DIY Bifocals Revisited

[JamesBon92007]

I recently started using a computer and the writing is so small for such things as Deco Time etc that I can't read it. From the previous posts I found it sounds like most folks are going with the stick-on bifocals on their masks, but since I already have a good, old mask and some reading glasses my question is: what's the best kind of glue to use? Clear silicone? E6000? Epoxy? Vinyl cement?

I tried sticking a lens inside the mask, took it in the pool, and it was a big improvement. However, where there was a little water at the bottom of the mask between the magnifying lens and mask lens it was much clearer. Should I assume that the adhesive will do the same thing as the water?

Thanks.

 

[martincohn]

I used the stick ons. Then after a few days drying put a tiny bit of silicone sealant around the lens with a toothpick. The silicone disappears in the water.

Much nicer looking at gages and computer now.

 

[Roberto Inzerillo]

I recently started using a computer and the writing is so small for such things as Deco Time etc that I can't read it. From the previous posts I found it sounds like most folks are going with the stick-on bifocals on their masks, but since I already have a good, old mask and some reading glasses my question is: what's the best kind of glue to use? Clear silicone? E6000? Epoxy? Vinyl cement?

I tried sticking a lens inside the mask, took it in the pool, and it was a big improvement. However, where there was a little water at the bottom of the mask between the magnifying lens and mask lens it was much clearer. Should I assume that the adhesive will do the same thing as the water?

Thanks.

I'm using these ones: https://www.amazon.it/PRESBIOPIA-AGGIUNTIVE-REMOVIBILI-SPORT-SKI-PROTEZIONE/dp/B00KQU468G
with relative good results. It doesn't need glue, it sticks to the glass using the water suface tension alone.

 

[scrane]

Clear silicone should work, but be sure the lens is perfectly flat on the glued side.

 

[JamesBon92007]

I finally settled on Liquid Nails Clear Seal. It's fairly cheap for a fairly big tube and it even works better than Aquaseal (dries clearer). I've only used my new close-up lenses in the so far but they have held up wonderfully. I simply apply what looks like a little more than I'll need onto the concave side of the lens, make sure the mask glass is perfectly clean, put it in place, push down so it oozed out the edges, and let it dry for 48 hours. Then I trim any excess with an X-Acto knife and clean around it with a solvent (I used gasoline). If you get a bunch of bubble in there you can pry it off and try it again, cleaning it thoroughly with solvent before applying the Clear Seal. I found that a tiny bubble or two is not a problem. I used some lenses from some old, cheap reading glasses and cut them to the right size and shape with a Dremel tool, and of course smoothed the edges. I probably tried clear silicone sealant but nothing was as clear, once dried, as Clear Seal. Make sure you don't accidentally apply the adhesive to the convex side of the lens or it will be like looking through the wrong end of a telescope.