# Optical Forums > General Optics and Eyecare Discussion Forum >  Removing scratches with toothpaste???

## Happylady

I post at this other board and someone was asking about removing scratches from their eyeglasses. One person suggested toothpaste and even said she had used it.

I can't imagine toothpaste would do anything good for eyeglass lenses! Even basic plastic lenses without AR, I wouldn't think it would work well at all. Has anyone heard of this or tried it? It just sounds so wrong.

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## MarcE

On the buffing wheel??
I could work.  It is a finer abrasive than the polish we use (I think).
I think it would leave waves from the buffing wheel.
I don't know how well hardcoats will buff.
If you were to do it by hand, then it would take a week.

How about that, I had absolutely nothing to offer:hammer:.
Shouda keep my fingers shut.

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## Happylady

It's amazing what you find when you google stuff. I discovered this thread where people are talking about how to remove bad ARs. Several people said they would never get it again, which is a shame. 

One man said he got some internet glasses and the AR got all scratched up after 5 months. He swore he would never get AR again. So he has some glasses with a $5.00 AR coat and he decides all AR is bad.   :Rolleyes:   That cheap stuff that scratches and crazes and is horrible to clean turns so many people off AR.

Anyway, many people said they had good luck removing the AR with Armour Etch. They said you can get it from Micheals. I thought that was interesting. We used to have some AR remover that worked great. I think someone cleaned out the lab and threw it away. :( It said not to use it on poly, though.

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## FullCircle

Armour Etch is a glass etching cream. I wouldn't use it unless I was trying to opaque a lens!

If you use toothpaste or any other snake oil scratch remover on a lens, you're bound to remove the scratch resistant coating, at the very least. This means the lens will scratch easier. Worst case would be causing waves. Not that you'd cause waves very quickly with toothpaste...

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## rbaker

Most toothpaste contains aluminum oxide (white rouge) so I guess that you could remove scratches from lenses. It might take you twenty hours or so even with a power buffer. You would also create a new multifocal lens with a truly unique set of parameters.

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## maggiferous

We actually have really good luck with the Armour Etch...we do it very rarely, but it works.  Takes between 5 and 8 minutes, takes it off with little fuss, although it's nasty gritty and smells like chlorinated old socks.  It doesn't opaque the lens at all, or at least not so anyone notices.  We do a one-time warranty for scratching, and after that, removing the A/R is the only thing we can do.

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## scriptfiller

I've used Armour Etch with some success.  Don't try it on Crizal it has been my experience that it eats the hard coat.  It works beautifully in removing Zeiss Super ET.

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## gemstone

Greased Lighting works if you have time to soak overnight.

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## obxeyeguy

If its a cheap AR, not the substrate matched type, just soak in greased lightning for about 3 hours.  Voila, new lens, no scratches.  Take cup with greased lightning, and dump it on tile floor, get mop, clean floor, and disposal is complete.  Charge patient $20 bucks, everyones happy.

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## DragonLensmanWV

> Most toothpaste contains aluminum oxide (white rouge) so I guess that you could remove scratches from lenses. It might take you twenty hours or so even with a power buffer. You would also create a new multifocal lens with a truly unique set of parameters.


That would be a true free-form!!:cheers:

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## fjpod

Just had a new stainless steel refrigerator delivered, with a long scuff/scratch on the front door.  The installer said...don't worry...it'll come off with the stainless steel polish.  Looking at the size and depth of the scratch, I didn't believe him so I immediately took the polish that came with the fridge and voila, within 15 seconds it was gone.  I couldn't believe it.  

I wonder if stainless steel polish can be used to remove lens scratches?  Better yet, I wonder if toothpaste will remove scratches from my refrigerator.

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## chip anderson

We used to have a group of contact lens reps out of Memphis that would tell practioners to use tooth paste to remove scratches on contact lenses.  Some individuals still try this others have passed along this little tidbit to thier patient's. 
True back in the dark ages we did use tooth paste for a polish but we were using spindles and wax pads.  
Tooth paste (despite earlier posts) contains very fine pumice.  It scratches contacts.  Just take a new one, view it in a measuring magnifier and then "clean" it with toothpaste.  Then look at it.  
End of story.

Chip :cry:

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## Andrew Weiss

We had one patient at the office in Massachusetts who used toothpaste on his lenses on a regular basis.  No AR, of course.  His lenses were always immaculate -- not a scratch, even after 3 years of daily use.

In the old days, my father used to recommend Pledge furniture polish for filling in hairline scratches.  It's optically neutral (hence the Pledge ads), and it does give a nice shine to the lenses also. :Rolleyes:    Clearly, this was in the days before AR.;)   I still suggest it to patients who have some hairline scratches, no AR, and want to extend their lens life a few months.

Great home-remedies thread, everyone.

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## Fezz

> Just had a new stainless steel refrigerator delivered, with a long scuff/scratch on the front door. The installer said...don't worry...it'll come off with the stainless steel polish. Looking at the size and depth of the scratch, I didn't believe him so I immediately took the polish that came with the fridge and voila, within 15 seconds it was gone. I couldn't believe it. 
> 
> I wonder if stainless steel polish can be used to remove lens scratches? Better yet, I wonder if toothpaste will remove scratches from my refrigerator.


 
Flitz metal polish works well for this kind of thing. I use it when working on firearms.

I am not sure about using it on lenses. I will give it a try tonight!

