How to fix glasses: types of damage, necessary materials and tools, step-by-step instructions for performing work and expert advice. How to fix glasses: frames, temples, hinges

Glasses are a very fragile accessory. They teach their owner to be careful. One awkward movement, and thin glass or temples are broken. Of course, in this case, the easiest way to find a replacement for a damaged copy is to buy a new one. Competent consultants in the optics salon will help you choose glasses that are similar to your favorite ones, which can no longer be restored. Come and choose! Are there glasses worthy of repair?

However, people tend to get attached to things. Are you in a hurry to say goodbye to broken glasses?

• Are they dear to you as a memory?
• Have you spent a lot of money on them?
• Have you managed to become an integral part of your image?
• Not too badly broken and repairable?

It is best to eliminate the breakage of glasses by a person who does this professionally. He has at his disposal a whole arsenal of modern tools that are unlikely to be found in your home. Glasses repairers also have an impressive collection of screws of various diameters and other spare parts.

So, what kind of damage can be eliminated?

The most common glasses breakage

In order to provide an ambulance to a broken accessory, first of all, it is necessary to establish the cause of the breakdown. The troubles listed below can happen to both sunglasses and optical glasses. They are a movable structure that is actively operated by the owner during the day.

Based on this, we bring to your attention the top of the most common breakdowns of glasses, which are easy to fix with the help of an experienced craftsman:

Very often the temples loosen on the glasses.

It is necessary to regularly check the tightness of the screws that secure the temples to the frame and the lenses, especially in metal and rimless frames. In Iris Optics, you may be offered to purchase special screwdrivers of the right size, so that you can easily take care of your glasses on your own.

Even if they are made quite firmly, such a nuisance is inevitable. After all, you regularly bend and unbend your glasses many times.

As a result, you will receive your glasses almost in their original form.

Often the screws of the glasses pop out

If you did not have time to take the above measures, and the screw nevertheless fell out of the frame, still take your glasses to the master. Surely in his rich collection of mounts there is a part for your glasses.

It also happens that the plastic frame gives a crack clearly in the middle

In this case, of course, the possibility of repair exists, but the master in the repair shop will have to tinker a little: make holes along the edges of the received parts of the frame, and then connect them with a metal bracket in the shape of the letter U and bend its legs on the back of the glasses.

But firstly, this bracket will still be striking. And secondly, the frame repaired in this way will never be perfectly fixed, and this is unacceptable in the case of glasses for vision correction. Therefore, if the frame is broken in half, it is better for you to immediately go to the optics salon for new glasses.

The metal frame of glasses tends to deform

And the reasons for this can be very different: they sat down on glasses or even stepped on them, or even dropped them. It also happens that the frame is skewed due to the long wearing of the accessory or its incorrect operation (putting on and taking off glasses with one hand).

An experienced craftsman will be able to align even a heavily curved frame. In this case, the main thing is not to overdo it and accurately calculate your strength so as not to break the fragile arms. But for experienced hands, this is not a problem!

There is a crack or wear on the glass

The quality of perception of the world in such glasses is noticeably reduced, the only solution is a complete replacement of the glasses.

Here they are, the most common breakage points. Perhaps they are inevitable even for the most expensive and durable models. However, it is in your power to significantly extend the life of this useful thing.

How to properly handle glasses?

• The main rule for any owner of sunglasses or optical glasses is to store and carry your accessory in a case. So it will definitely be preserved in the event of an accidental drop or impact.
• Take off and put on glasses only with two hands to avoid deformation of the frame
• Gently bend and unbend the arms of the glasses
• Keep an eye on the lenses and wipe them regularly with a suede or special microfiber cloth, which should always be in your case
• Place this fragile item only with the glasses up to avoid scratches and scuffs.
• Screws securing the temples to the frame and lenses should be regularly checked for tightness, especially in metal and rimless frames.
• It is not allowed to apply significant mechanical force to the glasses.
• Don't let your glasses fall
• And most importantly - buy glasses only in certified optics stores, pay attention to title documents

These measures are obvious to everyone. Often, it is the non-observance of these simple rules for the operation of glasses that leads to their breakage.

