please learn me good on using/protecting prescription glasses?

[gunsmith]

old age is kicking in and I got myself my first pair of prescription glasses, its those ones that automatically
turn darker when in the sun ( transition?)

I live off grid and hundreds of miles from civilization and am kicking myself for forgetting to get the soft cloth to clean them.
I also spent a little extra and got the heavy duty/ stronger lens because I do a lot of work on the ranch.

I often lose reading glasses but I'm hoping to not lose these by keeping them on all day, looking down is for reading, straight ahead is for driving/aiming ... darn ...I cant remember what the top part was for.

Anyway they should arrive ups in a few days ... any tips??

[Jim147]

My tip for you is to order a second pair as soon as you can swing it.

My script has changed a couple of times but I still have my titanium/polycarbonate glass from working in the machine shop. They have a huge scratch from me about taking my head off with a piece of steel, but I still have my eyes.

jim

[CSM Kersh]

Soft 100% cotton can be used along with liquid glass cleaners.  Put them in the case that came with them when not wearing.  Laying them on the lens will cause scratches over time.  Don't use your shirt tail on a dry lens as that will scratch them also.  If you work around machinery, etc, get some ventalated safety glasses that will fir over your prescription glasses.  That'll save both your eyes and your glasses.

Transition glass gets better with age.  They may seem slow to darken at first, but that will improve the more you wear them outside.  

[Brad Johnson]

Hot water, a dab of dish soap, and an old undershirt to pat the lenses dry.

DON'T USE ANY CLEANER THAT HAS AMMONIA!!  It will take the coating off.

Brad

[White Horseradish]

Get spares.

www.zennioptical.com

[MillCreek]

An ultrasonic cleaner will also do a good job of stripping off any lens coatings.  I use a neutral cleaner and microfiber cloths to clean my glasses.

[RoadKingLarry]

LASIK.

[Azrael256]

Hot water, a dab of dish soap, and an old undershirt to pat the lenses dry.

Yup, that works well for most lenses.  Just make sure it's not *HOT* water or it will damage the photochromic layer.  A microfiber cloth is great for quick cleanings to take off spots and fingerprints.  Get a big one.  12" square is good.

DON'T USE ANY CLEANER THAT HAS AMMONIA!!  It will take the coating off.

Um, sorta.  It will eat the lens itself from the edge inward as it destroys the cement.  The surface of any polycarbonate plastic is also eroded by ammonia, so the one part that will actually survive is the coating on the back of the lens (I'm assuming they're real Transitions lenses and not another manufacturer's photochromics).  But the point is valid.  Mild soap and water, and no commercial glass cleaners.

Also, just FYI, they don't darken as well when it's hot outside.

[Regolith]

I just use my shirt to clean my glasses most times, but then I don't have the fancy transition lenses.  I also don't wear them all that often; they're mainly backups for my contact lenses.

I agree with the suggestions of getting a second pair, though.  I don't really want to count the number of glasses I've broken, and having a second pair to wear while the first one is replaced or fixed helps a LOT. I've got my backup pair stashed with my emergency gear.

[Waitone]

Never clean a lens while dry.  Best bet is to flood the lens with water to float off abrasive particles then use a cleaner as described above. 

[Boomhauer]

Get some oversized safety glasses that go over your normal glasses to save wear and tear on your good glasses from flying debris, etc even if you aren't doing an activity that quite requires safety glasses. I'm in an occupation that requires frequent use of safety glasses (plus I have a good face shield and a good pair of goggles for some activities)...I replace the lenses on everything once a year due to bad scratches, embedded particles, etc.

[sanglant]

ultrasonic cleaners are sweet, not that i have one.
if you have an ARC
  watch the temp shifts, checking the grill? take off your glasses first, etc. the temp change causes the coating to peel.
  do not use fabric softener on anything that will come in contact with your glasses, even carrying your cleaning cloth in the pocket of your pants, that were washed with FS, will get the crap on your lenses. it gets into the uneven surface(what makes the coating work in the first place) and is very hard to remove.
  if you can get the slick coating do, it's worth the extra cash. but know going in it only last 12-18 months, but then you have normal AR coating, which seems to last 12-18 months.
  AR coat is mostly useful for driving at night, and reading/watching tv in a dark room with a table level lamp on, if you don't you might not like it.
if you can get a pair of glasses without it, i try to remember to wear mine when cooking. or running anything like a dremel, the powder off that thing ruins AR coating fast.
  AR seems to stick better to CR-39 better than poly, and glass better then CR-39. remember glass lenses are heavy, and hard to get, well in the US.
 CR-39 lasts longer then poly, and with a hard coat is harder to scratch. coasts more to make, but thanks to people pushing poly, it's cheaper to buy. they have to charger more for poly so people think it's better. poly is better, only if your using your glasses as safety glasses.
and yes, more is better. i like having at least 3 pairs.
AR coated
not AR coated
and sunglasses, photochromic is ok, but polarized and permanent tint is much better. been looking at some driving tint lenses that start with a nice yellow shooting tint and get to a dark brown. (random link to the product information)
   oh and when your buying MF cloths, more is better. BJs sells 3 and 5 packs. you can't have to many, but you can put to much money into them. if you buy good ARC lenses they should come with a branded cleaning cloth. kinda like the one a good scope comes with, small and thin. but they work.
  oh, and one trick the guy selling you glasses will hate. if your nearsighted and need bifocals. you can skip them, and buy frames short enough to look under to read.
and this site has a lot of information, but they hate having customers on there site.

edit: don't know how i dropped that link, but it's there now. and really don't bother registering they'll just ban you. can't even find the link in my bookmarks now, it's like i cut it out of them,(instead of copying) and forgot to post it.

