Anti-Fogging Treatments for New Masks. (a comparison of techniques)

[Bottom Surveyor]

@lowiz,

Thanks for your efforts, mate! You have the patience of an angel!

This is something that I've heard of, but haven't tried myself. Since you're already experimenting, I reckon it wouldn't hurt if you tried it - especially since the "method" couldn't be simpler or easier.

Apparently, all it takes is a can of coke. Pour a bit of it into a new mask (just enough to cover the glass). Leave it to sit overnight, and by the morning it's supposed to have removed the silicon film.

If it works, great (I wouldn't be surprised if it did - coca cola has been known to work as a stripper/cleaner on many a surface).
If it doesn't... Well, you've still got the mask to try another potential method on!

 

[dmaziuk]

Coke contains phosphoric acid and is commonly used where acid can help and no other source of it is readily available. I once saw a tow truck driver pour it on a car battery terminals. This may be UL but apparently leaving a piece of liver in a tub of coke overnight is... enlightening.

 

[lowviz]

Much progress.

I recoated the same mask with a much heavier coating of Aspirin and applied it far less carefully, all over the skirt and unevenly on the lens. I left it in the oven at 290F for 5 minutes longer (15min). The goal was to both look for 'unintended consequences' and find a good method of removing the baked-on film.

This produced a really difficult film:


I tried my 'go-to' for baked-on crud, household ammonia. No colors, scents, or added soaps. Plain ammonia. Heated the ammonia in a microwave to hot but not boiling. Put the mask into a plastic container, filled the mask with hot ammonia, covered the container. Let it sit for about an hour. Rinsed under running water and repeated the ammonia treatment. No attempt to use any mechanical means to remove the residue. Finally added a squirt of Dawn dish soap and cleaned the lens, rinsed, and washed with ultrapure water.

No breaks in the water film on either of the lenses! The water film slowly retreated towards the center of each lens. Probably trace contaminants coming from the skirt or area where the skirt meets the glass. Not the least bit of a problem. Hard to photograph, look at the shadow areas to sort of see how the water sheet pulled away from the edges:


@couv, Very clean glass! Even the (intentionally) minimally-effective 1:100 diluted baby shampoo was completely effective as a defog treatment.

Now for the downside, heating the entire mask. The lens are skirt remain fine but this particular mask contains parts that aren't able to withstand 290F:


Takeaway: Don't bake your mask!

Next plan: Powder inside of mask with Aspirin and try using a cigar lighter on the FRONT of the lens to melt the aspirin on the other side of the lens...

 

[АлександрД]

household ammonia. No colors, scents, or added soaps. Plain ammonia. Heated the ammonia in a microwave to hot but not boiling. Put the mask into a plastic container, filled the mask with hot ammonia, covered the container. Let it sit for about an hour. Rinsed under running water and repeated the ammonia treatment. No attempt to use any mechanical means to remove the residue. Finally added a squirt of Dawn dish soap and cleaned the lens, rinsed, and washed with ultrapure water.

Great! Thanks a lot!

Next plan: Powder inside of mask with Aspirin and try using a cigar lighter on the FRONT of the lens to melt the aspirin on the other side of the lens...

very bad idea, to heat the glass by lighter from another side. It mean, that full thickness of glass should have high temperature, and it could be only in limited area, and it could make local stretch, that can break the glass, mostly under the nose bridge.

 

[lowviz]

very bad idea, to heat the glass by lighter from another side.

I agree. But you just know that I'm going to try it.

Much can be learned by things going wrong. I can't believe how nice that mask is right now, been soaking in ammonia for several hours. Maybe an ammonia soak is all that is needed???

We press on...

 

[lowviz]

I just ordered a fresh MAKO Minimus mask and will try nothing more than an ammonia soak on the brand-new mask.

Give it a couple of days, I went with cheap shipping...

 

[lowviz]

Progress.

New mask (in a perfectly sized soaking tub) showed up at noon today. It looks like Dano's people shipped it the instant that it was ordered. Yes, water beads on it. Look carefully...



Removed my old worn mask from the ammonia bath, rinsed in tap water and let it drain in a vertical position. OMG! No water beading from the skirt, just a ragged curtain of water draining down under the force of gravity. EXTREMELY hard to photograph. Best I could do is shown below, look for a change in hue halfway between the 'R' in 'Tempered' and the skirt.


Notice the white lines from the evaporated tap water at the very bottom of both lenses. This is the cleanest mask that I have ever seen.

New mask (without warning label) is now soaking in ammonia, stay tuned...

Edit:
3 hours in straight household clear ammonia at room temperature produced absolutely no change. Ammonia solution still beads on glass. Really want to lose the Aspirin step so heated the ammonia to near boiling and put mask back into it.

 

[Couv]

A few years ago I bought a SP frameless Mini. For some reason, even after cleaning, wearing the mask for a few minutes burned my eyes. Tried all of the standard cleaning/rinse repeat techniques-no help. Someone suggested I put it in near boiling water for a few minutes-BINGO that worked.

@lowviz Could just the heat be the main factor or are you certain the ammonia is doing most of the work?

 

[Lorenzoid]

Just a data point to add, but we recently cleaned my wife's new Atomic frameless mask inside and out by submerging in warm soapy water and rubbing/swishing with fingers for a minute or so, then rinsing under running water, repeating this three or four times, and this simple procedure worked fine--no fogging at all in a dozen dives. No weird substances, no heat, no voodoo, just warm soapy water.

 

[lowviz]

Could just the heat be the main factor or are you certain the ammonia is doing most of the work?

Not sure yet. But the SP mask improved dramatically (from edge beading to pure sheeting) after a long soak in room temperature ammonia. Sorry, I read your post too late to try boiling the mask in pure water before trying any other treatment...

warm soapy water and rubbing/swishing with fingers for a minute or so, then rinsing under running water, repeating this three or four times, and this simple procedure worked fine--no fogging at all in a dozen dives. No weird substances, no heat, no voodoo, just warm soapy water.

Understood, but I assure you that not all masks act that way.