:cheers::cheers::cheers:

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## hcjilson

> Flitz metal polish works well for this kind of thing. I use it when working on firearms.
> 
> I am not sure about using it on lenses. I will give it a try tonight!
> 
> :cheers::cheers::cheers:


I haven't taken the time to read every post in this thread, but it has been known for a long time that you can polish hard contacts with toothpaste as well as using it for polishing artificial eyes. Just be SURE to wash it all off! :):)

PS I have never heard that you can polish spectacle lenses with toothpaste, nor have I ever done it!

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## chip anderson

HC
Obviously you never looked at one of those "polished" hard contact lenses under 7X magnification after "polishing" it.  I have.  Even a brand new PMMA lens will have a surface so bad that it will collect oil in wearing within 15 minitues.
No exceptions, no "you just didn't know how to apply it."   *It ruins lenses!*
Might not be so bad on spectacles as they are not in contact with the meibonium glands.  But I will be willing to bet that when viewed twith 7X magnification and through and through light the "polished" area will appear gray (surface man's defininion of gray).
This is another one of those things I will bet cash money on.
The roughest thing a PMMA lens can be really polished with is diatomeous earth (Silvo Silver polish) the roughest HGP's is Silo-care or X-Pal and then you have to be very carefull.

Chip

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## MarcE

If it doesn't have AR, try hot water first. 1.60 and maybe spectralite and maybe CR will be better after the hot water.  Hard coated lenses won't work with this method.

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## Chris Ryser

If AR is scratched remove AR and hard coat with a good, least dangerous AR stripper, (read up on hydro fluoric acid, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrofluoric_acid. *the only product that will remove the SIO2.*

Usually there will be no more scatches on the basic lens surface.

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## lab fly

I have used toothpaste and steel wool to remove small rust spots on vehicle bumpers.  But lenses!

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## Andrew Weiss

> I have used toothpaste and steel wool to remove small rust spots on vehicle bumpers.  But lenses!


I actually had a guy come in wanting to know if I could "buff out" the burr-mark in the center of his lens.  Seems he had a scratch there and tried to take it out using some 00 steel wool.  :Eek:

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## DragonLensmanWV

> I actually had a guy come in wanting to know if I could "buff out" the burr-mark in the center of his lens.  Seems he had a scratch there and tried to take it out using some 00 steel wool.


What was he thinking? Everybody knows you use 0000 steel wool! :bbg:

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## Happylady

> I actually had a guy come in wanting to know if I could "buff out" the burr-mark in the center of his lens.  Seems he had a scratch there and tried to take it out using some 00 steel wool.


I had a dentist who tried to used his polishing equipment to remove the scratches on his niece's lenses. They were completely ruined.  :Rolleyes:

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## Chris Ryser

Polishing scratches will need abrasion.........which in turn means change the lens surface and making it wavy.

The only way to make a lens usable again is to fill the scratches with a polysiloxane polymer which when cured and buffed by hand will make the lens look like new and stick to the lens permanently.and will not react to any solvents.

However deep scratches will still be visible at certain angles. However this will work perfectly as a temporary solution. It is easy to apply and available. Called "Lens Renew" from OMS Optochemicals.

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## Andrew Weiss

> The only way to make a lens usable again is to fill the scratches with a polysiloxane polymer which when cured and buffed by hand will make the lens look like new and stick to the lens permanently.and will not react to any solvents. It is easy to apply and available. Called "Lens Renew" from OMS Optochemicals.


Thanks, Chris.  A big improvement over Pledge. :cheers:

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## SpecFitter

Yea, lets start buffing out lenses, so patients never come back and have an eye exam again or buy new glasses again. One pair for an entire lifetime! Sounds good to me.arg..

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## chip anderson

SpecFitter:   Actually they used to "last forever" before the 1930's or '40's.  From there on, we started making C_ _ _.

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## Chris Ryser

> *Yea, lets start buffing out lenses, so patients never come back and have an eye exam again or buy new glasses again. One pair for an entire lifetime! Sounds good to me.arg.*
> .


You just forgot that nature will take care of this problem...............snd new Rx's are needed periodically. When a patient is due in 4-5-6 month you are doing him a favour to get over this period by refresging his lenses. 

Also some of those people in a temporary financial bind,due to the bad times might appreciate to get a temporary fix until they can afford new ones.

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## harry a saake

i actually worked for a somewhat shady lab once upon a time who kept a large can of wax at the shipping table, each lens was waxed so you would not see any scratches, it worked, until you cleaned them real good and the wax came off, well when it left here we didnt see any scratches, must have happened at your end. true story

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## SpecFitter

Is it temporary? I thought you were buffing out scratches? I'm sure your patient will have you buff out over and over again, it's not gonna be one time deal and then they are gonna new lenses in 4 months? I seriously dought that. I see temporary frame repairs that I have done come back years later. That's how temporay it is. Why not just make them a new lens under warranty?

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## Chris Ryser

> *Why not just make them a new lens under warranty?*


How much do you make, "when done under warranty" and how much do you make doing a temporary job and a pair of new glasses down the road?

Your above suggestion is the short end of the stick.

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## Chris Ryser

> *i actually worked for a somewhat shady lab once upon a time who kept a large can of wax at the shipping table, each lens was waxed so you would not see any scratches, it worked, until you cleaned them real good and the wax came off, well when it left here we didnt see any scratches, must have happened at your end. true story*


The only difference between then.................and now is that these products are permanent and on top of it super hydrophobic with all the bells and whistles

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## uberoptiker

One thing that toothpaste is good for...  taking scratches out of CD's.  Believe it or not, the clear green stuff works the best.

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