Now you know how to repair glasses with the help of a master and how to extend their life.

1. Be sure to store glasses in a case.
2. You need to wipe the glass of the glasses with a special soft cloth, and not with a napkin or the hem of a skirt.
3. Do not forget that glasses should only be placed on the surface with the lenses up, otherwise they may be scratched.
But still it happens that the mechanism of glasses can break. First, study the breakdown, its cause. If the problem is not very serious, then use some tips how to fix glasses on one's own.

1. If the frame is loose.
It is necessary to tighten the screw with nail scissors. If it continues to constantly unscrew, then put a drop of transparent nail polish or synthetic glue on the screw, and then screw it back.
2. If the glass of the glasses has broken off at the place where the frame is attached.
Take a sticky transparent tape, put it on the damaged area in 2 or 3 layers. After that, make punctures on the tape with a needle, then install the glass in its original place and secure it with nuts.
3. The frame of the glasses broke in half.
Drill a small hole at the edges of the break, insert a U-shaped bracket from the steel wire from the inside. Then it is necessary to bend the ends of the bracket from the outside.
4. If the screw from the eyeglass frame is lost.
The screw can be replaced with a nylon rivet. Melt the tip of the nylon fishing line in the flame of a match (the thickness of the fishing line is about 1 mm). Wait for the droplet to solidify, and then insert the resulting rod into the socket of the screw. Melt the end of the thread protruding from the socket in the same way.
5. If the plastic frame has burst.
If the frame is made of celluloid, you can easily glue it with homemade glue. You can prepare it like this: dissolve plastic debris, for example from an old comb, in acetone or nail polish remover to the consistency of thick cream. Apply the resulting mass to the place where the glasses break. After some time, the procedure must be repeated again.

Now you know how to fix glasses at home. But there are times when the glasses must be carried by the master. The most common method of “treatment” of glasses is considered to be laser welding.

It is difficult for people with reduced visual acuity to do without corrective devices: glasses or contact lenses. The latter are not suitable for everyone, so many still use glasses. However, glasses are a rather fragile accessory that requires careful handling and proper care. Even with care, breakdowns are not uncommon. The first thought in this case is to contact a specialized workshop, but do not rush, because many damages can be repaired on your own. In the article we will tell you how to fix glasses at home and at minimal cost.

Causes and types of breakdowns

The main causes of glasses breakage are wear and tear due to long-term use and mechanical stress. Glasses break from falls, squeezing, rude attitude.

The most common problem is loose or missing frame and temple screws. Retightening the screw is usually not difficult, but how do you fix the headband of the glasses if the part is lost? Breakage of the hinge mechanism is also not a rare case. It occurs due to careless opening of the temples or if the glasses are accidentally sat on. The cause of breakage of metal frames is most often squeezing. An accessory without a case should not be carried in a pocket or bag. Plastic frames are quite fragile and often suffer from falls from heights. The reason for the loss of glasses is the mechanical deformation of the frame, and scratches on the surface of the lenses arise from ignoring the recommendations for the care and operation of glasses.

The answer to the question of how to fix glasses with the above breakdowns can be found below.

Necessary materials and tools

Repair of glasses will require the use of the following materials and tools:

• A set of watch screwdrivers or a set for repairing glasses. The screws in the glasses are tiny, and it will not work to pick them up with a regular screwdriver. If there is no suitable tool, you can use a thin knife, but be careful not to break the notches on the hat.
• Nippers and pliers. Useful to make it more convenient to hold the frame and cut off excess wire.
• Scissors.
• Small hammer. It can be used to rivet the bottom of the screw to prevent it from becoming loose in the future.
• Glue. The choice should be stopped on a fast-hardening adhesive suitable for gluing frame material.
• Electric soldering iron.
• Paper clips, wire and pins with a head. Needed to strengthen damaged frames and to replace lost or broken parts of the hinge mechanism.

