Categories: Optics

Clean Ray Ban Sunglasses

Examples of Soft Anti Reflective Lens Cleaning Cloths.

Some people may avoid sunglasses due to their higher cost; particularly the non prescription and polarized Ray Ban sunglasses. But improvement in vision over non light attenuating glasses is quite noticeable and very worthwhile. There’s less “haze” from internal polarized lens light reflections with this improving technology. So we learned the clean Ray Ban sunglasses effectively routine, rather than abandon them altogether.

Indeed, we’ve worn sunglasses with polarized lenses for three decades. In all that time, we have received advice from many eye care specialists about how best to clean them.

Clean Ray Ban Sunglasses

How Easy the Cleaning Can Be

Sunglasses cleaning is not hard once you know how to safely handle them. Which cleaners work the most gently go a long way toward protecting your lenses too. Plus, which cleaning cloths scratch the least also extends the life of your sunglasses. Indeed, all these factors are essential in preserving the stylish, pristine Ray Ban look.

We’ve tested the popular dry lens cleaning cloths from Kodak and other vendors. They make these of a thin, tissue-like paper. We’ve also tried some of the costly liquid lens cleaners that work with these cloths. But our success was only moderate. But this cleaning duo smeared and streaked our lenses. They also hastened buildup of scratches on the lenses.

What the Doctors Say

We talked with numerous doctors about increasing the life of polarized sunglasses, and they agreed. The best cleaner to use is a lotion-free, mild dishwashing liquid such as Great Value, Palmolive, Joy, or Ajax. You may have to dilute the thicker liquids by mixing one part water with one part of dish soap. You want the solution thin enough ti spread with the fingers over all lens surfaces.

However, avoid those dish soaps that contain lotions, oils, and lanolin for skin softening. Why? Because these can smear your sunglasses that not even the lens cleaning cloths can remove. Also, avoid harsh chemicals and abrasive solvents. Polycarbonate lenses like those found in most spectacles these days, are hurt by abrasive cleaners. So, avoid cleansers, polishes, ammonia, or bleach based cleaners. Many of these can strip the coatings completely away over time. Thus, go for ja basic dishwashing-by-hand liquid with preferably no extra chemicals in it besides the soap. Do not use soap powders.

Then, once you’ve washed and rinsed them, use a microfiber cloth, designed for safely cleaning eyeglasses. Buy these at most any place that sells sunglasses such as Walmart, Pearl, Lens Crafters, Sam’s Club, et al. Use this cloth, only to dry the rinsed lenses only; not for actual cleaning. For washing, gently rub the soaped up sunglasses with your fingers. Cover all lens surfaces. Avoid excessive rubbing, as this too can wear out the AR coatings too early.

Examples of soft sunglasses lens cleaning cloths.

Be sure to use a clean, soft, lint free lens cloth. Any oil in the cloths can spread to your clean sunglass lenses as you dry them. Obviously, this clouds their overall performance. Plus, oils can permanently damage the protective lens coatings.

Glasses Safer to Clean These Days

Fortunately today, sunglasses lenses such as those found in Ray Bans, have grown more durable. They last longer under most wearing conditions. But don’t think that they’re indestructible. Polarized sunglass lenses on many sunglasses are still quite delicate. They can still easily be scratched or destroyed if you accidentally get industrial lubricants or solvents on them. So be careful.

Clean Ray Ban Sunglasses: Step by Step

To sum all this up, here’s our tried-and-true procedure to clean Ray Ban sunglasses.

1. Apply Soft, Filtered Water

Wet the sunglasses with clean water. Use filtered or softened water if you live in a hard-water area. This prevents suspended particles in the water from scratching your lenses.

2. Apply Dish Soap

Then, onto each lens, place one or two drops of dishwashing liquid; the manual kind, not that for automatic dishwashers.

3. Softly Scrub Lens Fronts

Next, gently rub the sunglasses surfaces with your fingers, taking care not to press too hard. Also, be sure you have no callouses, scabs, dry skin. Rough edges on your fingertips can mar the lenses.

4. Clean the Back Sides Then

The soap you have on your fingers from the first sides should be sufficient to clean the other sides.

5. Clean Nose and Temple Pieces

Also, rub clean the nose rests. And, clean the entire frames of your Ray Bans, to remove all the body oils from them. Don’t forget to clean those ear pieces, nose pieces, and temple wings as well.

6. Clean Ray Ban Sunglasses: Rinse Soap Off

Rinse under warm, running water until the lens surfaces squeak when running your fingers across them.

7. Dry the Sunglasses

Then, use the microfiber lens cloths mentioned above to completely dry your sun glasses to a vivid shine.

8. Finally, Inspect your Sunglasses

Best done in vivid sunlight, verify that you’ve removed all the dirt and oils. You’ll know that cleaning worked when the lenses shine. They show no smears or dirt or lint specs in the sunshine.

As with most things, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. When it comes to Ray Ban sunglasses, keep them clean. To preserve their awesome performance, avoid getting them dirty in the first place. Or at least, minimize how dirty you get them. Avoid solvents like turpentine or citrus-based cleaners. Avoid any harsh chemicals in general, as these can destroy the clearness of these lenses.

True, you’ll always have some body oil on glasses that are worn every day. But even when you employ the procedure above for the gentlest cleaning, cleaning operations still stress the lenses. Too much cleaning can damage them. So, wear and store your Ray Bans such that they need minimal cleaning. Keep ’em clean in the first place. But when you must clean your specs, use the Clean Ray Ban Sunglasses procedure above. This gibes the least damaging yet best restoration of clarity your delicate sunglasses lenses.