Improve Vision with Glasses fix

Improve your vision (if you wear glasses) with this Do It Yourself improvement to your lenses.  As an office worker I wanted to improve my eyesight.  I was finding it more and more uncomfortable looking at my computer monitor.  The office florescent lights overhead, and in my line of site, produced an awful glare.  One of the oldest solutions to this vision problem, that you rarely see today, is a visor!  I don't know why you don't see more visors in offices.  Just try a baseball cap sometime, you'll see the clarity of your vision improve, the clarity of the computer screen will improve substantially, almost drastically!  Even more so if you cover the sides of the cap and your head with your hands.  But this "How To" is about an improvement to your glasses that can help substantially improve your eyesight, certainly in office conditions,  outdoors in the bright sun, and perhaps even more so when driving your car at night.  This can help cut the glare from headlights in that side view mirror.  Your night vision will improve as well

Some considerations

1. The thicker your lenses the more this will help improve vision.
2. This vision improvement fix will be noticeable to a limited extent, it can look weird, it can look cool, mostly no one will notice, it's your decision. 
3. I have not done this to polycarbonate or plastic lenses, please proceed at your own risk!  My lenses are glass, so they do not scratch as easily. (I'm a little worried about the air bag warnings though).
4. Have another pair of glasses on hand so you can see what you're doing.
5. Here's one that's amazingly easy to forget.  If you're near-sighted and need to see very close work, don't forget to just take your glasses off!  You eyesight is even better this way!  I kept forgetting this while implementing this vision fix.

Improve eyesight, the fix!

I did this years ago and don't know why I waited until now to do it again.  The image to the right is a thumbnail, click for a larger view.  You simply remove your glasses' lenses and, using a permanent marker pen, black out the entire frosted perimeter of your glasses lens.  At first you will notice the blackout, but as time goes by you'll just appreciate the blackout.  Once you do it, it will be noticeable, but not that noticeable, you know it's there so you really see it, others may not even pick up on the change.  In some ways, at least for the ladies, it makes your eyes standout even through the glasses!

That frosted edge is the key.

The frosted edge of your lenses really collects light.  The light which enters your lens and scatters around randomly ultimately enters your eyes as glare.  My lenses being glass, and fairly thick, have a larger exposed frosted edge on top.  With overhead florescent lighting or even worse bright noon time sun the frosted edges really collect a lot of light which mostly becomes annoying glare for your eyes.  On a bright sunny day put on a baseball cap, your vision really improves, you're cutting sources of glare.  Blackening the perimeter of your lenses eliminates one source, a source that's very close to your eyes.  This can really improve vision, and perhaps you'll need that baseball cap a little less often.

Using the Jeweler's screwdrivers

Please don't even try this if you don't have a good set of appropriate screwdrivers, you'll just ruin your glasses.

The key here is to GO SLLOOOWWWWW, yes I'm shouting!.  Use the largest screwdriver that fits the screw head yet will still fit inside the recess, or hole, the screw head sits in.  When you start to loosen a lens retaining screw, you must be very patient.  Place your forefinger on top of the Jeweler's screwdriver to exert uniform pressure on the screw.  SLOWLY use uniform counterclockwise pressure to rotate the screw.  You'll be amazed at how effective turned the screw very slowly is.  Your goal of course is to never have the screw driver slip out of the screw head slot.  You don't want to strip the head!

Warning, you will find yourself pushing hard on the screwdriver with one hand and your other hand will be the target if you slip!

Your best off carefully working on a table top simply holding the glasses against the top.  But if you find yourself in this position, at least wear a heavy leather glove on the target hand!

With your glasses resting on the ear pieces.

This is of course the way to set your glasses down, not with the lenses sitting on a table top, just the frames and ear pieces.

Remember if you set a lens down

Set it down so it only rests on its edges not on the center of the front face of the lens.

Removing the lenses

Just do one lens at a time and finish the entire process.  You'll be able to compare before and after from one eye to the other.

If you don't have to, don't remove the screw completely.  Just loosen it sufficiently so that you may easily pop the lens out of the frame.  You'll find it much easier to reinsert the lens if you haven't removed the screw from the frame.

With clean hands press the lens out slowly using the thinnest area usually near the nosepiece, gently pop it out of the frame.  If it won't budge loosen the screw more.  Only if you have to remove the screw.  Restarting the screw when reinserting the lens can be difficult.

Handling your lenses

Once you've removed the lens, and your hands are clean, doing this chore will probably be easiest if you hold the lens on both sides in the center so you can easily (and gently) spin the lens around.  Your hands have to be clean!  Mine lenses are glass which is much tougher than polycarbonate, so be careful.

Clean the lens thoroughly

You want to get all the "gunk" from around the entire periphery of the lens.  All the frosted area must be clean so the marker will adhere well.

Details about using the marker

First, at least with glass lenses, even a permanent or indelible marker can be carefully scraped off with your fingernail.  So at least on glass a mistake is not that big of a deal.  I don't know about polycarbonate lenses.  If I can play with a pair I'll add more information.  I found, using my fingernail, I could scrape the marker off my metal frames as well.

My lenses actually had what I would call compound edges.  The edge is ground, but then another edge is ground so the first edge won't be sharp.  In the photo I hope you can see where I blackened a narrow edge while the primary frosted edge is not done yet.  I actually started the marker at these fine frosted edges nearest the center of vision (or the center of the lens).  The fine edge has the most impact on appearance of the glasses when you are done so perhaps you won't want to do these fine edges at first.  They still are a source of glare though.  You could just do the large outside frosted areas first, even just the top of the lens first.

Use the edge of the permanent marker not the tip.  The tip seems to dry out quickly.  Try to not go back, blackout an area and keep on going.  If you go back over it tends to clog the marker up.  (See annoyed below) You can take an approach like you're painting and do multiple thin coats.  I've found it can take 15 minutes for the marker to dry completely.  If you do go back over you'll find the marker sticking and the ink peeling off the lens.  I ended up switching between two markers, they seemed to stay moister and easier to work with.

Reinserting the lenses

If you didn't remove the screw all the way just reinsert the lens by reversing the process of removal.  Seat the largest area of the lens in the frame and then snap the thin area near the nose piece in place.   If you took the screw out entirely, well, good luck!

Wash the lenses before you try to compare

Use a gentle dish detergent and make sure you wash the lens you just did before you do a comparison test.  I think you'll find in circumstances where there is overhead lighting or glare your visual clarity and acuity will be improved.

Why doesn't the optometrist do this?

Cost?  Appearance? My optometrist did think it was a good idea, but also thought my job was as good as could probably be done professionally.   I think a "practiced pro" could do a much better job and there probably is a better material to use too.

This isn't completely permanent

You can scratch the "permanent" ink off, so you may have to touch it up every once in a while.

When I was done I was annoyed at one lens

The right lens felt uncomfortable, it seemed like there was a dirt spot on the lens just at the bottom center of my field of vision for my right eye.  Do you know what it turned out to be?  A small "light leak", a small spot I had missed.  I touched it up, now it's great.

Appearance

Here's the way two pairs look after completion.  You can see on the folded pair the slight hint of the black marker around the periphery of the lens.  Those were my reading glasses (which I don't use anymore).  They were my first attempt and I see from the photo some of the black is on the frame which I could scrape off with my fingernail.  I was playing around with doing this in the frame on my reading glasses; it's much easier to remove the lens.

Hope this helps your vision improve

I hope this helps improve your eyesight.  Its subtle, but for me it was quite an improvement, especially when there's lots of overhead florescent light.

Bob