Imagine buying a pair of nice frames for your daily prescription wear, or a pair of sunglasses, and accidentally breaking them! You’ll probably panic right away and want a solution almost immediately. You spent your time and money looking for the ideal eyewear to suit your wardrobe, style, and workplace needs. Before you grab that glue gun and start fixing your glasses, here are some ways you can repair your frames so you can avoid more damage to your eyewear.
Glue Broken Frames
If your frames have broken apart and you need a quick fix, a glue of high quality can hold them together before everything breaks into smaller pieces! Nowadays, you don’t have to worry about the glue drying into a white, unattractive, color. There are super glues out there that dry clear with less mess. What you need to do first is clean your frame of any dirt or residue before you attempt the glue process. Nail polish remover works wonders in being able to remove the residue around your frame. Avoid using pure acetone on your frames (especially wooden ones) as it can be very rough and drying to plastic or wooden frames. All you need to do is apply the super glue lightly and hold the broken pieces together for at least one minute to ensure the proper adhesion.
Repairing Hinges
Sometimes a hinge is stretched out or it’s loose. In order to repair this part of your eyewear, you’ll need some pliers. In order to avoid scratching your frame, cover the tips of the pliers prior to using them to bend the hinges in a gentle manner. In the covering process, you can use a cutout soft cloth or tissue – this also helps prevent scratched lenses. To complete the repair, you will also need a small rubber ring, or rubber band, to secure the loose hinge into place. If you’re wondering where to get these small rubber bands, most eyeglass repair tool kits will carry them. The hinge area is a delicate area and it holds most of the eyewear branding in place. For instance, if you look at a lot of designer frames, you will see logos, bling or any special décor around this area. If you have any bling coming loose around this area, you can also use super glue to place the décor back on and finish by applying clear nail polish to ensure they stay in place.
Loose Screw
Screws get loose all the time and sometimes, they come completely apart and the entire frame crumbles. A great tool to have in your eyewear repair kit is a mini screwdriver. It can make the difference between your eyeglass having a minor break or a big one. If you broke your sunglasses or daily glasses, you need something to hold them together. Take your screwdriver with you and use it to tighten your frames to secure any loose ends. If you also need that extra hold, apply some clear nail polish around the screws prior to wearing your glasses. What if you lost the screw? Now what? You can either go buy an eyeglass repair kit and find a new screw within or, you can use safety pins. These safety pins have to be miniature and able to slip into the screw hole with minimal force. If it doesn’t fit, don’t force it. Forcing anything into the screw hole will lead to more breakage.
Broken Bridge
Repairing a broken bridge is doable with the right tools. All you need: paper and glue. Try to use a color of paper that matches your frame. Again, it’s important to clean your frame of any residue prior to starting and make sure your hands are clean – the idea is to have a temporal fix that has minimal manipulation. First, use the super glue to bring the pieces together then tear the paper into strips that can be wrapped around your frame. Hold your frame for a few minutes until it dries prior to using the strips to wrap around the bridge area.
With these temporal eyeglass repairs, you can hold your frames and lenses together until you’re able to get them into the hands of an expert for a more permanent repair.