• Fine-grained sandpaper. Useful for polishing the restored area of ​​the frame and temple.
• Fishing line 0.3 - 0.8 mm. It will be needed to repair semi-rimmed frames with broken or weakened fishing line.
• Durable thread.
• Clear nail polish. The repaired and protected area of ​​the frame may lose its luster, nail polish will restore it to its original appearance.
• Scotch. Useful to protect the lens from glue.

Replacing a Lost Screw

How to fix the headband of glasses if it fell off? The cause of the problem may be a loose screw holding the shackle on the frame. Well, if the part has not been lost, then it is easy to return it to its place by carefully twisting it with a screwdriver or a knife. To prevent the trouble from happening again, you can rivet the lower part of the screw with a small hammer. If there is no miniature tool at hand, you can use an ordinary hammer and a metal rod.

However, how to fix glasses if the screw is lost? In this case, you can try to replace the screw with a new one. Glasses repair kits have such parts. You can also use a screw from an old calculator or electronic watch. If the new part is slightly wider than the old screw, no problem. With gentle force, you can cut a new thread. This method is also suitable for repairing spectacles with stripped or worn threads due to prolonged use of the spectacles. The excess length of the new screw is removed with pliers and riveted.

The question often arises: how to fix glasses at home if there is no suitable screw at hand? In this case, you can replace it with a pin with a flat or small round head. The pin is inserted into the hole for fastening, the lower part is cut off and riveted.

Glasses repaired in this way do not lose their functionality and will last for a long time.

Replacing the screw in flex glasses

The flex is a moveable bar that allows the temples to open 160 degrees, as opposed to the normal mechanism where the arms open 100 degrees. Glasses with flex do not squeeze the head, so they are more comfortable to wear. Repairing the temples of glasses with such a mechanism is not much more difficult than conventional ones.

When there is no screw in the flex mechanism, the movable bar retracts into the shackle. As a result, the holes do not line up and the screw cannot be tightened. It is easy to return the bar to the desired position with a needle, but then it will be inconvenient to screw in the screw. In this case, you can use a thin silk thread by threading it through an open hole. The thread should secure the mechanism in the open state and tighten the screw. Next, the thread is cut. The remaining piece will not interfere with the functionality of the glasses.

It is even easier to make such repairs with the replacement of a screw with a pin. The thread is not needed, and the flex can be pushed out with the tip of a pin. Next, the pin is cut and riveted. The renovated area gets neat and inconspicuous.

Hinge mechanism failure

How to fix glasses if the hinge mechanism itself is broken? Repair begins with the careful removal of the damaged part, it is important not to spoil the frame. For these purposes, a file is suitable. When the surface is leveled, proceed to the manufacture of the replacement part. Copper wire of suitable diameter is passed through the remaining whole loop of the mechanism and bent into the shape of the Greek letter omega. Next, the parts are connected and the wire is heated with a soldering iron, gently pressing it into the softened plastic until completely immersed. Thus, a strong connection is obtained. When the wire has cooled, the place is ground and leveled. You can mask the repair with matching color nail polish.

Unfortunately, this repair method is only suitable for plastic frames.

Plastic frame repair

Many are faced with the problem: how to fix the frame of glasses so that the repair is not too noticeable? The easiest way to repair a frame made of plastic. First of all, it is necessary to protect the lenses from the ingress of glue. This mainly concerns polymer lenses and lenses with anti-reflective coatings, the adhesive can be easily removed from the glass with a solvent or nail polish remover. Scotch tape is suitable for these purposes. They paste over the lens around the perimeter. It is advisable not to touch the center of the optical surface, so as not to damage its properties.

The next step is to coat the end of the frame and the fracture site with glue, insert the lens and fix it tightly. The glue sets in a couple of minutes. It will take about a day for it to dry completely. For a tighter fixation, you can wrap the glasses with a strong thread. After complete drying, excess glue is removed.

