Initial cleaning of ScubaPro Tinted/Coated Dive masks?

[BackrollO]

So it seems like most divers clean dive masks with toothpaste initially when getting a new mask. However, the tinted/coated masks do not survive toothpaste rubbing without scratching. I know, I just ruined one! So I am not going to use toothpaste again, and flame treatment seems too risky on a $100+ mask. So how do I eliminate the initial fogging issue to remove the silicon release agent still on the mask inside vision surfaces?

 

[Jim Lapenta]

I'd ask ScubaPro what you are supposed to do. Never heard of this on a tinted mask. The ones I've seen have the tint on the outside. A softer surface on the inside is just stupid.

 

[BackrollO]

I agree. That is why I used the toothpaste as the coating should be on the outside like sunglasses are made. Go figure? Of course getting ScubaPro to answer a question you send them thru their company email is pretty rare from my experience. Thanks for the note.

 

[bryanmc57]

Did you ask Rich at Howells?

 

[LowDrag]

I had the same issue and took the mask back to my LDS. They covered it under warranty because they were the ones that told me to use toothpaste. The mask was the ScubaPro Mini Spectra (IIRC the name correctly). I was able to scrub and burn the replacement mask without any issue. They said it was probably an older mask that originally had the coating on the inside. I have used the burning method on few masks since then and really like the outcome. There are a couple of videos on YouTube about it.

 

[BackrollO]

Low Drag,
Thanks amigo, the mask I borrowed from Rich, the owner of the Howell's dive shop was a couple of years old and I ruined it with toothpaste. But have 2 new masks sitting here from SP and am afraid to use toothpaste on them. I have been using Dawn dish soap both soaking them and rubbing with my thumbs. I also used full strength Simple Green yesterday.

Today is the test, as my wife and I will go test them out snorkeling in our local lake to see if the dish soap/simple green cleaning works??? If not, I will maybe "man up" and use your techniques. I will let you know. ScubaPro is very poor at answering customer email questions off their website as I have written them 3 times with various questions and have NEVER gotten a response. If Rich at Howell's wasn't such a good guy, I would quit buying SP equipment even tho it is generally very good quality gear.
Thanks again for your help!!! Eric O

---------- Post added October 9th, 2015 at 09:52 AM ----------



---------- Post added October 9th, 2015 at 09:54 AM ----------

I did contact ScubaPro as this is the third time contacting them on their customer post purchase site and I have NEVER gotten a reply from them! They have no phone number listed and don't answer emails sent to them so not sure how to get an answer out of them. I would really like to NOT RUIN ANOTHER $100 MASK!

If you know how to get them to answer I would love any help you can provide. Thanks again

PS I am trying Dawn dish soap and Simple Green with thumb scrubbing only and will see how that works today.

 

[bryanmc57]

Have you tried posting in this forum? http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/scubapro/


Next time you see Rich, tell him Bryan McDermott says hi. I miss diving Whiskeytown (strange as that may seem). The vis in Texas lakes usually sucks.

 

[Bratface]

I just bought two new Scubapro masks to replace my old one and cleaned them with Soft Scrub which is what I use if I don't have the white paste toothpaste. I had no problems with either one of them. Your mask must be defective. I have never had any problems communicating with Scubapro. I've had to replace several pieces of dive gear lately and don't like the diagonal zippers they put in the wetsuits. I got a very nice reply and thanks for the feedback concerning my new purchase.

 

[BackrollO]

Bryan,
I will tell Rich as I see him once a week or so, between tank fills or some salvage job he has us help him with. Whiskeytown is nice place to dive, not a lot of scenery like the ocean but it's 10 mins from town too! Texas diving sounds not so good, but you are really close to Cozumel!!
As far a ScubaPro goes, I found a number for them in an old post on Google and called them up. Fortunately, the product manager was in the room when I was talking to Don. He said the older tinted masks had both the inside/outside coated, but the newer ones the coating is only on the outside. So they had me scrub both masks with toothpaste while keeping me on the phone to make sure ours were the new models. Bueno, back in businesss! Thank again for the help, Eric O.
PS Let me know if you want ScubaPro's technical support number?

---------- Post added October 10th, 2015 at 10:40 AM ----------

BratFace,
Yes, I managed to find a # for SP thru Google on another dive thread and called them. They were super helpful and had me scrub both masks with toothpaste while I stayed on the phone w/ them. It was an age issue as they originally made a tinted mask with coatings on both inside and outside. But changed to only outside coatings now. All is right in dive world now, as the fogging issue is resolved. Thanks for the input....

 

[ZzzKing]

Have you tried posting in this forum? http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/scubapro/


Next time you see Rich, tell him Bryan McDermott says hi. I miss diving Whiskeytown (strange as that may seem). The vis in Texas lakes usually sucks.

Where did you find a Texas lake with viz???