Removing tint from sunglasses

[Eric Greenwell]

I have a pair of bifocal, gradient-tinted sunglasses I use for gliding, but the bifocal
area still has too much tint. Last time I tried locally, I couldn't find any place that
would remove it. Is there a way to remove the tinting myself, or an place I can send them
to for the removal?

--
Eric Greenwell - USA
- "A Guide to Self-launching Sailplane Operation"
https://sites.google.com/site/motorgliders/publications/download-the-guide-1

[Nicholas Kennedy]

Sawzall
Nick
T

[gfon...@xtra.co.nz]

Tints are applied on plastic lenses by dipping them in a very hot/boiling solution of tint liquid
the more times they are dipped the darker the tint as more is taken up each dip ,
perhaps reverse the process?
Good idea to use a sacrifice pair to test if it works

Gary

[Matthew Scutter]

Transition lenses seem to lose their tint after a few weeks of being left on sunny car dashes. It might work on fixed tints as well.

[Robert S]

Hard learned personal experience to share on this topic - Be careful with very hot water on glasses that have had anti-glare and/or anti-scratch coatings applied as the heat will sometimes lift the coatings off and ruin the glasses.

[Jay Campbell]

The best methodology and service I have found for obtaining multi-focal flying specs is by doing the following:
1. Get an examination from your favorite optometrist or opthamologist and get a prescription.
2. Pick a frame and lens set/shape at a reputable optical shop and have them carefully mark your pupillary distance on the dummy lenses.
3. Order the frame and lenses with absolutely NO COATINGS.
4. Call Edgar at +1-702-426-4336 to get mailing address, tell him I sent you, tell him you want the Eagle Eye coating for soaring pilots. Plus anti-scratch etc. if you want that as well.
5. Mail the glasses to him, he'll turn them around in about 1-2 weeks. cc accepted. I've never been disappointed.
6. Since you bought the glasses locally, you always have someone who can do the necessary adjustments over time.

Note that these are also good for rain and night driving (if you have incipient cataracts) in that they are not sunglasses, rather blue-blockers. When you first wear them in bright sun, you may think they are not dark enough, indeed things will seem brighter. However, picking up haze domes and other aircraft is a might easier with this coating than anything else I have tried.

[howard...@gmail.com]

I went for blue-blocker clip-ons -- nicely designed ones that fit my varifocus specs pretty much perfectly. The bs at the time was that the yellow/brownish tint was the same as the tint in eagles' eyes. (I believed every word of it, of course.) As already said blue-blocker absolutely makes such as haze domes stand out and helped me interpret the structure of clouds. More important saved screwing with the expensive lenses on specs, and gave the option of nothing but glass at night for driving.

[5Z]

https://www.skysight.com/#!/

He's working on a pair of Cocoons for me
https://cocoonseyewear.com/shop/cocoons/fitovers/cocoons-low-vision-uv-filters/cocoons-low-vision-pilot-l-black-framehazelnut-uv-filters/
Got a pair with no tint for him to work with.

[Eric Greenwell]

On 8/26/2021 3:21 PM, Eric Greenwell wrote:> I have a pair of bifocal, gradient-tinted

sunglasses I use for gliding, but the bifocal
> area still has too much tint. Last time I tried locally, I couldn't find any place that
> would remove it. Is there a way to remove the tinting myself, or an place I can send them
> to for the removal?

Thanks for all the suggestions! Note that these glasses I'm using stay in the glider, and
aren't needed or used elsewhere.

#1 The first thing I will try is removing the tint on my current bifocals using "Armour
Etch AR15-0151 Glass Etching Cream" ($10 - Amazon). An online search found several
recommendations for this method for plastic lens. The ease of use and containing it to the
bifocal area were the important factors. The low cost and quicker results are a bonus.

#2 Tom Serkowski's https://www.skysight.com/#!/ is very interesting, and I might pursue
that if my attempts to "detint" doesn't work out well

#3 Jay Campbell's "Edgar" method seemed like a good one, if the tint can be kept off of
(or removed from) the bifocal area. I give him a call if I'm not happy with #1

#4 Howard Banks blue-blocker clip-ons would require removing the tint from the area of the
clip-on that is in front of the bifocal lens. That might be tricky; also, I've used
clip-ons before, and want to avoid them because the extra layer of plastic is harder to
keep clean and seems to degrade the sharpness a bit.

#5 Tom Serkowski's Cocoons seem like too much stuff on my face and ears, especially when
using oxygen, but it is attractive they work with prescription glasses.

More next week, after I try the etching cream.

