Forget all the lighter and toothpaste remedies, use Johnson's Baby Shampoo, works on brand new masks from the start, no need for anything else.
Waxing Mask?
- Thread starter Crewfish13
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FWADIVER
Contributor
chlorine tends to make defog not last as long also, should be better out of the pool.
On a new mask I use now, I have used wax on it. A friend of has used it for quite some time and it seems to work for me. The mask is a lower volume mask and I generally run hot so it fogs up. I have used soft scrub on it many times and used defog drops along with washing it before every dive. I seem to have this issue with new masks until I get maybe 50-75 dives out of it.
In any case, this wax I think is technically anti-glare wax. If you use it on a bathroom mirror and polish it then it doesn't fog up from hot water vapor. The paper insert says it's Gibs Formula, made by Elkin Manufactuing, Mill Road, Santa Barbara, CA and says it "steamproofs". I can't tell if this company is in business now. Says it's recommended for use on eyeglasses, mirrors, windows. I apply it to the mask glass and polish off until streaks are gone with a clean cloth. I have not had fogging problems since using it. Once I break the mask in, I may go back to defog. I re-apply the wax every dive day but my friend leaves the wax on for days.
If this company is not in business then anti-glare wax should be available as motorcyclists use similar products on helmet visors. I can't tell if cat crap is similar, I have not used it.
In any case, this wax I think is technically anti-glare wax. If you use it on a bathroom mirror and polish it then it doesn't fog up from hot water vapor. The paper insert says it's Gibs Formula, made by Elkin Manufactuing, Mill Road, Santa Barbara, CA and says it "steamproofs". I can't tell if this company is in business now. Says it's recommended for use on eyeglasses, mirrors, windows. I apply it to the mask glass and polish off until streaks are gone with a clean cloth. I have not had fogging problems since using it. Once I break the mask in, I may go back to defog. I re-apply the wax every dive day but my friend leaves the wax on for days.
If this company is not in business then anti-glare wax should be available as motorcyclists use similar products on helmet visors. I can't tell if cat crap is similar, I have not used it.
Follow up on the softscrub - check the type of lense and coatings. Mine are glass with no special permanent coatings. My wife has a mask with a polarized coating and softscrub is not recommended.
I don't buy that... Lighters and tootpaste are cleaning, shamppoo is a fog preventer.
If a mask is contaminated with manufacturing residue, salad oil, lotion or anything else that promotes beading then baby shampoo or any other defog preparation will not work well, especially in cold water.
On the other hand a perfectly clean mask can work well with no defog. The duration of perfection is short so a defog / surfactant is used to promote sheeting which allows the condensed vapor to flow to the base of the mask invisibly. Condendation is inavoidable. The trick is to have it sheet invisibly.
Clayjar did a nice job of outlining the principles involved. Hence no wax and Rain-X is simply not something you want in this application.
Clean, test, treat..... more here.
Pete
Although it may appear wax-like, it's not actually a wax. It's just a solid (or semisolid) surfactant. (The distinction doesn't have to matter in general, but it's on topic here, so hey.) Theoretically, you could buff your mask lens with a bar of Zest, even, although I have not tried and I figure it would burn a bit. (Buffing your bathroom mirror with it does seem to work quite nicely, however.)
The more liquid the defog, the easier it is to apply but the easier it seems to rinse away. The gel-like defogs strike a reasonable balance (when applied sparingly and with appropriate pressure), but a wax-like defog would likely be more resistant to rinsing away, perhaps for no more reason than a solid can have much more of the actual surfactant, as it's not diluted with as much water. Baby shampoo is on the liquid side of the scale, but it's easily accessible and it works quite well enough on a "broken-in" mask, I find it more than adequate for my purposes.
(For students in my classes, however, I carry a bottle of the gel-like defog. I have found it to be *vastly* superior to baby shampoo when used in new masks while doing lots of mask clearing.)
USCScubaboy
Contributor
+1 for partial mask clearing. Clears up the fog and allows you to practice clearing your mask.
Another option, if the mask cleaning still doesn't work for you, is to keep a bit of water in your maks at all times. As you move and look around, the water will naturally swish around the inside of your mask, clearing up the fog.
Another option, if the mask cleaning still doesn't work for you, is to keep a bit of water in your maks at all times. As you move and look around, the water will naturally swish around the inside of your mask, clearing up the fog.
I can't say if it's wax or surfactant. The paper insert doesn't say and I can't find much on the manaufacturer. The liquids are easier to apply and re-apply on the boat or at the dive site.
I apply the wax before leaving to dive. Re-applying during a dive would take more time and be a bit inconvenient - you do need a dry cloth to polish.
You are correct about the wax or surfactant being resistant to rinsing. I clean the mask with mild soap and water before every dive or dive day. It's the price I believe I pay to use the wax. Once I get the mask broken in then I should have less pre-dive work (I hope).
I apply the wax before leaving to dive. Re-applying during a dive would take more time and be a bit inconvenient - you do need a dry cloth to polish.
You are correct about the wax or surfactant being resistant to rinsing. I clean the mask with mild soap and water before every dive or dive day. It's the price I believe I pay to use the wax. Once I get the mask broken in then I should have less pre-dive work (I hope).
In addition to all of the above- try using a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser for cleaning a new mask, or even your experienced mask. It is VERY low abrasion so doesn't scratch the lens, yet cuts through any surface coatings quite well. You can even use it with toothpaste (not gel). I keep a small piece in my dive bag and if my mask starts fogging, a quick cleaning and its back to normal. Works for cleaning dive slates very nicely too.
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