tip for mask fogging up

This past week I watched as an "experienced" resort guide used a butane cigarette lighter to 'burn' the oil off a new Atomics mask.

The lens shattered!

Heating a material with low heat conduction properties is asking for trouble!

I've been using various brands of liquid dish washing soap for years. Right now, I'm using a lelon-scented one. As mentioned before, the mask needs a good initial cleaning. i carry a small dropper bottle of soap in my BCD pocket, and put a tiny drop on the glass prior to each dive. A quick spread-around with a finger and a rinse over the side, and I'm good to go.

hi

im new to this site...so hello guys/girls

has anyone used the salclear products for their masks, esp the one for new masks, as my last one kinda "fogged" up with oil like properties rather than misted [atomic mask] and the only thing that helped was burning it off [which i was never comfortable with] but it use to keep coming back, mask has since been "lost" but am thinking of getting a new "atomic" one but concerned the same thing might happen

the only thing that works for me is burning it off. it is a little scary but if you do it in stages, a couple seconds at a time, letting the glass cool between burns. you can actually watch the materiel burn away. works brilliantly, a little spit before a dive and your golden. i'm in the water too much to be cleaning with dish soap every time.

chris

the only thing that works for me is burning it off. it is a little scary but if you do it in stages, a couple seconds at a time, letting the glass cool between burns. you can actually watch the materiel burn away. works brilliantly, a little spit before a dive and your golden. i'm in the water too much to be cleaning with dish soap every time.

 

chris

Lighter, not a flame thrower but a regular clipper type and just waft the flame over the glass. Then cover mask with coke. Leave for 2 min or so and scrub with fingers unter running water until mask squeaks. The spit and dive....

Wow, there is some scary advice being tossed off here! Flame, chlorine based caustic cleansers, etc. A buddy of mine used slate cleaner (basically Ajax) to scrub a mask and managed to leave trace amounts behind. He dove it and severly irritated one of his eyes. It looked like someone poured Ajax in it!

Please be careful about what you put in contact with your eyes. None of that is too good for a silicone mask skirt either. Some baking soda or gritty toothpaste combined with 10 minutes of work with the toothbrush will clean out any new mask.

Wow, there is some scary advice being tossed off here!

 

Please be careful about what you put in contact with your eyes. None of that is too good for a silicone mask skirt either.

Yea take the mask off before putting the lighter to it. lol

Stew

I too was having significant fogging issues with a new Atomic mask with prescription lenses.

My most successful solution (warm water diving only btw) has been liquid dishwashing soap and waiting until I was about to descend prior to doing my final rinse.

Of all the masks I have used over the years my Atomic Frameless with 2+ reader in the lower half have given me the most fogging problems. With my masks I scrub them with toothpaste, apply any brand of defog and go diving. Tried this with the Atomic and it fogged. So I scrubbed the hell out of it with toothpaste and then with softscrub and it still fogged with defog. What I found that worked was cleaning the mask before each trip with SalClear NMP, then apply SalClear AquaSport. Let the AquaSport dry and buffing it out, then reapplying AquaSport before each dive. My Atomic mask is a few years old now and is finally working well. Just apply AquaSport, rinse it and dive. In retrospect it took a while to get the silicone or whatever it was off the glass.

Have never tried burning and would like someone to explain the technique that is safe to use that does not crack the glass or burn the silicone.

Elmer

Denture toothpaste on the glass and skirt (not gel) is grittier

for initial (even on a used mask) cleaning and baby shampoo

pre-dive has worked for me.

Now if I could only get my masks to quit leaking.....

Best from Melbourne AU,

Cary

I used to use PSI 5000.... the thick blue goopy stuff (looked just like Colgate blue gel toothpaste).

Now I use Soft Scrub to clean my mask before each dive. Absolutely no fogging, just need to be sure to rinse well before diving. Works excellently, and as it is white, you can see that you have rinsed it all off.

Have never tried burning and would like someone to explain the technique that is safe to use that does not crack the glass or burn the silicone.

 

Elmer

It is tough to explain, really needs to be shown but i'll try. Disclaimer: please don't try this at home, i'm not responsible if you break your mask by holding a flame to it! This is just how I do it, others may do it differently.

First off, I don't know anything about the quality of glass used in different masks. Perhaps some cheaper ones are more prone to break under the heat. The last few masks I've done this with have been Aqua Lung and Omer masks in the $100 range.

