Swapping Glasses to Sunglasses

[sammyb349]

Where is best to get my frames filled with some quality polarised lenses?

Is there somewhere special or will any old opticians be able to do this for me?

[Johnspex]

As long as the frame is in good condition there is no reason why any optician would say no. It's money in the till. Expect it to be costly. Have them anti-reflection coated. Remember you will see what used to called the zebra-zone in the side windows of your car. This is due to the toughening of the glass. The windscreen is laminated and you won't see the stress marks.

I love my polarised lenses.

Look at my user name.

[Oakey]

It's about £90 at Vision Express for some lenses in an existing frame with scratch resistance and anti-glare coating.

[silverthorn2151]

The polarised lenses in my previous prescription sunglasses rendered most of the digital dash in my car invisible and my mobile phone almost unusable in certain situations.

Never again, so perhaps try a pair first.

[vaud]

silverthorn2151 said:

The polarised lenses in my previous prescription sunglasses rendered most of the digital dash in my car invisible and my mobile phone almost unusable in certain situations.

Never again, so perhaps try a pair first.

I think you just need to rotate yourself or the car/phone to resolve this.

[silverthorn2151]

Indeed, however, one looks a right dick with specs at a funny angle or your head resting on the window when zooming round the M25. 🙃

[sammyb349]

Thanks so far for the comments. My sunglasses I have in the car are polarised and I love them - much clearer, albeit with a couple of compromises like seeing the heat pad in rear windows of cars and some digital displays not being as sharp...

I don’t need a prescription but do want anti-glare, anti-scratch and polarised in a grey tint.

After some of the comments I popped into David Cludlow and they said they’d take a look but wouldn’t say how much it would cost.

Also found thesunglassfix.eu website from Oz - but seems a bit extreme to send the frames there, albeit only costing £50... any (re)views?

[gus607]

https://reglazemyglasses.com/

Highly recommended.

[Mr Whippy]

silverthorn2151 said:

Indeed, however, one looks a right dick with specs at a funny angle or your head resting on the window when zooming round the M25. ??

Bit weird the digital dash is setup the wrong way for polarised specs.

The bmw 2004 E85 Z4 sat nav I had went black with polarised lenses.
My E81 2007 doesn’t, and nor does my F30 2016 bmw.
I kinda thought with that increasing prevalence of displays in cars and acknowledgement people wore polarised glasses in cars, that it had become a non-issue.

What car was it?

[cobra kid]

Mr Whippy said:

Bit weird the digital dash is setup the wrong way for polarised specs.

The bmw 2004 E85 Z4 sat nav I had went black with polarised lenses.
My E81 2007 doesn’t, and nor does my F30 2016 bmw.
I kinda thought with that increasing prevalence of displays in cars and acknowledgement people wore polarised glasses in cars, that it had become a non-issue.

What car was it?

My old Mk5 Golf's radio was completely invisible when I bought some polarised sunglasses for the first time.

A few spots on the Hyundai radio are obscured now as well.

[RC1807]

Oakey said:

It's about £90 at Vision Express for some lenses in an existing frame with scratch resistance and anti-glare coating.

Depends very much on your scrip, of course....

[Dog Star]

It also depends on the type of glasses - I have some Rayban Olympians and the lens is a pretty complex shape. Every high street place I tried just said they couldn't do them.

A place I found online did them to my prescription and they're great.

https://www.facebook.com/reglazeglassesdirect/phot...

[silverthorn2151]

My lenses are very complex with an astigmatism and long sighted. As a result I need good quality lenses to be thing and light enough and frames that aren't curved.

I dream of £90 lenses. Usually about £400 plus frames. I wouldn't trust on line ordering to get the lenses positioned correctly. When I have asked about replacement lenses in my, usually Ray Ban, frames I've always been told, we don't do that sir.

[vtecyo]

Your local independent will be able to do it depending on who they use as a supplier. If it's really complicated they'll probably send it to an optical lab to do for them rather than one of the main lens castors.

If it's a high wrap frame then this limits the supplier choice a bit more but essentially they will be able to get them done. Quite often multiples are limited by their supply chain / whether they can be bothered to be honest.

Independent will probably want to do an eye exam as well - worth doing if you haven't had it done for 12 months+

If you have varifocals then don't get them done online. They need very precise fitting and if there's any issues with them it's often a right faff to get it rectified.

Edited by vtecyo on Monday 30th September 15:56

[Johnspex]

vtecyo said:

Your local independent will be able to do it depending on who they use as a supplier. If it's really complicated they'll probably send it to an optical lab to do for them rather than one of the main lens castors.

If it's a high wrap frame then this limits the supplier choice a bit more but essentially they will be able to get them done. Quite often multiples are limited by their supply chain / whether they can be bothered to be honest.

Independent will probably want to do an eye exam as well - worth doing if you haven't had it done for 12 months+

If you have varifocals then don't get them done online. They need very precise fitting and if there's any issues with them it's often a right faff to get it rectified.