[gunsmith]

a lot of good info here! THANKS!

[GigaBuist]

I've been in glasses since I was 2 and I'm 30 now.  I've never kept any cleaning cloth for any length of time.  They're like the stupid mag loaders you get with Glock pistols:  Nobody that's doing this every day uses them.

Warm water, whatever soap you clean your hands with, rinse it good and clean and use a clean cotton t-shirt or towel to dry them off.  That's it.  Most important is to just not set them down on the actual lenses in my experience.  Or get them ate by a dog, sat on by an idiot in the locker room, things like that. 

If you're got the anti-glare coating the warn water is required.  Before I started getting that stuff on my lenses cold water was fine.

Back when my lenses were actual glass, not poly, scratches were common from cleaning, but that really hasn't been an issue in probably 15-20 years from me.

Modern glasses are pretty much idiot proof.

[Doggy Daddy]

I will commonly wear my glasses into the shower and clean them by lathering up my hands real good and cleaning them that way.  Rinse them in the shower stream, hang them on the wire rack over the shower door and dry them with either a cotton cloth that has been washed numerous times without fabric softener or a microfiber washed the same way.

Whatever you do, if there is dirt, grit or just the suspicion of either on the lens, rinse or blow it off well before doing any kind of rubbing on the lens to clean it.

Clean your glasses like you would clean good scope lenses.

DD

[sanglant]

what were you doing to your glass lenses? there much harder to scratch then any plastic lens.

and the cleaning cloths work fine here, i have at least 10. so i can usually find at least 1. you do have to wash them though, every 3 or 6 months. i use dish soap, and hang them up to dry. don't trust the washer, it's had FS in it. some times takes 3 or 4 washes, to get rid of the extra dye.

as for cleaning liquid i like to keep a kind of spray handy(flents wipe 'n clear right now, what ever is cheap), and use soap and water. if you don't mind the price, ROR is the best stuff. but not to use all the time, hard on coatings. i use it for cleaning my camera lenses, once every 2 years or so each.

and as with screens, go by what your eye's tell you. don't matter if someone else likes something, your the one that has to wear them.

[seeker_two]

Hot water, a dab of dish soap, and an old undershirt to pat the lenses dry.

DON'T USE ANY CLEANER THAT HAS AMMONIA!!  It will take the coating off.

Brad

+1....Dawn makes for the best glasses cleaner....

[HankB]

Paper tissues (Puffs, Kleenex) are NOT recommended for cleaning glasses. I like to use a CLEAN microfiber cloth.

If your glasses are dirty, be sure to wash off the dirt with plenty of water BEFORE you rub them with anything - even a clean cloth will pick up abrasives and produce scratches.

[Grandpa Shooter]

I have worn glasses since 5th grade when the dinosaurs were dying off.  When they still made glass lenses that was all I ever wore.  Now the optical shops say they can't get glass anymore and I am stuck with plastic.  Plastic SUCKS for lenses.  I don't know anyone in the real world who works for a living who actually has all of the stuff on hand to properly clean plastic lenses.  They will scratch and cloud up from the act of cleaning them.

Resign yourself to having to baby them and they will need replacement in a year regardless of what you do.

[sanglant]

oh they can get glass lenses, look at that link back in reply 11 for what is really available now. the lawyers are just to stupid to figure out there are 4 kinds of glasses. you have.

sport glasses
safety glasses
dress glasses
and kids glasses

as long as you understand lightweight glass* is dress eye wear you'll have no problem with it, and that doesn't mean you can't work in them. just that you shouldn't be shooting etc..

you can't get the high index glass in the US, there's no one willing to sell it.

but you can get glass lenses, if you have a BJ's nearby that's the easiest place to get them. they can get photogrey and photobrown to. and they do AR coats on glass.

if your optical dispensary won't order what you want, walk out.

and for some things glass is still the best safety lens.

oh, and just encase you want to know. there is a reason glass costs so much now. our idiot leaders have decided EVERY glass lens sold has to be drop tested. not only does this run up costs. some break in the test. not only could some of the lenses braking in the test, have been worn for years without causing any trouble. the lenses that pass are more likely to brake, because of the bloody test.

even worse is if you talk to ER nurses and Dr.s from back when glass lenses were the norm. you'll find out that glass might be easier on the eye when it brakes.

* well relatively lightweight, check out the specs for safety lenses in glass.

[GigaBuist]

what were you doing to your glass lenses? there much harder to scratch then any plastic lens.

Good point.  I'd forgotten that actual glass is more durable than plastic.

I don't know what the heck I was doing to them.  I was a kid. :)

[Bogie]

I've heard good things about zennioptical too - When I can afford to get my eyes checked again, I'm going to order a few pairs from 'em...
 

[Harold Tuttle]

i just got an order in from zenni on Saturday

their shipping is twice as fast now

it was 1.5 weeks from order submission to glasses on the east coast.

100 dollars got me:
1 pair of progressive bifocals
4 pairs of regulars ( i bought my self a back up pair for 7 bucks
and a replacement frame for one set from a previous order
+5 dollar shipping

[Tallpine]

Get spares.

www.zennioptical.com

+1

Buy them by the dozen and when a pair gets dirty just throw it away 

Actually, they include a cleaning cloth with each pair 

[Lee]

Anyway they should arrive ups in a few days ... any tips??

Keep them away from puppies.  There's nothing they like more than chewing up a fresh set of new eyeglasses.  Keep one of those eyeglass cases handy also.  If you get in the habit of putting them in the case, the chances of setting them down somewhere, and losing or destroying them will be greatly reduced.