I had something like lasik recently to correct an astigmatism (now I love Big Brother), but my two masks both have prescription lenses still attached to the original tempered glass -- they were inserts, not replacements. How does one remove these without damaging the original glass?
Shooting Technique, Workflow and Editing / Archived topic
How to remove prescription inserts from masks?
Started by ryann1k2j ·
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How to remove prescription inserts from masks?
6 posts
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It depends upon how they were attached. In the old days they used canadian balsam.
These lenses cannot be removed. You have to remove the entire face plate.
The only thing you could do is contact the company they put them in in the first place.
I would be interested in the answer.
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Ethanol should work on what ever it is.
Failing that try some gasoline?
Any solvent should work to remove the adhesive, I don;t think ethanol will have any effect on the rubber or glass. Gasoline is a guess as it is normally very good at these sorts of things.
Try any solvent you have or are ok with if nothing else available, hell nail varnish remover may work !
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I had something like lasik recently to correct an astigmatism (now I love Big Brother), but my two masks both have prescription lenses still attached to the original tempered glass -- they were inserts, not replacements. How does one remove these without damaging the original glass?
I know that one major dive mask prescription supplier uses ultra violet curing cement. Can not be removed!
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apparently optical UV cured cement can also be removed with solvents as well in some cases
or deep frying it !! YUMMY !
How to RemoveSeveral methods can be used to remove the adhesives. The easiest and simplest method is to immerse the lens in a solvent such as methylene chloride. Usually small lenses can be separated easily before it is cured by an overnight soak. However, fully cured lenses will take longer because the adhesive is more densely packed in the center and slows the solvent from reaching the center. To separate and break these bonds, a slight thermo shock may be used. This is when the lens is heated to about 150oF and then quickly immersed in the solvent. The sudden contraction will break some of the bonds allowing the solvent to reach the center.
Alternately, the glass can be heated until the bonds break and the glass separates. One can heat the glass in hot oil at 400oF and in a few minutes the bonds will separate. Heating the glass in a vacuum or a heated sand bath will also work as well, but it requires higher temperatures. Sometimes at these higher temperatures the glass may not be able to withstand the heat. Thus, one should take caution when attempting these heated methods.
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apparently optical UV cured cement can also be removed with solvents as well in some cases
or deep frying it !! YUMMY !
Thank you, gentlepersons. I took both masks in to work with me and tried methanol, alcohol, acetone and a stripper (then turned my attention to the masks...). The acetone with stripper popped the lenses right off one mask, but the other, a Dive Master, resisted all entreaties, even heating the mix with a soldering iron, to the point of cracking when I tried too hard. Lesson learned. Thanks again.
