Tinting Poly Lenses

**mlm** · 02-25-2008, 07:49 PM

Hi all,

There's probably a thread about this already, but I'm at work and don't want to be on here too long. We have a patient who rides a scooter, so we ideally want the lenses to be poly. But she also wants a tint, and the lab says no can do. Same answer for trivex. Would 1.6 offer enough impact resistance, or is there any other material that would be better? (Script is -1.00 -1.25 and -1.00 -2.00)

**VisionCH** · 02-25-2008, 07:59 PM

Resolution PC tints no problem

**Fezz** · 02-25-2008, 08:05 PM

There should be no problem tinting Poly or Trivex.

**mlm** · 02-25-2008, 08:22 PM

Originally Posted by Fezz

There should be no problem tinting Poly or Trivex.

Funny. I thought so too (particularly for trivex), but apparently not our lab.

They say that because of the hardcoat, the lenses wouldn't tint to any appreciable degree. Oh, and I just found out that it's supposed to be a brown to pink gradient. Hmmmm...at least it isn't blue to pink I suppose...

**snowmonster** · 02-25-2008, 08:30 PM

No amount of tint will make him/her look cool riding a scooter.

Some poly tints better than others. We've had reasonable luck with Chris Ryser's microtints with poly until our lab guy overflowed the tray it was in.

**AWTECH** · 02-25-2008, 09:43 PM

Originally Posted by mlm

Funny. I thought so too (particularly for trivex), but apparently not our lab.

They say that because of the hardcoat, the lenses wouldn't tint to any appreciable degree. Oh, and I just found out that it's supposed to be a brown to pink gradient. Hmmmm...at least it isn't blue to pink I suppose...

My guess is that you being in Canada that your lab dip coats the poly and Trivex with a non-tintable hard coat, and/or they do not like to try to do a faded tint from one color to the next.

**braheem24** · 02-25-2008, 09:48 PM

Order it from another lab,

If they UV cure thier hardcoat ask them to cut the cure time in half. It'll be a brown/pink #4 in 2 minutes.

Good luck

**MarcE** · 02-25-2008, 10:53 PM

The just don't want to do it. Ideally this is a stock lens. They come in "tintable" variety. And they really are tintable. Pull it, dip it, edge it - out the door.

I'm sure AWTECH is correct. They are using a non-tintable dip coat. I just don't get why a lab would surface this lens. For less cost and time involved in just a hard coating, I could have it edged, tinted and out the door. The stock lens will be right on power, with a more consistant hard-coat.

**Chris Ryser** · 02-26-2008, 05:05 AM

Originally Posted by mlm

Hi all,
There's probably a thread about this already, but I'm at work and don't want to be on here too long. We have a patient who rides a scooter, so we ideally want the lenses to be poly. But she also wants a tint, and the lab says no can do. Same answer for trivex. Would 1.6 offer enough impact resistance, or is there any other material that would be better? (Script is -1.00 -1.25 and -1.00 -2.00)

Your lab is still in the pre historic ages with their tinting.

There is a Canadian holding patents on a new way of tinting plastic and specially optical lenses that are hard to do. High Index is one , Polycarbonate and Trivex can only be tinted on their hard coat. It takes an eternity in the dye pot to get to a half decent absorbtion level.

You can tint any CR39 in 60 seconds and all the hard to tint lenses between 4 to 8 minutes to the darkest shades. The total investment in equipment is the cost of a 1000W microwave and the dyes can last you up 10-12 month per bottle. So it is actually a very inexpensive way of using a tinting system that is no more 40 year old technology.

And if you need any valid reference about it : Every pilot in the US Navy and Coast Guard is using our specially developed black color which has about the best transmission curve of all available back tints. The Navy, Coastguard and the US Marines corps have discarded their dye pots and are tinting with the Micro Tint System.

Originally Posted by Snowmonster

Some poly tints better than others. We've had reasonable luck with Chris Ryser's MicroTints with poly until our lab guy overflowed the tray it was in.

Comparing the operator of the tinting unit with:

........... the farmer that was plowing his fields with a wooden plow, pulled by a donkey he would kick in the $$$$ when he stood still..................with a steel plow pulled by a jet engine and he does not learn which button to push on the command panel and for what reason.

There is a peculiar reaction by the microwaves, they act like a hammer and push the pigments into the plastic surface at high speed, a conventional dye pot can not do as it is passive heat producing unit that can do no more than that.

You can see it all at http://optochemicals.com

**cocoisland58** · 02-26-2008, 08:50 AM

Whenever you want to tint poly you should ask for a tintable lens. Also if you have a specific oddball tint in mind send a sample or you will get whatever the tint person "thinks" you want which is never what you had in mind on your end. Better yet, tint your own.

**Chris Ryser** · 02-26-2008, 09:28 AM

Originally Posted by cocoisland58

Whenever you want to tint poly you should ask for a tintable lens. Also if you have a specific oddball tint in mind send a sample or you will get whatever the tint person "thinks" you want which is never what you had in mind on your end. Better yet, tint your own.

cocoisland............................pretty good advice.

specially these days when you can equip yourself for about $ 100.00 instead of $ 700- 800, Have hundreds of shades available and tint the hardest to do lenses in max time of 8 minutes.
See the color list: http://optochemicals.com/products/info_colors.htm