Farback
Contributor
I'd suggest practicing on several masks at a dive shop before committing to doing it to your own. Dive shop owners opinions may differ from mine of course.
burning the film on your mask
- Thread starter Big fish63
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tlj3071
Contributor
Mark Michaud SELAUSAR
Contributor
After burning the film off you clean it with soft scrub, toothpaste, etc. There are many masks out there that will not come clean with even multiple paste and scrub cleanings. They just won't.
If you look at my posts on this and other boards, you will not find any that I have not had personal experience with what I post. You will never see me post on, something, I read about or I heard.
This is not because I have taken offense to any posts but that I have needed and used this method because just scrubbing does not always work. There is nothing unsafe about this method if done right. It is only another option when simple cleaning does not work.
R
redacted
Guest
I have never tried burning but I have heard it works. I see no good reason to try it as I have never had toothpaste and detergent fail me. When you thing you have given it a good scrubbing, repeat the process two or three more times.
Just hold a lighter flame to the inside of the mask (hold the mask upside down, make sure the strap isnt in the way).
After a few seconds you'll see a black layer start to form. This is mainly the oil from the mask. Once an area has gone black move the flame to a different part. Repeat until entire mask lens is black. After that remove the flame and wipe off the black, or if feeling energetic use toothpaste to finish.
Just dont keep the flame in 1 place for too long. Its glass so wont melt if you keep it away from the plastic.
Works way way better than a toothpaste treatment on a new mask.
After a few seconds you'll see a black layer start to form. This is mainly the oil from the mask. Once an area has gone black move the flame to a different part. Repeat until entire mask lens is black. After that remove the flame and wipe off the black, or if feeling energetic use toothpaste to finish.
Just dont keep the flame in 1 place for too long. Its glass so wont melt if you keep it away from the plastic.
Works way way better than a toothpaste treatment on a new mask.
I used to use a lighter, but lately have found that regular white (abrasive) toothpaste works just fine. Just rub it vigorously in swirls around the lens.
If you do use a lighter, just make regular passes across the glass of the mask, making sure to keep the flame away from the silicone edges (anything that's not glass), and don't stop moving the flame. 5 seconds per side or so should be fine. The black soot you'll see against the glass is most likely just the residue from the butane fuel used by the lighter (you'd see the same soot accumulate on any surface you hold the lighter to).
If you do use a lighter, just make regular passes across the glass of the mask, making sure to keep the flame away from the silicone edges (anything that's not glass), and don't stop moving the flame. 5 seconds per side or so should be fine. The black soot you'll see against the glass is most likely just the residue from the butane fuel used by the lighter (you'd see the same soot accumulate on any surface you hold the lighter to).
Blue Sparkle
Contributor
I just got back from a dive trip and my buddy's mask was still fogging after numerous toothpaste treatments (Tilos mask; not sure the model name but it is a frameless one). I had read about the burning method here on Scubaboard, and after the umpteenth foggy dive, my buddy was ready to try it.
We were camping and didn't have a lighter handy, but did have wooden matches. It took a few matches (was cold and a bit windy), but we held them up to the inside glass and "burned" it. We did not see any film crackle and come off (others have), but.... the mask has never fogged since then (put well over a dozen dives on it in fresh and salt water of about 65º to 72º).
The matches did leave a slightly "sooty" smell on the mask, but a half day's soak in fresh water eliminated that (a lighter might not have caused it in the first place).
It sounds radical, but on the other hand there are glass pans and also silicone hotpads and bakeware.
Silicone film can be really, aggravatingly tenacious when it comes to things like painting (fiberglass/metal/etc.) so it's not surprising that it is hard to get off a mask. I feel like I've read about more problems with frameless masks; perhaps the way the silicone attaches in those makes contamination more prevalent or concentrated.
I just bought an Atomic Frameless mask, so I may be taking a lighter to it soon
We were camping and didn't have a lighter handy, but did have wooden matches. It took a few matches (was cold and a bit windy), but we held them up to the inside glass and "burned" it. We did not see any film crackle and come off (others have), but.... the mask has never fogged since then (put well over a dozen dives on it in fresh and salt water of about 65º to 72º).
The matches did leave a slightly "sooty" smell on the mask, but a half day's soak in fresh water eliminated that (a lighter might not have caused it in the first place).
It sounds radical, but on the other hand there are glass pans and also silicone hotpads and bakeware.
Silicone film can be really, aggravatingly tenacious when it comes to things like painting (fiberglass/metal/etc.) so it's not surprising that it is hard to get off a mask. I feel like I've read about more problems with frameless masks; perhaps the way the silicone attaches in those makes contamination more prevalent or concentrated.
I just bought an Atomic Frameless mask, so I may be taking a lighter to it soon
Scott L
Contributor
What a bunch of weenies. We are talking a cigarette lighter not a napalm flame thrower.
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