Edited by vtecyo on Monday 30th September 15:56

Lenses are not cast.
If there is a hig power involved you might find that the highest refraction index lenses might not be available. This will mean the lenses will be thick and heavy.
An ordinary Rx (prescription) will be fine in all but the curviest of frames.
The big chains tend to have a problem with fitting new lenses into old frames. If the frame should break there are repercussions that they just don't want to deal with. We only ever refused a re-glaze if the frame was clearly in poor condition or totally unsuitable. For instance not deep enough for varifocals. Try a few independents, they are usually more receptive to re-glazing your frame.

Also, don't be led up the 'high index lenses are best, you'll see better' road. It's nonsense. In layman's terms all they will do is make your lenses thinner. If your Rx is low then the difference will only be measurable with a micrometer. If you do have a low Rx ask EXACTLY how much thinner th will be.
There is a certain national chain which has a reputation for this. There qualified staff complain about it on the internet constantly .

I know the OP is talking about plain lenses.

[vtecyo]

Johnspex said:

Lenses are not cast.

I know - but they're sometimes referred to as casters (not castors, typo). Manufacturer is a better word - apologies.

[bongtom]

I’ve got some flip-up clip on sunglasses from AliExpress. $1.20 each or something. They do fade after a while, especially if you clean them with cloth!

Saves me changing over to my prescription sunglasses if I go indoors.

[bongtom]

Johnspex said:

vtecyo said:

Your local independent will be able to do it depending on who they use as a supplier. If it's really complicated they'll probably send it to an optical lab to do for them rather than one of the main lens castors.

If it's a high wrap frame then this limits the supplier choice a bit more but essentially they will be able to get them done. Quite often multiples are limited by their supply chain / whether they can be bothered to be honest.

Independent will probably want to do an eye exam as well - worth doing if you haven't had it done for 12 months+

If you have varifocals then don't get them done online. They need very precise fitting and if there's any issues with them it's often a right faff to get it rectified.

Edited by vtecyo on Monday 30th September 15:56

Lenses are not cast.
If there is a hig power involved you might find that the highest refraction index lenses might not be available. This will mean the lenses will be thick and heavy.
An ordinary Rx (prescription) will be fine in all but the curviest of frames.
The big chains tend to have a problem with fitting new lenses into old frames. If the frame should break there are repercussions that they just don't want to deal with. We only ever refused a re-glaze if the frame was clearly in poor condition or totally unsuitable. For instance not deep enough for varifocals. Try a few independents, they are usually more receptive to re-glazing your frame.

Also, don't be led up the 'high index lenses are best, you'll see better' road. It's nonsense. In layman's terms all they will do is make your lenses thinner. If your Rx is low then the difference will only be measurable with a micrometer. If you do have a low Rx ask EXACTLY how much thinner th will be.
There is a certain national chain which has a reputation for this. There qualified staff complain about it on the internet constantly .

I know the OP is talking about plain lenses.

I also get 1.74 lenses as my prescription is +5.
AliExpress are also selling lenses now with that 1.74. Might be worth a shot next time!

[Johnspex]

bongtom said:

Johnspex said:

vtecyo said:

Your local independent will be able to do it depending on who they use as a supplier. If it's really complicated they'll probably send it to an optical lab to do for them rather than one of the main lens castors.

If it's a high wrap frame then this limits the supplier choice a bit more but essentially they will be able to get them done. Quite often multiples are limited by their supply chain / whether they can be bothered to be honest.

Independent will probably want to do an eye exam as well - worth doing if you haven't had it done for 12 months+

If you have varifocals then don't get them done online. They need very precise fitting and if there's any issues with them it's often a right faff to get it rectified.

Edited by vtecyo on Monday 30th September 15:56

Lenses are not cast.
If there is a hig power involved you might find that the highest refraction index lenses might not be available. This will mean the lenses will be thick and heavy.
An ordinary Rx (prescription) will be fine in all but the curviest of frames.
The big chains tend to have a problem with fitting new lenses into old frames. If the frame should break there are repercussions that they just don't want to deal with. We only ever refused a re-glaze if the frame was clearly in poor condition or totally unsuitable. For instance not deep enough for varifocals. Try a few independents, they are usually more receptive to re-glazing your frame.

Also, don't be led up the 'high index lenses are best, you'll see better' road. It's nonsense. In layman's terms all they will do is make your lenses thinner. If your Rx is low then the difference will only be measurable with a micrometer. If you do have a low Rx ask EXACTLY how much thinner th will be.
There is a certain national chain which has a reputation for this. Their qualified staff complain about it on the internet constantly .

I know the OP is talking about plain lenses.

I also get 1.74 lenses as my prescription is +5.
AliExpress are also selling lenses now with that 1.74. Might be worth a shot next time!

Their! I meant their!