Working with spray paint is not easy, even the most careful person might have sprinkles of pigment in the wrong place once in a while. But, you don’t need to worry because even if your prescription glasses have glass or plastic lenses, you can easily remove these paints. It will only take a few steps using simple household items, such as dish soap or glass cleaners.
The steps vary a little depending on whether the paint has dried or not. In short, we will be making a paint-dissolving solution, immersing the eyeglasses in it, waiting for the paint to soften, and removing it. For more information on how to remove spray paint from eyeglasses, read below.
Table of Contents
What You Will Need
Soft cloths
If the paint is on the frames of the glasses, many types of soft cloth will get the job done, such as your old cotton T-shirt, wet wipes, or even paper towels. However, if you need to remove paint from the lenses, do not use a paper towel as it can scratch your lenses. Instead, prepare a few pieces of microfiber cloth or cotton balls. These are soft enough to clean very effectively and do not scratch glass surfaces.
Also, glasses have lots of tiny details, such as screws and hinges. You will need Q-tips to be able to reach these parts, so grab some Q-tips too.
Dish detergent
Any liquid detergent that is used to assist dishwashing is suitable for this situation. You might be amazed at how versatile dish soaps are as besides being able to remove spray paint from polycarbonate glasses, they can be used for cleaning many other items around your house.
Warm water
Prepare a large bowl or cup of clean warm water nearby. Warm tap water should be fine, but make sure the water and container are clean, which means no sediment or residue in it.
Glass cleaner containing ammonia
If the paint clings too tight to your glasses that dish soap cannot get the paint off your eyeglasses entirely, then you will need a glass cleaner with ammonia.
Ammonia is a common ingredient in household cleaners, well-known for its ability to break down the bond between the grease and the surface quickly. Ammonia is usually in many household products, such as window cleaners, all-purpose cleaners, or toilet bowl cleaners.
However, you will need a glass cleaner containing ammonia, as I do not recommend any other types of cleaners containing ammonia. Some popular glass cleaners that contain ammonia are Easy-Off Professional Glass Cleaner Spray, Walmart Great Value Original Glass Cleaner, Safeway Bright Green Glass and Window Cleaner.
Despite being an effective ingredient, ammonia can be very dangerous. If you are exposed directly to ammonia, it can cause irritation or allergy. Please read the usage and storage instructions carefully.
Also, most glasses nowadays have coated lenses, so don’t think of using rubbing alcohol or a nail polish remover as replacements. Even though a bottle of rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover is easier to find, these can remove the anti-reflective or anti-scratch coating on your lenses.
How to Remove Spray Paint from Eyeglasses Step by Step
As mentioned above, steps to get spray paint off glasses depend on whether the paint is wet or dry on the surface. Also, these tips will work with both glass and plastic lenses. So, quickly identify the paint’s current status and act accordingly.
Step 1: If the paint is still wet
If you have caught the paint before it has dried, you can remove it more easily. Act fast according to the following steps:
- In a dish or large bowl, mix a small amount of dish detergent in warm water. This solution will act as a paint thinner and help dissolve it.
- Immerse the glasses entirely in the mixture.
- Wait for about 15 minutes.
- Rinse and gently rub your fingertips against the lenses several times under warm water to remove all the paint from your eyeglasses. Before you rub the lenses, make sure your hands are clean. Then, dry the glasses with a microfiber cloth. For tiny details on the frames, use Q-tips to get to them because moisture can cause oxidation on metal parts of your glasses.
- If necessary, repeat the steps. Sometimes the paint sticks too hard to the surface and might need to be rewashed a few times. As long as the paint is still wet when you catch it, repeating the above steps will do the trick.
Step 2: If the paint has dried
Don’t try to scrape the dried paint off with your fingernails or plastic cards. No worries, even when dried, removing paint from your glasses is not that difficult. The methods might be different, but they are still easy to follow:
- Pour the glass cleaner with ammonia you’ve prepared into a container.
- Immerse the eyeglasses entirely in the liquid, especially the part that has paint on it.
- Wait for about 15 minutes. However, old paint tends to cling more tightly to a surface. If the spray paint doesn’t soften after 15 minutes, feel free to wait a bit longer.
- Now, you can peel off the paint easily. Gently remove the spray painting layer using a plastic card or Q-tip.
- Cautiously rub your fingertips against the eyeglasses with water. Rub multiple times to get rid of all the paint but be careful not to scratch the lenses. Then, rinse them very thoroughly. Lastly, wipe until they are dry using cotton balls or a microfiber cloth. Once again, don’t forget to use Q-tips to clean the tiny details to get rid of any moisture left.
- If necessary, repeat the steps. Some types of paint might take several rinses to rinse off the eyeglasses entirely. Take your time because eventually, all of the paint will come off.
Conclusion
No matter how careful you are, you might get paint on your eyeglasses’ lenses while spray painting; that’s fine because we can easily remove the paint in a few easy steps. However, try to prevent it from happening again. Next time you are working with spray paint, wear protection eyeglasses over your prescription ones. In the end, protecting our eyes is most important.
If you found this article helpful, don’t hesitate to share it with others so that those in need can get the necessary help. I’m so glad to have your attention. Please leave your thoughts in the comment section. I look forward to hearing from you!
Having worked in the field of personal protective equipment for over two decades, Andrew Carnegie is a specialist in the field.
At EDC, he strives to improve performance efficiency and promote workplace safety for EDC’s readers and customers. He also researches the most up-to-date equipment that has earned relevant accreditation for use in a wide range of industries and specialties.