I only use the very tip of the flame, either barely barely touching the glass or a bit off the glass. This is actually not the hottest part of the flame, the tip of the blue section is and i avoid touching it with that. I also try to use a fairly small flame, maybe only 1.5-2cm tall. Always keep the flame moving, never leave it on one part of the glass for even a second.

I start in the middle and wave it gently back and forth, moving it around the glass. Once I start, the mask actually fogs up and the flame will cut through the fog and you can actually watch that fog recede as you move the flame through it. This makes for a good reference. Now for each burn, I only keep the flame there for maybe 3 seconds, take it off and let the mask cool for a few seconds. I cover each window (i use 2 window masks) in maybe 4 burns.

Towards the edge of the glass where it meets the silicone i'm even more careful, though I've never seen any silicone burn. I try to pull the silicone back and hold the mask at an angle so the flame doesn't hit it directly. You can see that 'fog' recede towards the edge and I get it within maybe 1/2 a centimeter of the edge and leave it at that.

I sometimes get some dark burn-like residue left on the mask after, but that's ok, it cleans off very easily. This might even be the film you're tryin to burn off, i don't know though. I then just set the mask down and let it cool for a few minutes before cleaning it out.

Its also worth mentioning that i do live in a warm climate and doing it in the cold may create too big a temperature difference between the glass and the flame. I've usually done it out on the boat in the sun too.

This is jut info in how I do it, I'm not telling anyone to try this for themselves. It does work really well though, I never have fogging problems after doing it, even if i forget to spit in it. Cheers,

Chris

Chris,

Thanks for explaining your burning technique to me. I think I get it and will try it on my next mask. Sounds like tip of the flame, short flame contact is the key.

Elmer

Chris,

 

Thanks for explaining your burning technique to me. I think I get it and will try it on my next mask. Sounds like tip of the flame, short flame contact is the key.

 

Elmer

perhaps try it on an old one you wouldn't mind losing first. i'm actually going to try it on one that just broke to see what it takes to break the glass and burn the silicone....... i'll post my results

never tried the burning method and not sure i will....

for me some plain old white toothpaste scub the silicone and the glass and rinse.

then a drop of baby shampoo before each dive if i have it or i can pinch some... i used to use fairy Liquid on my motorcycle visors in the UK and it worked a treat so i guess any surfactant will work?

If you're going to try the burn method, I'd suggest that you remove the lens from the frame first. It's easy to do so with most decent quality masks.

Most mask lens are safety tempered - that means that when they break it will be into small pebble pieces and not sharp shards.

And it works as I saw a DM in the Philippines "burn off" my buddi'es mask with a small, precision plastic cigarette lighter! The mask glass shattered into many small pebbles!

Wife and I have used "Soft Scrub" for years - it works and never scratches.

Spit -good old spit-- after the 1st toothpaste rub till your fingers are sore an dyes the flame method does work -do it carefully

spit has at least 3 advantages - you never leave it home , it doesnt cost aything and best- your buddy never wants to borrow it

cary as for the leaking mask -try wearing the mask with the nose pocket down- not on your forehead

gotta teach u over easters everything

I own 2 dive shops and use the following method for cleaning new masks:

1. Scrub with a sponge (Scotch brite, yellow/green) and tooth paste glass and shirt

2. Spray some strong degreaser like Simple Green or similar, let it sit and rinse well

If she still fogs:

1. scrub again with Barkeepers Best Friend or other stainless steel cleaning powder

2. use a strong washing powder

3. Burning the glass from the inside may be the last solution, but be VERY careful!

Considerations for using your mask:

1. Soak your face before you put your mask on, your overheated face will create temperature difference -> fogging

2. Drop in the water with your mask on the neck, this will equalize the temperature avoiding fogging

3. Spit your mask already in the harbour so you don't forget to spit it later on the boat

4. After diving whash her with dish washing liquid, rinse it well and let it dry

5. If you use suncream, make some 50/50% mix of degreaser or baby shampo and wash your mask between the dives

I never use sea-drops or similar, a clean mask and spit works always.

Chris

One more for the burning method. It's radical but it does work very efficiently in 100% of the cases, guaranteed you won't have any surprizes like the "oops... I should have rubbed harder" type.

You don't need to burn every bit of glass around the frames, just concentrate on a circular area around your eyes, where the viewing is supposed to go through, (no need to burn the third eye area in the middle, don't worry for your karma ) the usable area probably represents half of the glass pane.

Never saw a mask shatter with this technique so far... of course you should be careful to move the flame around.