How to Clean Paint Off Plastic Eyeglass Lenses

Clean paint off glasses as soon as possible.

Painting can be a messy job. It is not uncommon to accidentally splatter paint on objects such as your eyeglass lenses. It is best to remove the paint splatter from your eyeglass lenses as soon as possible by wiping it away with a damp cloth. Once the paint has dried on your lens, removal is a tad more difficult.

Things You'll Need

• Mild liquid dish soap
• Rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover
• Small bowl
• Cotton swab
• Lint-free towel

Instructions

1. Scrape the dried paint gently off the eyeglass lenses with your fingernail. If the paint splatter is still present, continue to Step 2.

2. Rinse the eyeglass lenses under cool running water. Add a drop of a mild liquid dish soap to the lenses. Gently rub the soap into the eyeglass lenses with your fingers. Rinse the soap residue off the lenses with cool running water. If the paint is still visible, continue with the remaining steps.

3. Pour rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover into a small dish. Saturate a cotton swab in the rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover.

4. Rub the paint spots with the saturated cotton swab.

5. Rinse the residue from the lenses with cool, running water. Wipe the eyeglass lenses dry with a lint-free towel.

Tips & Warnings

• Wear goggles over your eyeglasses when painting to protect the lenses from paint splatters.

References

• Baptist Memorial Health Care: Eyeglass Care
• All About Vision: Q&A on Eyeglasses and Eyeglass Lenses
• Good Housekeeping: How to Remove Paint on Plastic Lenses