When the glue is completely dry, proceed to strengthen the site of the breakdown. To do this, you need a paper clip or staple. The paper clip is bent like a staple, leaving the ends 1-2 mm long. If the work is carried out with a bracket, its ends are shortened. Then, with the help of tweezers, hold the bracket over the breakage site, heat it with a soldering iron and gently sink it into the plastic of the frame. After cooling, the place is sanded with fine-grained sandpaper and masked with nail polish.

How do you fix glasses with a broken nose bridge?

The procedure is similar to the repair of the frame. First, the fracture site is fixed with glue. To ensure that the connection is tight and does not move during the drying process, a construction of two wooden planks and stationery rubber bands is used. After complete drying, the excess glue is removed, and the fracture site is additionally strengthened with a metal bracket. Such repairs are almost invisible and do not spoil the appearance of the glasses.

Line break in semi-rimmed frame

In such a frame, the lens is held on one side by the frame, and on the other by a fishing line. The glasses look sleeker and weigh less. However, this design is less durable than the classic version of the frame. The most common failure is a broken line holding the lens from below. Can damaged glasses be repaired? As easy as pie! For repairs, you will need a new fishing line of a suitable diameter and a little patience. Line can be purchased at any fishing tackle store.

First you need to remove the old fishing line. This usually happens easily, but if the end of the fishing line is stuck, a needle or thin awl may come in handy. A new fishing line is inserted into the cleaned hole, its end is melted and carefully fixed into the hole. The holes for the fishing line are made cone-shaped, they are narrower from the inside than from the outside, which allows you to fix the fishing line without a protruding edge. Next, insert the lens and tightly fix it with a fishing line along the facet. The edge of the fishing line is passed into the hole, cut off and melted, tucking the end into the cone of the hole. If the melted ends of the fishing line protrude, they are carefully cut with a blade. After repair, the glasses look like new.

How to fix glasses with a broken metal frame is a question that often arises, because it is difficult to do without welding. Metal frames are usually very thin and no amount of glue will hold strong enough. In this case, the following method will do.

The essence of the method is to fix the lens to the frame with glue. The lens is covered with adhesive tape around the perimeter to protect it from glue. To clean the ends of the adhesive tape, you can use fine-grained sandpaper. Glue is applied to the end of the lens and inserted into the frame, tightly fixing the structure. When the glue sets, the glasses should be wrapped with a strong thread and left to dry completely.

After a day, you can remove the fixing and protective materials and clean the glasses from excess glue. If the work is done carefully, the repair will be almost invisible.

Lenses falling out of the frame

The most common cause of lenses falling out of the frame is the loosening of the screw that secures the frame, or its deformation. In the first case, it is enough to tighten the screw, and in the second case, it is necessary to return the frame to its original shape.

The metal structure is the easiest to work with. It is enough to fix it in a vice and slowly bend it in the right direction. In order not to damage the coating of the frame, use a piece of soft cloth or leather.

Before working with a plastic frame, it must be heated. It is best to heat with a pot of boiling water. The hot steam will soften the plastic and make it softer and more pliable. Next, the frame is returned to its original form.

The most common reason for lenses to fall out of a semi-rimless frame is the loosening of the retaining line. In this case, the best solution would be to replace the fishing line with a new one.

• If you are not confident in your abilities and are afraid to permanently ruin the accessory, it is better to contact a workshop where you can fix your glasses.
• Glue can be removed from glass lenses with acetone. However, for polymeric materials, this method is detrimental.
• You can cover up chips and cracks in the frame by preparing a mixture of glue and ordinary baking soda. Such a "putty" will reliably hide the defect, and after complete drying it can be sanded.
• You can mask the traces of the repair with a suitable color nail polish. The surface will be smooth and shiny again.

Following simple rules for the care of glasses will allow them to last longer, without breakage and damage.

Glasses are fragile things that require careful handling and care to avoid dirt and breakage. The most commonly needed repairs are the hinge mechanism of the temples, falling out lenses and frame cracks.

Glasses that are constantly worn are most often exposed to extreme conditions, and therefore, sooner or later they get damaged. In this case, it is customary to contact the repair shop, giving considerable sums for the restoration of the frame. But it turns out that you can repair glasses with your own hands, if you first deal with their device and learn the basic recovery techniques. In some cases soldering of the glasses will be required, but often you can even do without it.

