works My glasses didn't really have to many Scratches It was the UV. Coatings Causing foggiest But not no more I did my 2 times And they great. Thanks again S

[@mauricebajcz9444]

Holy carp. Thanks, life saver. Really, Covid19? Couldn’t f’n see through my progressives for the scratches. I knew about this, but the walk-through helped. Can now see my laptop screen, which I need 24-7 teaching from home. And yeah glare protect is gone, but oh well.

[@iselacamarena3642]

Thanks!!! My glasses are brand new! Really really really works well ❤

[@nobodytonobodysbusiness]

Cool video. Learned something. Thanks!

[@brucewarren1394]

You're lucky you have that third arm.

[@pcpcnow]

It works! Yes I needed to do it twice.

[@lissabell3620]

Thank you so much for making this video!

[@cha0sman]

So you actually didn't remove the scratches from your glasses. What you removed was the anti reflective coating. After 2 years, the AR coating starts to fail and then looks like scratches on your lenses.

[@Inapeartree]

It's still considered scratches, bcuz it's scratches in the coating. If you look closely at glasses that have this coating, you can see how it comes off in scratch patterns, bcuz we (daily, all day wearers) wipe our lenses every day, and sometimes you can't always use a "lens cloth" and have to use a shirt.

[@cha0sman]

@@Inapeartree sorry no that's not how it works.

[@Inapeartree]

@@cha0sman ok. Well, sorry, but that's what happened to my current pair, and I know when it happened. It's not just an aged layer that is peeling on its own. And right now, I'm taking the "scratched" layer of crap coatings off my glasses, with armour etch, and finishing off with Scotch tape, and it looks great now.

[@lasd600]

Please, which is the composition of ? Maybe acetone?

[@jerrycadena2024]

Sulferic acid I think - do NOT use acetone - I think it eats plastic!

[@lasd600]

@@jerrycadena2024 Please, another question. How to clean yellow lines in progressive lens?

[@Jj-bh1tv]

I tried this on Walmart Nikon lenses. 2 applications---did not work.

[@jules6499]

Worked! Thank you SO much!

[@stoff24100]

What is amour etch exactly? trying tofind a simmilarproduct in Denmark

[@ThaChazo]

Should I do the inside part or the outside part of the lenses? Or Both?

[@thebuxtonhouse9526]

I just did this and it did not work for me. Did I hear you say that some have had to rub the Armour? I tried it a second time. Yours look so great......just wonder if you have heard from others it did not work for.

[@Inapeartree]

Maybe try both sides?

[@Inapeartree]

Ok, so tried this and it lifted the layer, but didn't take it off completely, after 4 attempts. So, I tried scotch tape, rubbed it in to the lens and pulled. It worked to finalize the peel. I did what I would if I wanted to get something sticky off... Scotch tape, and pull.

[@cryptocrunchies2478]

Your video is too quiet for me to hear even with ear buds

[@aaronrodriguez4282]

Question: Will this process work on a pair of American Optical Sunglasses that have real glass lenses? They are non polarized. I bought the armour etch and it says to only use on glass, not plastic. Other videos I have seen said NOT to use Glass Etching Cream on glass! Im confused. Any advice?

[@zexalex]

If you use Armour Etch on glass lenses you will etch the glass (the real purpose of the cream), meaning the lenses will be ruined. We are using it on polycarbonate (plastic) lenses just to remove the top coatings that get scratched.

[@krash5952]

taking off the protective coatings is not fixing anything in short this is a huge FAIL ... its a waste of money to remove the coatings to protect ur eyes either way ur going to go buy new ones or you wont bother getting the coatings next pair ?

[@gaylelangis261]

You buy time without the haze

[@julianm3328]

Where could I purchase the arnor etch ? Thanks for the video

[@RockeroDeSangre]

Amazon or hobby lobby.

[@Inapeartree]

Joann also has

[@julianm3328]

thanks everyone

[@alafairxvx]

DO NOT USE ARMOUR ETCH ON YOUR GLASSES, PLASTIC or OTHERWISE, IT WILL SCRATCH THEM BEYOND REPAIR.