While this may be true to a point, this is faulty logic for two reasons. 1) Once those layers are gone/damaged the AR stack itself is vulnerable to a myriad of real life chemical contaminants and abrasive gritty substances that will permanently damage it - in the non sterile AR lab environment that my face cheese faithful meander in daily.
2) The AR may be the most expensive part of the process, but I can get a cheap AR stack applied to a lens for 20 something dollars. The best of the best ARs (which I deal in almost exclusively) are pushing 3 to 4 times that amount. If the extra coating processes these were put through equated to a simple siloxane dip coating a la Chris Ryser they would not cost so much, nor would there be such a difference in scratch/chemical resistance among them all.
Again, advise your clients in your way, I will tell them to use soap and water, or my lens cleaner. If that doesn't work I ask them to bring the lenses to me for the use of harsher chemical agents.
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