The main structural element that fastens the temples and the frame of the glasses is the hinge assembly, which can have two versions.

In one of them, the shackle is attached using a conventional screw connection. More complex in design is the execution, in which a special spring-loaded mechanism called flex is used for fastening.

In the simplest case, when the malfunction is associated with turning the screw out of the mount, it is enough just to return it to its place using a watch screwdriver or a well-sharpened knife. Soldering is not needed here.

Glasses with flex

In the presence of flex, the repair of glasses becomes much more complicated, since the fixing screw in this case passes through the movable bar, and when it falls out, it is drawn into the ear cavity.

In this case, two mounting holes that coincide in the normal state, after this breakdown, due to the action of the spring, lose alignment, so that the screw cannot be returned to its place. The only possible way out of this situation is to slide the bar back into place and screw the fixing screw into the hole.

To return the bar, the easiest way is to use an awl or a needle, which allows you to catch on a small ledge that extends beyond the temple of the glasses. Two hands are usually not enough to carry out this operation, so either outside help or a small vise (clamp) is required.

In the second case, the temple body is first clamped, after which you can try to screw the screw into place. In the case when the material behind the ears is very soft, it is advisable to lay them with a piece of leather.

If the screw is damaged or lost, it can be replaced with any suitable size and thread. If the diameter does not match, it is screwed into the fastening hole with force, thereby cutting a new thread. You can also use a piece of copper wire of a suitable section, which, after installation in the hole, is riveted from both sides.

Flexa repair

For some glasses, the ear (arm) breaks at the point where the hinge is attached to the flex itself, which forces you to choose one of two solutions: a complete replacement or repair. Since this part can only be changed together with glasses, we will consider the node device and the procedure for restoring it in more detail.

A careful study of the design shows that at the end of the temple there is a rectangular groove, which includes a steel strip with a thickness of about 1 mm. It usually breaks when this part of the glasses is damaged and needs to be repaired.

A possible option for its restoration is the connection in a broken place by means of a rivet.

As such a part, a brass sewing pin with a head about a millimeter in diameter can be used, under which holes must be drilled in the parts to be joined. When marking, one of them is marked in the center of the ear (arm) so that it coincides with the center line of the strip fixed in the hinge. Only after fixing this part, it will be possible to clearly mark, and then drill holes in both halves to be joined.

Lens mount

In some models of glasses, the lenses have a rigid half-rim mount, and their open part is held in the frame by a fishing line recessed in a special groove. This method of fixing the lenses makes the glasses more elegant in appearance and comfortable to wear by reducing the weight of the frame.

But all these advantages have to be paid for by the inconvenience that they break easily in the event of a careless attitude. Here, as well as during the repair of flex, the following two options are possible:

• if the lens jumped out of the mount, and the fishing line remained in its place - due to its elasticity, the optical element of the glasses is easily installed in its original position;
• in a situation where the fishing line has completely fallen off the frame, it will need to be completely replaced.

In the latter case, you should not be upset and immediately contact the workshop, since such a malfunction is easily fixed by hand. This problem can be solved with the help of a strong fishing line with a cross section of 0.8 mm, from the skein of which a piece of about ten centimeters is cut off.

After removing the old line, make sure that the ends of the new workpiece easily pass into the fixing holes, and if not, then sharpen them a little (cut off along an oblique line). If in this case the fishing line does not pass into the holes, it is necessary to expand them in some way (sometimes you even have to drill out this part of the mount).

After the ends are inserted into the holes, and the size is measured strictly along the length of the lens arc, their ends should be heated with a soldering iron, then the optics should be securely fixed in the frame. This is a case of using soldering to repair glasses.

If the frame is metal, and the metal of the lens holder has burst, then soldering can be used for repair. The holder is soldered using rosin as a flux (zinc chloride is better for stainless steel and steel), and the solder is chosen either tin-lead or in accordance with the characteristics of the frame metal.

