Cleaning of AR Lenses

[optigoddess]

I absolutely LOVE nanofilm products for cleaning my a/r's....I have received many samples from the various companies during regional and national conferences (sigh) some of the cleaners ... well, I got disgusted with and actually dumped into the toilet !!! :drop:


Karen

[Chris Ryser]

... well, I got disgusted with and actually dumped into the toilet !!! :drop:

Karen

Shame on you......................polluting the system with Isopropyl

[Clive Noble]

Why on earth are we making things so complicated?????

If you've never tried it, do the following. I clean all my finished jobs in the lab with AR / without AR including 3 piece mounts as follows.

I run the cold water and wash my hands with a very small blob of Fairy Liquid
(mild washing up detergent) to make sure that there's no grease on my fingers, then gently rub both lenses and the frame between my fingers under the slow stream of water till all the grease, dirt and fingermarks have been washed away by the soap and bubbles , then gently pat the water away and dry the glasses with soft toilet tissue. They look amazing!

You don't need hot or warm water. I've been using this method for over 30 years, and none of my own specs have ever suffered any breakdown in AR because of this. What could be simpler?

[TammyD]

What kind of detergent do you use to wash the microfiber cloth, can I use Woolite?

My understanding is that any regular detergent (Woolite included) should be fine. What I was told was to let the cloth air dry. :)

[Samuel Jong]

What kind of detergent do you use to wash the microfiber cloth, can I use Woolite?

Have you got the reply yet? I am curious to know also.

[Samuel Jong]

What kind of detergent do you use to wash the microfiber cloth, can I use Woolite?

My understanding is that any regular detergent (Woolite included) should be fine. What I was told was to let the cloth air dry. :)

I think this is the reply. Sorry that I didn't notice it.

[Mirror]

Generally AR cleaning solutions should be detergent based and as such be slightly basic in nature. The solution needs to be so weak that it can be injested without causing harm (not that I am saying we should be asking our customers to drink it) Being someone who produces both AR coatings for the general world and a line of cleaners we see the damage our customers cause to returned lenses.

You want to have your customers treat the lenses as gently as possible and as carefully as possible. We make products for the medical laser industry as well and I can assure you no one rubs their Sapphire laser tips with any thing close to alcohol, IPA, acetone or what have you. We tell them what to use and they just use it. No ifs ands or buts. The ophthalmic world is very different.

[DrNeyecare]

This is an old topic... but just for clarification....
what do you use to clean your lenses when you dispense your glasses?
For example, you are adjusting a new pair of glasses on a patient, you get some smudge on the lenses.... what do you use to clean off the smudges before you dispense?
We've been using the spray made by Nanofilm, but after reading this thread and learning of the harmful effects of isopropanol, we might change our cleaning procedures. We've always advised our patients to use mild dishwashing liquid and a 100% cotton cloth to clean at home though.

[For-Life]

This is an old topic... but just for clarification....
what do you use to clean your lenses when you dispense your glasses?
For example, you are adjusting a new pair of glasses on a patient, you get some smudge on the lenses.... what do you use to clean off the smudges before you dispense?
We've been using the spray made by Nanofilm, but after reading this thread and learning of the harmful effects of isopropanol, we might change our cleaning procedures. We've always advised our patients to use mild dishwashing liquid and a 100% cotton cloth to clean at home though.

We have our cleaner we get from Ronor. Good stuff, and safe on the lenses. I also use a Bounty like paper towel. Of course I do it in the back. For customers we suggest the same thing, kleenix , and we hand out soft microfiber clothes too.

I find the microfiber clothes is good dry right after you clean it and there is a streak. Wet I prefer the paper towel.

[ziggy]

Doc, I have been mixing my own and giving out the formula to my patients for almost 20 years. 1/3 rubbing alochol, 2/3 water and 1-2 drops dish detergent(I perfer Dawn). I have had no problems with any lens or coatings.

[rinselberg]

An idea ..? Non-sterile sponges, like the sterile and individually packaged sponges that are part of first-aid kits. Not "kitchen" sponges, but squares of cloth that are used to clean a wound or put over a wound and then fix with adhesive tape. I have been using them (not for eyeglasses) and a 4x4 (4-inch square or 10-cm square) "all purpose" sponge is just the right size for wiping a spectacle lens dry after rinsing it. Well - I have used them for that purpose, when a paper towel wasn't handy. They can be had in non-sterile packages of 100 or 200 for about ten cents per sponge. The ones that I have are a "rayon polyester non-woven fabric". I think there are probably all-cotton sponges if that's important.

Any thoughts?

[chip anderson]

I just had a patient in with the latest and greatest Essilor coating. He had been burning (a common practice to get rid of old limbs, leaves, etc. in the rural South, especially since Katrina). He was complaining of "glare more so in one lens but present in both". At first I could see nothing wrong even though I viewed lenses from quite a few angles.
I gave them back to him after cleaning, and told him I didn't see the problem. He looked at the in the light and sure you can see this.

I looked again, and saw spiderwebs in both lenses very fine lines when the light origionated from overhead. I presume this is coating failure from exposure to heat.

My point, is todays coatings, and lenses have a long way to go before they will be able withstand the normal activities of human beings. Should we caution everyone with AR not to sit too close to the campfire, stay away from the barbeque pit?

