Full seal safety glasses fogging up out in the shop

March 30, 2023, 11:38 PM

As I believe I have mentioned in the past my eyesight is not so great. I have to wear pretty crazy glasses to compensate.

I've been spending more time lately building out of metal than wood, so I thought it prudent to finally purchase a pair of prescription safety glasses. They're bulky (18mm thick on the outer edge) which I can deal with, but they've got a seal which seems to just "seal in" the sweat when I start working, which causes my glasses to start fogging up. (Really, I should have been using safety glasses sooner but that's another issue.)

This has happened in the past with other non-safety glasses (the worst ones were the Wiley X safety sunglasses I had about 10 years ago), and the best solution I found was to start wearing more open glasses.

Really, I'd like to use these more as I'd like to keep my $700 glasses out of the shop for longevity's sake, but I'm quite frustrated over this issue. Good thing this is just for a hobby and not for work, at least.

March 31, 2023, 12:29 AM

YooperSigs

I have spent a lot of $$$ on "no fog" or "non fogging" goggles or glasses. Including spray on coatings.
Every one of them fogged up.
Maybe someone will chime in with something that actually works

March 31, 2023, 07:27 AM

Krazeehorse

When I was scuba diving all the time we spit on the inside and wiped it off. Problem solved. I believe I also heard that rubbing a raw potato (peeled) would help.

March 31, 2023, 08:48 AM

RogueJSK

I use spit in a pinch. But I've had good success pretreating with "Cat Crap" on stuff like safety glasses, ski goggles, and scuba masks. https://ekusa.com/cat-crap-products/

March 31, 2023, 12:10 PM

BurtonRW

quote:
Originally posted by Krazeehorse:
When I was scuba diving all the time we spit on the inside and wiped it off. Problem solved. I believe I also heard that rubbing a raw potato (peeled) would help.

Diluted baby shampoo works better than spit (which is fine in a pinch if you’re in the water already).

-Rob

March 31, 2023, 05:17 PM

vulrath

Thanks for the suggestions. I figured, being the bottomless fountain of knowledge this place is, someone would have a suggestion.

I've used spit in the past to lackluster results. I've heard about soap and potatoes, but the former never really did much but make a mess (I suspect I wasn't doing it right though), and I haven't tried the latter.

Ordering some Cat Crap to try it out.

April 01, 2023, 01:37 PM

IntrepidTraveler

I've always used Cat Crap on my ski goggles to good effect.

_{Thus the metric system did not really catch on in the States, unless you count the increasing popularity of the nine-millimeter bullet.
- Dave Barry

"Never go through life saying 'I should have'..." - quote from the 9/11 Boatlift Story (thanks, sdy for posting it)}

April 01, 2023, 05:50 PM

Fredward

I use a compound of pork tallow, glycerine and preservative. It works great. A disabled veterans group down here sells it door to door or in front of stores from time to time.

April 01, 2023, 08:36 PM

vulrath

I couldn't have posted this at a better time. I'm about to finish the electronics on my belt grinder (2HP 3 phase motor and a VFD) project. I literally have just 3 wire connections to finish, then I just have to make the base, drill and tap 2 holes, and acquire the belts. I'm excited; I have been wanting a version of this for years. I'm building a 2x42", but I'm fairly certain I can turn it into a 2x72 with a couple of modifications (longer tensioner arm and a longer stick out on the platen arm). I've wanted to get into knife making for years but can't handle the hammer work of forging.

Assuming I can find an appropriate wire tonight is to be the inaugural run on the motor and VFD.

April 16, 2023, 07:06 PM

davidjinks

Cat crap. Works every time including on optics.

I have to wear safety glasses when doing plant work. Our plant was built sometime in the 40’s, there’s no AC. When summer rolls around it sucks and it doesn’t matter what safety glasses you wear, they’re fogging up.

quote:
Originally posted by vulrath:
As I believe I have mentioned in the past my eyesight is not so great. I have to wear pretty crazy glasses to compensate.

I've been spending more time lately building out of metal than wood, so I thought it prudent to finally purchase a pair of prescription safety glasses. They're bulky (18mm thick on the outer edge) which I can deal with, but they've got a seal which seems to just "seal in" the sweat when I start working, which causes my glasses to start fogging up. (Really, I should have been using safety glasses sooner but that's another issue.)

This has happened in the past with other non-safety glasses (the worst ones were the Wiley X safety sunglasses I had about 10 years ago), and the best solution I found was to start wearing more open glasses.

Really, I'd like to use these more as I'd like to keep my $700 glasses out of the shop for longevity's sake, but I'm quite frustrated over this issue. Good thing this is just for a hobby and not for work, at least.