Temple and temple repair

It is not uncommon for glasses to break into two parts one of the arms, and the breakage occurs in the junction of the metal and the plastic tip, fixed to the pin with a screw. In this case, of course, you can use the method of laser soldering of metals, but at home this option is difficult to implement.

It is much easier to use for this a brass plate of the appropriate shape and 1 mm thick, connecting the two halves that have been ground off at the point of contact.

Two holes are drilled in the overlay, and there are fixing bends on each side. The size of one of the holes coincides with the relief notches in the openwork pattern of the metal part, while the second is made arbitrary. After assembling the bow into a single whole, it takes on a completely wearable look.

The skeleton of the temple can be restored by the same methods as the behind the ears. However, in this case it would be wiser to purchase a new, not very expensive frame that matches the color and structure of the metal. It will not be difficult to rearrange it in place of the old broken part.

metal frame bezel

In the event of a breakage of the metal rim of the frame, serious repairs will be required, since this place experiences strong deformation loads.

The simplest solution is to glue the metal rim directly to the lenses of the glasses. In this case, the gluing area increases significantly, which provides the necessary strength of the formed joint.

For these purposes, the well-known brand of universal adhesive "Contact" is optimally suited, the strength of which only increases with time. To prevent glue from getting on plastic lenses on both sides of the connecting seam, you need to glue a strip of adhesive tape. If the lenses are glass, then you can do without it, since the glue is wiped off the glass quite simply.

Plastic frame (rim)

Soldering thermoplastic eyeglass frames or headbands requires a soldering iron or similar heating device. They are necessary to heat up the plastic in the bonding area of ​​broken parts that are joined in a molten state. This is not soldering in the full sense of the word, since solder is not used here.

You can do without soldering tools if you use dichloroethane or benzene, which melts the plastic to the desired state at normal temperatures.

Regardless of the chosen method of heating, the parts of the frame softened to the required state are tightly pressed against one another and held for some time, sufficient to obtain a reliable diffusion connection.

Laser repair

The laser soldering method belongs to the category of the latest technologies, which allow performing very fine repairs of metal frames of any shape. The locality of the heating of the contact zone allows you to keep the adjacent areas in an undeformed form.

Restoration of parts using a laser method is carried out using a special microscope, which affects the cost of all repair operations.

Soldering in this way can be both in a vacuum and in the open air; Moreover, the use of fluxes in this case is not at all necessary. When soldering glasses, it is preferable to use the impulsive mode of operation of the laser device, using solders that correspond to the steel grade of the arms or rim.

Professionals carry out soldering of titanium, composite and steel frames, they know how to choose the right solder. Soldering with a low power laser can cause parts of the glasses to fall apart again after a while, so the choice of device power plays a big role.

How to save glasses

In order to protect glasses from breakage, you must adhere to the following recommendations:

• it is best to wear them with a special safety cord that prevents the product from falling and damaging;
• before taking off your clothes, do not forget to take off your glasses in order to avoid breakage;
• it is better to store them in a case specially designed for this purpose.

We also note that when not in use, it is desirable to fold the earhooks without leaving the glasses in a dangerous and unstable position.

Extending the life of glasses.

Let's say right away that there are almost no separate temples and temples as spare parts in Russia. But we found a solution:

There are always glasses that break during transportation, and they serve as our donors. The main thing is to choose the right mount. We have two types of substitutions. We list both:-"Need a new shackle - aesthetic value does not bother". Price -200 rublesfor simple fastening and300 rublesbehind the templewith flex mechanism. We put what fits on the mount. Whether they will be beautiful is a matter of your luck, but the glasses will continue to serve you faithfully. If you want to appear in them in society - change two, they will be the same.Repair time 15-30 minutest if we have suitable ones. -“I have designer glasses - the new temple should match them”. Here exactly two change to be the same. We select from the existing whole and new - donor glasses, show you and announce the amount. You pay their full cost, and we put them on you. Price startsfrom 600 rublesand higher.