UPDATE: Please note that the method in this post works best on sunglasses with glass lenses. Many high end sunglasses companies now offer premium glass lenses and newspaper works great to remove smudges. However, a friend of ours in the optics industry has informed us that tiny particles in newspaper could scratch plastic lenses – don’t use newspaper on plastic.
—
Nowadays, most of us would agree that polarized sunglasses are a must have for a day on the water. They help us spot fish, block out damaging UV rays, and keep that 1/0 stinger hook out of our eyes.
Surely you’re aware of the constant battle of keeping the lenses clean of finger prints and other oils. A microfiber lens cloth or tissue can help to remove debris, but for the most part it only ends up smearing the fingerprint residue around. Lens cleaning solutions and wipes work well, but are not always available or cheap in the long run. Next time you find on a smudge on your lenses, try a piece of newspaper instead!
The ink found on newspapers has a relatively high percentage of carbon that actually absorbs oil. Unlike a lens cloth or tissue, the carbon in the news paper absorbs and removes the oil left by your skin rather than smearing it around. Some of us may remember washing windows with newspaper in order to eliminate streaks left behind from cleaning products. Same principle here.
It may sound strange, but the next time you clean your shades, just as you would with a lens cloth, try polishing them with a piece of newspaper instead. Trust us, it should clear things up.
What is a newspaper?