[Herbert Kilian]

Eric, I was going to suggest 220 sand paper but this is much better: See your eye doctor and have him check you for cataracts. If your lenses are starting to cloud (like mine did at the ripe age of 71), get the operation on both eyes and have them install multi-focus lenses with all the corrections built in that your eye-glasses have now. Results for me were dramatic: 20/20 or better vision from up close (can read the tiny numbers on my smart watch) to the horizon. The lenses I got are called "Vivity" and are quite new - but a bit expensive.
Herb

[Eric Greenwell]

On 8/31/2021 8:52 AM, Herbert Kilian wrote:
> On Sunday, August 29, 2021 at 3:50:50 PM UTC-5, Eric Greenwell wrote:
>> On 8/26/2021 3:21 PM, Eric Greenwell wrote:> I have a pair of bifocal, gradient-tinted
>> sunglasses I use for gliding, but the bifocal
>>> area still has too much tint. Last time I tried locally, I couldn't find any place that
>>> would remove it. Is there a way to remove the tinting myself, or an place I can send them
>>> to for the removal?
>> Thanks for all the suggestions! Note that these glasses I'm using stay in the glider, and
>> aren't needed or used elsewhere.
>>
>> #1 The first thing I will try is removing the tint on my current bifocals using "Armour
>> Etch AR15-0151 Glass Etching Cream" ($10 - Amazon). An online search found several
>> recommendations for this method for plastic lens. The ease of use and containing it to the
>> bifocal area were the important factors. The low cost and quicker results are a bonus.
>>
>> #2 Tom Serkowski's https://www.skysight.com/#!/ is very interesting, and I might pursue
>> that if my attempts to "detint" doesn't work out well
>>
>> #3 Jay Campbell's "Edgar" method seemed like a good one, if the tint can be kept off of
>> (or removed from) the bifocal area. I give him a call if I'm not happy with #1
>>
>> #4 Howard Banks blue-blocker clip-ons would require removing the tint from the area of the
>> clip-on that is in front of the bifocal lens. That might be tricky; also, I've used
>> clip-ons before, and want to avoid them because the extra layer of plastic is harder to
>> keep clean and seems to degrade the sharpness a bit.
>>
>> #5 Tom Serkowski's Cocoons seem like too much stuff on my face and ears, especially when
>> using oxygen, but it is attractive they work with prescription glasses.
>>
>> More next week, after I try the etching cream.

> Eric, I was going to suggest 220 sand paper but this is much better: See your eye doctor and have him check you for cataracts. If your lenses are starting to cloud (like mine did at the ripe age of 71), get the operation on both eyes and have them install multi-focus lenses with all the corrections built in that your eye-glasses have now. Results for me were dramatic: 20/20 or better vision from up close (can read the tiny numbers on my smart watch) to the horizon. The lenses I got are called "Vivity" and are quite new - but a bit expensive.
> Herb

I do have cataracts that are not an issue yet, but maybe in a year or three - they change
very slowly. Focusing isn't my problem, however, it's the tinting on the glasses/clip-pns
that makes it hard to see the iPhone 6+ (my flight computer) well under all lighting
conditions. Even with the cataracts removed, I'd still need to wear sunglasses.

I'll ask my ophthalmologist about Vivity the next time I'm there.

[Dan Marotta]

I've got dark tinted bifocal sunglasses.  The tops are not prescription
since I've had cataract surgery in both eyes (highly recommended!). 
When I need to see something across the cockpit I simply raise the
glasses for a second.

Dan
5J

[Herbert Kilian]

Eric,
1. We are not getting any younger. The cataract replacement lenses will last for the rest of your life
2. If you can throw away ALL eye glasses, that's enough of a reason to go for the operation
3. It takes them 10-15 min per eye, this is a very safe procedure. It's the most frequent operation done in this country and probably worldwide.
4. Your color perception will be moderately to vastly improved. After my first eye was done, my wife drove me to the first check-up the following day. It sounds cliché, but the grass was so much greener! Colors on my computer and vehicle screens were brighter and looked different.
5. Yes, you will need a pair of good sun glasses, so what?
6. Bifocal glasses: good bye

Herb

[Eric Greenwell]

My vision is still pretty good, colors are great, even legal to drive without glasses. I
don't mind wearing glasses, and they provide eye protection (impact, UV, etc). The
procedures and choices will be even better in a few years when I need them, maybe even
better than Vivity ;^)

[Mark Mocho]

Herb- What is the recovery time for the surgery? Can it be done without actually having cataracts? Any "haloing" or problems with night vision? These seem to be associated with Lasik surgery.

