# Optical Forums > Progressive Lens Discussion Forum >  Cleaning off progressive markings

## rimlessglasses

What do you guys use to get the stubborn yellow markings off your progressives when simple elns cleaner just won't do the job.  Essiclean is the only thing I can find but I don't want to give Essilor any of my money they have enough already.

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## WFruit

http://optochemicals.com/clean.htm

http://www.1-800-optisource.com/Marking-Ink-Removers.aspx

Isopropanol (sp?) alcohol also usually works, as well as denatured alcohol (which smells HORRIBLE). Acetone is a bad idea in general. Oddly enough, we've also found that non-acetone nail polish remover usually works well.

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## jagiki

We use 91% alcohol.

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## chip anderson

If you don't want to use a optical commercial cleaner:  Squirt alcohol *on the lens* and wait about 15 seconds, then wipe off with paper towel also soaked in alcohol.    40 years ago you could have just used the breath of any optician or lab man, but for the most part we behave nicer now.


Chip

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## For-Life

> http://optochemicals.com/clean.htm
> 
> http://www.1-800-optisource.com/Marking-Ink-Removers.aspx
> 
> Isopropanol (sp?) alcohol also usually works, as well as denatured alcohol (which smells HORRIBLE). Acetone is a bad idea in general. Oddly enough, we've also found that non-acetone nail polish remover usually works well.


This is what I use.  OBer Chris Ryser got me on it.  It is way faster than anything I have ever used.  Plus, Chris hates Essilor, so you are hitting two birds with one stone.

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## Striderswife

I use All Off from OptiSource.  It comes in bottles, and you apply it with a Q-Tip, or it also comes in a pen style.  You just uncap the end and get to scrubbing.  The pen gives off less insulting fumes; although, the liquid kind is really not so bad.  It works, so I guess that's what matters.

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## Chris Ryser

> *Oddly enough, we've also found that non-acetone nail polish remover usually works well.*


There are tons of different solvents that will work. What you really want is to get away from those fast evaporating ones like acetone, even if it does work wonders for many things.

Have you ever stuck your nose in a jar of mentioned nail pokish remover, to me it smellsw like a very large dose of acetone.

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## rimlessglasses

Well we're here in the UK will Chris ship over here?  In the meantime i've got some "non accetone" nail polish remover and will give that a go.  Thanks for all your help guys.

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## Chris Ryser

> *Well we're here in the UK will Chris ship over here? In the meantime i've got some "non accetone" nail polish remover and will give that a go. Thanks for all your help guys.*


Well Chris Has Shipped over to the UK for the last 25 years. We have one remaining distributor which is Inland UK. You can find the product on their website at http://www.inland.co.uk/category.cfm?cid=39#p1

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## bob_f_aboc

Markaway is great!  Just keep a glass jar with cotton balls soaked in it and use as needed.  500ml bottle has lasted over a year so far and I still have about half of it left.

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## rimlessglasses

Well I got my accetone free nail polish remover today, stuck my nose in it and immeadiatley losy all my nasal hairs, that potent stuff.  I shall not be putting that anywhere near a lens, so off to inland I go with my tail between my legs.  I shall keep the nail polish remover for if I need to strip any paint off doors!!

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## Summer Days

If the lenses have an antireflection coating, use some 'cloudy' sticky tape (we call it Scotch tape) to take the lens markings off with almost no effort.
So much better than using solvents!  And in most cases it's a lot faster too.

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## donovanbaldwin

If using alcohol, be very careful.  I have run into at least one frame that basically came apart because I got a little toooooo much alcohol on it.  I've never had that problem with acetone, or acetone-like products, however.  By the way, Happy Easter!

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## Chris Ryser

Using sticky tapes on lenses is a test for adhesion of coatings. If you use tape you might just damage the lens beyond repair.

also

using solvents that might damage the frame or the lens material while there are products available to do the trick all these ways are primitive and cheap  ways to be smart.

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## bhess25

isopropanol on a bounty  paper towel (they wont scratch lenses)...then heat the lens with a frame warmer a little and it will come right off!