Will the "next generation" of coatings have a heat resistant coat?
A chemical resitant coat?
Smoke resistant coat?


Chip

[optical24/7]

Next generation....

Crizal Alize With Clear Guard Chem Guard Smoke Guard and Bar BQ Guard

or as Johns would put it.....

"Premium Jack Crap Coating".

(you need to go to the professional forum to fully get this joke..)

:D:D

[Cindy K]

[quote]

I looked again, and saw spiderwebs in both lenses very fine lines when the light origionated from overhead. I presume this is coating failure from exposure to heat.

Isn't this usually caused from pressure, ie. edging?

My point, is todays coatings, and lenses have a long way to go before they will be able withstand the normal activities of human beings. Should we caution everyone with AR not to sit too close to the campfire, stay away from the barbeque pit?

And the stove when you first open the oven door, and the barbeque when you open the lid. Even the dishwasher, when on the 'hot' wash and dry setting, provides a good blast of scalding steam (I know this from experience:hammer:)

[chip anderson]

Cindy,

String mount, not overly tight string. No noticeable lens warpage (I didn't clock it though) I still have it at the office I will clock it in the morning. Did seem that crazing was on posterior surface or possibly on the posterior of the coating on the anterior side.

I don't think this type of heat would shrink the string enough to cause this. Mono will actually stretch 25% of it's lenght althoug it will shrink with heat.


Chip

[Barry Santini]

I just had a patient in with the latest and greatest Essilor coating. He had been burning (a common practice to get rid of old limbs, leaves, etc. in the rural South, especially since Katrina). He was complaining of "glare more so in one lens but present in both".

Not uncommon...has to do with the *hardness* and improved adhesion of today's better ARs when exposed to *heat*. Same thing happens to my client's when they leave their in their cars during the hot days of July and august (don't!). Related to differences in thermal expansion co-efficients of the layers and the substrate.

At this juncture, if you want better adhesion (which I think did the most damage to AR acceptance and reputation), then an awareness of the need for different care habits is in order...

Otherwise, dispense uncoated glass for the ultimate in satisfaction (?)!

Barry

[Chris Ryser]

I looked again, and saw spiderwebs in both lenses very fine lines when the light origionated from overhead. I presume this is coating failure from exposure to heat.

Will the "next generation" of coatings have a heat resistant coat?
A chemical resitant coat?
Smoke resistant coat?
Chip

Chip.......................there is and will never no such thing.

Your plastic lens.............and your top coat the AR coating which is SIO2 (glass) have different expansion coefficients. Under the influence of heat and extreme cold they move differently and will craze. This has nothing to do with quality or brand name.

They make and create the gaps you have on the road surface of bridges or railway,s to give it the space for contraction or expansion.

If you want the expensive luxury of top technology you should also treat it like such or bear the cost of replacing them. :finger:

[DragonLensmanWV]

Chip.......................there is and will never no such thing.

Your plastic lens.............and your top coat the AR coating which is SIO2 (glass) have different expansion coefficients. Under the influence of heat and extreme cold they move differently and will craze. This has nothing to do with quality or brand name.

They make and create the gaps you have on the road surface of bridges or railway,s to give it the space for contraction or expansion.

If you want the expensive luxury of top technology you should also treat it like such or bear the cost of replacing them. :finger:

That's what we need! AR with expansion joints!!:D

[chip anderson]

After I got to the office today and pulled the patient's record to return the lenses with. I found that the AR used was teflon, not Alize.


Chip

[Chris Ryser]

After I got to the office today and pulled the patient's record to return the lenses with. I found that the AR used was teflon, not Alize.
Chip

No need to apologize...........in my book they are the same end result.........different brand names. Both would act the same way when exposed to heat. :D

[jofelk]

We have had the popular new AR coated lenses returned for this similar reasons. It may not be heat, or it may be? We have found the problem is with poly lenses. The new AR and hard coat can not stand up to any amount of torque. Poly is usually very thin and in small frames there is not enough lens to resist bending, the smallest amount will produce the lines you see.This does not only happen in edging, it can happen when inserting lenses or if a patient is careless.

[For-Life]

No need to apologize...........in my book they are the same end result.........different brand names. Both would act the same way when exposed to heat. :D

Some act more than others

[Jim Schafer]

I concur with the folks who brought up the heat related defects and also what Jofelk brought up about stressing lenses during edging and glazing.

Over the years, If one of our 800+ Florida based employees have something come up on their other eyewear, they will ask me to check them out.

I have noticed that regardless of AR brand, if the lens is a less then 1.8 mm CT poly, chances for AR crazing/cracking is higher than if it was 1.6 or 1.67 material.

Of course heat related defects are more likely in our hot months, and related to anything from left on a car seat to the BBQ grillmaster.

On cracking problems in deblocking, edging and glazing, it is more likely on a thin lens with the long A and short B axis.

Jim

[lindalou]

Our office has been using Windex for years. We just found out that we shouldn't be using it on AR coated lens, from our rep. Otherwise, that's what we use and a soft cloth. Is there a problem with Windex??

This is an interesting thread.

[RT]

I also agree with Jofelk. If the phenomenon were simply a product of temperature change affecting a coated lens, then we should see similar issues when our Canadian friends go from room temperature into the cold outdoors and back again. It sounds more like a combination of coating, material, glazing, and temperature conditions.