Lens Scratches

What do folks do to prevent their lenses from getting scratched up? I have a couple ZLs with scratched lenses and it drives me crazy.

nothing you can do about the scratches already there but in the future it would be a good idea to have a can of compressed air around to blow debris off the lens. Also go to any eyeglass shop and pick up a few micro fiber cloths. First use the compressed air. For anything stubborn use the micro fiber cloth with light pressure. Armytek as far as I know has the only hard coat based glare coat in the industry thus are much more resistant to scratching.

Not being familiar if they are glass or plastic...
Car headlight restore pads can make a beat up plastic lens look good as new.

For glass, check with a local jewler to see if they can get things better using jewelers rouge. I had a beat up watch that a local jeweler using the rouge buffed out to look good as new for $12.

And use a product by Mothers called 'scrath x' to help protect it using methods described above.

Note that a polishing compound will remove light scratches but will also remove the anti-reflective coating on the lens.
I wouldn't try polishing unless your lens is really scratched up badly.

Thanks for the tips. Anything you do to prevent scratches? Like put a piece of tape over the glass?

Put a sapphire lens in it. Otherwise some diffusion film will afford some protection.

ZL uses optical quality hardened glass glare coated on both sides. Yeah you can try jewelers rouge but you will most likely end up scratching the lens even more. Hey if you know how to safely take apart a ZL and put fresh glass in it then more power to ya. I am having a custom holster made for my MkIII HI its just worthy of a holster. Until I get it I use an old Coast holster meant for one of their small lights. Keeps things off the lens. When it is clipped into your pocket or just dropped in your pocket whatever else is in the same pocket like pocket change are bound to scratch the lens.

As I understand it the anti reflective coating is on the inner part of the lens not on the exposed portion

trojansteel said:

Thanks for the tips. Anything you do to prevent scratches? Like put a piece of tape over the glass?

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Tape works of course but it will also reduce light output by quite a bit (~10-20%).

@smokingbasser The coating should be on both sides (because you lose ~4% of light on an uncoated glass/air transition).

any glare coated light lens just as with Rx lenses for eyeglasses whenever there is a glare coat it is done both sides. The ZL has it both sides. At work I used to take a red wax pencil and lightly rub over a scratch then wipe it off sometimes the wax would fill in the scratch and you could never tell it was there but on a glare coated lens you will likely scratch up the area around the scratch you are trying to fill in. Most glare coated light lenses do not have the best glare coats.

All my lights are tools. Tools over time will get scratches & dings. I'm a user not a collector.

Yup,

If it's coated yer stuck with scratches... which may be the coating that is scratched 'cause glass is pretty tough. Hardened glass even tougher.

Had some glare coated eyeglasses that scratched if you sneezed on them. Hated that coating 'cause it was so dang fragile. Nano coated camera lenses scratch real easy.
So for future purchases prevention using above mentioned methods is the best medicine.

If you have an Aldi near you they sell a scratch repair system for paint,it was invented for cleaning windows on aircraft.Works really well and is quite inexpensive.

Anyone use Flitz for scratches? Works wonders on metal, but lenses?

Just wondering.

FLITZ!!!
That's the stuff. Thanks VB. Been trying to think of the name of that product for a couple of weeks now.
I read about it at vintage motorcycle restore sites.

Embrace them. If you use gear it will get dings and scratches though agree scratches on the glass are annoying. One pro to the old SF I guess. Easy for anyone to replace parts like the window.

VB Dad said:

Anyone use Flitz for scratches? Works wonders on metal, but lenses?

Just wondering.

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I use it on carbon steel knives but wonder if it wouldn't frost the window too much?