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## Chris Ryser

Any solvent when heated..................and that is what you are doing by heating the lens will become manyfold stronger than in its natural state. You might also soften hardcoats, AR coats etc. and then damage them with increased power of solvent.

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## bhess25

> Any solvent when heated..................and that is what you are doing by heating the lens will become manyfold stronger than in its natural state. You might also soften hardcoats, AR coats etc. and then damage them with increased power of solvent.


i can understand that, however I've been doing it that way for the last 7 years and have yet to have any issues. I think the key here is to "warm" the lens, too much heat would damage any lens.. so proceed with caution, once you get it right there shouldn't be any problems!

ohh and with AR i only use isoproponal or just alcohol (whatever is closer). typically what i have found is that markings come off AR far easier than lenses with no AR.

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## jgu1644

use sellotape ,this is easiest...........

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## Chris Ryser

> *use sellotape ,this is easiest...........*


 
That is right...........it also pulls away the hard coat and AR coatings and you end up with a partially stripped lens.

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## Chris Ryser

FREE Trial - Patients LOVE the new Wideview SIGNATURE - optics by CARL ZEISS VISION UK 
http://www.jaikudo.com/signature/

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## jgu1644

> That is right...........it also pulls away the hard coat and AR coatings and you end up with a partially stripped lens.


is that so easy to pull away the hard coat and AR coating ,i wonder . mind to share.thx

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## bhess25

> is that so easy to pull away the hard coat and AR coating ,i wonder . mind to share.thx




it can be!!

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## Srejicaleks

If hard coat is pulled away with sellotape that means it is bad hard coat and should be send back to lab to get new one.
Good hard coat can not be stripped with sellotape.

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## jgu1644

> If hard coat is pulled away with sellotape that means it is bad hard coat and should be send back to lab to get new one.
> Good hard coat can not be stripped with sellotape.


agreed. if the hardcoat n AR can be pull away , then it also can be wipe away

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## Chris Ryser

After all the use of a tape is one of the most important test's to find out if a coating is adhering to the surface. So do not use it to clean off markings, you should know better.

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## old_school

> isopropanol on a bounty  paper towel (they wont scratch lenses)...then heat the lens with a frame warmer a little and it will come right off!


I agree on the isopropo. It seems to work well on markings when the lens is warm. When the lens is cold, you have to scrub a little harder and you can risk scratching the lens if you scrub it too long. We use a hot plate with water that we heat up to about 42 Celcius. We just dip it in for a second and then a quick wipe with the isopropo usually does the job.

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## WFruit

So, I'm sitting here inspecting glass lenses, and something occured to me about this thread.

For everyone talking about removing progresive markings on A/R lenses, don't the markings have to be removed BEFORE the A/R is applied?  I'm kind of bothered by lenses being A/R'ed with the markings still on them.....

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## bhess25

> So, I'm sitting here inspecting glass lenses, and something occured to me about this thread.
> 
> For everyone talking about removing progresive markings on A/R lenses, don't the markings have to be removed BEFORE the A/R is applied?  I'm kind of bothered by lenses being A/R'ed with the markings still on them.....


don't let anything occur to you anymore. The original markings are removed before AR is applied. The markings are then applied again after the AR process has been completed.

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## WFruit

> The markings are then applied again after the AR process has been completed.


That seems like a waste of time, and, from reading this thread, greatly increases the potential to damage the lenses.

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## RhondaJ

I use All-off by Optisource. Works better that anything else.

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## edKENdance

What do they use to apply those markings after coating anyways?  Is it like a business stamp?  How do they line it up and why don't they just use something that can be wiped off with a little soapy water?  It's not like I can't dot them up for verification by myself.

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## bhess25

> What do they use to apply those markings after coating anyways?  Is it like a business stamp?  How do they line it up and why don't they just use something that can be wiped off with a little soapy water?  It's not like I can't dot them up for verification by myself.


it's almost like the same paint they use on the factory lenses, yellow progressive markings. We had a machine that would line up the dots and stamp it, the unit came loaded with 30 different style markings and you could always add more. robotic doohicky that selected the marking stamp to match the lens.

