How do you Repair your Eyeglasses?

When is it time for a new pair?

Eyewear Emergency!

• Picture this: You’re asleep in your bed when suddenly a loud noise jolts you awake. For your own peace of mind you feel that it’s time to investigate. Given that you’ve just been woken up in the middle of the night, you’re a little groggy. You reach over to your bedside table where your eyeglasses are and in your stupor swipe your specs onto the floor. In a split second as you get out of bed you feel something crunch under your foot. Your glasses have been flattened! Now you’re in a pickle. Can these glasses be repaired? 

• Repairing glasses depends on a couple key factors. We have to first analyze the way in which the eyewear is broken. Are any plastic or metal parts snapped or sheared off? Are the lenses cracked or scuffed? Analyzing the condition of your glasses will help you decide if a new frame or new lenses will be necessary

Simple Repairs

• Simple repairs such as straightening your eyeglasses can sometimes be achieved at home with needle-nosed pliers. Gently pinch the bent metal component (usually a hinge or nosepad) and slowly bend it back into place. 

• Missing screws are a simple repair as well. Eyeglass repair kits can be purchased at your local grocery store and include a small screwdriver and some replacement screws. The size of the required screw will vary, so you might have to try a couple options before you land on the right size. Sometimes you might have difficulty threading the screw into a spring hinge. Our office carries specialized screws that thread easily into most eyewear. If you’re unsure of what size screw you need, you can always bring your eyeglasses for a free screw replacement to one of our locations.

Specialized Fixes 

Sometimes we need to seek out a professional to fix our glasses. If the lenses are still in good shape, you will need an optician to reset a lens or the kilter of the frames. 

• If your prescription lenses have popped out of the frame, you’ll need an optician to re-mount the lenses for you. 

  • Plastic frames require a little bit of heat to be pliable enough to re-mount the lens into your frame without damaging anything. 

  • Metal frames require a steady hand and a small screwdriver to re-mount the lenses

  • Opticians and eyeglass fashioners do this on a daily basis, so if you can help it, it’s best not to risk the frames or lenses by trying it out yourself! 

• If your plastic eyeglass frames are out of shape, you’ll need an optician to heat and bend them back into place.

  • This is achieved by careful heating of the acetate that holds the lenses! 

• If the frame is sheared or snapped in a way that is unsalvageable, we can either order a replacement frame and re-purpose the lenses or cut the lenses into a similar frame. 

  • A “cut-down” is when you re-cut lenses designed for a frame, into a frame it was not originally designed for. This type of repair can be helpful, but is limited by the availability of frames that are shaped close to that of the existing lenses. 

When is it time to start over?

As an optician, I am always more keen on having a backup set of eyewear. Buying two glasses at once might seem like a steep investment, but nothing is more devastating than needing glasses and not having them. Some signs that your glasses are unable to be repaired are: 

1. There is a sheared or snapped portion of plastic or metal.

2. The lens is cracked and obscures your vision.

3. The frame is bent to the point where reshaping it would cause instability. 

To Summarize

This guide is meant to help you understand some of the repair options available to you.  Call today at 805-967-1012 or Stop by for a free adjustment and cleaning at either our Santa Barbara or our Goleta location today.