[Dan Marotta]

I sat up in recovery and looked at the clock and was amazed!  There was
a Russian man who had never seen his grand children before.  He cried
when he saw them.  IIRC the advice was to wear the protective shell
while sleeping for a couple of days to a week and it was just a day or
two (it's been a long time), that I was free to do whatever I wanted. 
But, since I got distance lenses, I still need reading glasses, but only
barely.  My vision is now 20/30 in one eye and 20/10 in the other due to
prior injury in the "weak" eye.

Dan
5J

[Herbert Kilian]

On Wednesday, September 1, 2021 at 6:30:08 PM UTC-5, Mark Mocho wrote:
> Herb- What is the recovery time for the surgery? Can it be done without actually having cataracts? Any "haloing" or problems with night vision? These seem to be associated with Lasik surgery.

Mark,
Count on spending 15 min for each eye being knocked out and operated on. You can immediately use the operated eye but should wear dark sunglasses because the eye got dilated a lot. The next morning I had my wife drive me to a follow-up. To my surprise, the colors on the car screens were brighter and just prettier, the grass outside was greener. The other eye was done 2 weeks later. No halos at night, no light flashes (those are common side effects). You have to take 3-4 different eye drops for quite some time, up to 3 of 4 weeks.

[Guy Acheson]

What are the implications of that surgery for flying?
Special examinations for your license?
Any concerns about high G forces after surgery?

[raylov...@gmail.com]

This thread has migrated from removing tint from sunglasses to cataract surgery... I'll continue with the cataract surgery.

My eyes received new lenses in June of this year. And as Herbert said, it's "High Definition Vision!" Hoo Boy, I've never seen colors so bright! Now, my soaring abilities still suck, but I can see like I never could. I recently had my "six week post operation checkup" and everything looked fine.

Herb got the multi-focus lenses, but the doctor told me that due to my astigmatism, they would not be the best choice. I went with the "Toric" lenses instead, which are supposedly better for eyeballs with astigmatism. The insurance company would not pay ANY part of the Toric lenses - not even apply the cost to my deductible. They were $1,247 each. So, that didn't even count towards the "Maximum out-of-pocket" annual expenditure.

Don't know how Medicare deals with Toric. I don't qualify yet for that service. I'm only in training for being covered by Medicare.

I still need reading glasses, but I don't care.

I opted for regular glasses with progressive lenses. Not sure if that was the right choice vs lined bifocals like I've been wearing for over 20 years. I keep forgetting to lean my head back further to see the tiny print... The top of the lenses are basically clear glass. My uncorrected distant vision is 20/20 or slightly better in my good eye and about 20/25 in the other. I've had awful vision all of my life - never has it been as good as it is now.

I decided to go with glasses rather than just using reading glasses. I tried the reading glasses, but found I would take them off, set them down, and forget where I placed them. A friend said he buys his by the box full, just for this reason...

Also, I like the eye protection when I'm riding a bike and don't need sunglasses.

By the way, I can now buy the $20 sunglasses from the local store vs the $300 PLUS prescription sunglasses. For reading, I bought a pair of "bifocal readers" that use static cling to stick to the sunglasses. Got them from WalMart for under $20. They are plastic and can be cut to size.

I was hesitant about the surgery. For one, I could NEVER figure out how much it was going to cost. Each time I called Blue Cross Blue Shield, I received different answers. For another thing, I wasn't too keen on somebody cutting into my eye with a laser and pulling out the old lenses. What if something went wrong? As said above, the procedure went quickly. No pain. Just a BRIGHT light shining in the eye while the ophthalmologist did his magic.

So, if your vision is being degraded due to cataracts, my suggestion is to consult with the ophthalmologist about cataract surgery.

Oh, as for flying: I've got an FAA Form 8500 which the ophthalmologist filled out. I'll take this to the AME for my Class III physical and hope everything goes well then. And then I'll go to Basic Med after I get this physical completed.

Just love the High Definition Vision!

Ray
W8

[Eric Greenwell]

On 9/16/2021 9:56 AM, raylov...@gmail.com wrote:
> I decided to go with glasses rather than just using reading glasses. I tried the reading glasses, but found I would take them off, set them down, and forget where I placed them. A friend said he buys his by the box full, just for this reason...

Here's the trick: a pair in each vehicle, nightstand, den, shop, anywhere I might need
them for reading or close work. If a few end up in the same spot, redistribute as needed.
They are cheap and good from Costco, and even the dollar store has some adequate styles
for less.