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## WFruit

> it's almost like the same paint they use on the factory lenses, yellow progressive markings. We had a machine that would line up the dots and stamp it, the unit came loaded with 30 different style markings and you could always add more. robotic doohicky that selected the marking stamp to match the lens.


You wouldn't happen to have more info on the machine, like manufaturer and model number?  I'm still not sure I would use it on A/R lenses, but I definitely think it could be useful for lenses that have lost their marking during surfacing or tinting.

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## bhess25

i cant remember for the life of me...I have friend that still works there...ill ask him next time we go tip a few back!!

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## cleyes

I remember reading  lemon extract on a q tip works well....smells good too!

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## JasonArdanaz

Methanol works great for most progressive markings, we have used it for over 15 years. You should always try to avoid wiping any chemicals on the frame when cleaning, although this can lead to very dry fingers, so a glove is a good suggestion to protect your hands.

Acetone will obliterate any markings with ease, but is also much more corrosive to many frame materials so it should be handled with extreme care around expensive (or inexpensive) plastic frames. Furthermore, AVOID USING ACETONE WITH POLYCARBONATE LENSES AT ALL COSTS. Even with polished edges, the acetone can still seep in and crack a lens, or destroy the coating from the edges.

If polycarbonate were Superman, acetone would undoubtedly be kryptonite!

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## bhess25

> If polycarbonate were Superman, acetone would undoubtedly be kryptonite!


+1

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## rimlessglasses

we got some of chris's stuff which was very good and also a lens ink removing pen from a UK supplier. It is VERY good indeed!

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## Chris Ryser

To sum it all up..............there is a thousand ways to clean off the marking.

The only negative point is that 998 ways can damage you liver.....your brain and kidneys...........can affect your vision or give you skin cancer.

*But you can always purchase the "All OFF"  for $ 49.00 per Liter*

*or*

*the "Markaway" for $ 29.00 per Liter*

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## Golfnorth

Chris;

Why do you find it necessary to hype your business on your posts?
Administrator.....why do you allow this?

Regards,
Golfnorth






> To sum it all up..............there is a thousand ways to clean off the marking.
> 
> The only negative point is that 998 ways can damage you liver.....your brain and kidneys...........can affect your vision or give you skin cancer.
> 
> *But you can always purchase the "All OFF" for $ 49.00 per Liter*
> 
> *or*
> 
> *the "Markaway" for $ 29.00 per Liter*

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## Chris Ryser

> *Chris;*
> 
> *Why do you find it necessary to hype your business on your posts?*
> *Administrator.....why do you allow this?*
> 
> *Regards,*
> *Golfnorth*


 

Probably because I just hyped 998 products and what they do plus the 2 that also have been talked of by name.
One of a thousand that I hyped is my product and I did not even say so, but you did.

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## mhoires

*I have for you the solution: After looking and testing the best item to remove ANY MARKINGS on progressive lenses or any other type of marks made by the lab is:

PAINT MAKER REMOVE, DECO COLOR REMOVER, CHISEL TIP, ITEM No. DCR300, 
MADE BY UCHIDA OF AMERICA, CORP, 3635 Del Amo Blvd, Torrence, Ca., web page www.uchida.com
It works like a pen (chisel tip) and does not harm any material, you can use it on CR39, Poly, High Index, Trivex and glass.
It comes in a box of 12 pcs. I have used this item for the past three years without any problem.....
Hope this helps.....
Moises*

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## RIMLESS

I find some markings more difficult than others.  Sure do miss Billy Mays.

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## prem

we use isopropyl alcohol to clean the markins and its pretty good.

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## theGross1

Inland Ink Remover:

Used to use alcohol on a warm lens but this stuff is great.

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## Chris Ryser

> *we use isopropyl alcohol to clean the markins and its pretty good.
> *



Of course a lot of solvents will do the trick..................but also can they start a destruction cycle of the lens materials or their coatings that will show some time down the road. You should not be too cheap to purchase a for this purpose directed commercial product whoever makes or sells it.

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## James Handgrinder

The progressive mark cleaning solutions, or some filled in a marker type , all work  in my oppinion; tried almost all of them mentioned above, some work faster , some smells strong, I don't have to name them one by one, but over all the marker type is handier and you have less chance to damage some plastic frame.

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