To get the very best out of your watershades, and to ensure the hydrophobic & oleophobic coatings continue to perform as they should, it’s important to give some TLC after every session on the water.
If you treat your watershades as an essential piece of your watersports kit by cleaning them down after every use, you will keep the frame and lens coatings in top condition.
Salt crystals can blow far inland from the seaside, so even if you have not been out on the water, salt residue can build up on your lenses, especially around the lens rim. It’s important to prevent a build up of salt on your lenses. Salt is corrosive and if left unchecked over time, the salt will start to break down the lens coatings.
Sunscreens can also cause damage to the frame and lenses, particularly if you are using non-organic sunscreens with chemical ingredients. These issues are easily avoided with a little bit of TLC.
Recommended Maintenance
Whenever you have been on or near the beach and especially after a session of the water, we recommend the following simple procedure to ensure your watershades stay as clean and sparkly as the day you received them:
- With the leash and necklace still attached, run them under a freshwater tap for a few seconds, but don’t touch the lenses at this stage.
- Next, place them gently into a bowl of lukewarm fresh water with the temples half closed and leave them there to soak for 3-5 mins. This will give time for any salt residue to dissolve.
- Take them out of the bowl and run them again under the freshwater tap.
- Leave to dry in the shade / hang them out of harm’s way.
- When dry, inspect the lenses in particular to make sure there is no salt residue, especially at the junction of the lens and frame.
- If there is no salt / dirt residue remaining on the lenses, buff them with the microfibre bag supplied. ONLY use the microfibre bag supplied. Other materials could be abrasive and may damage the coatings.
Use a mild detergent for a deep clean
From time to time you can use some mild and diluted detergent to clean the lenses and frames. We recommend doing this fairly regularly as it does a great job of resetting the hydrophobic coating back to factory condition and clearing the frame of sunscreen residue.
Cleaning the lenses
Make sure the detergent is chemical free and non-abrasive, and make sure your hands are clean too.
After completing step 3 above, place a few diluted drops of soap onto the lenses and with your clean fingers gently work in the detergent on both sides of the lenses. Use a circular motion with your fingers and be sure to work it right into the edges of the lenses as this is where salt, dirt, skin oils and sunscreen can accumulate. Thoroughly rinse off the detergent and then continue steps 4-6 above.
Cleaning the frame
The Typhoon and Surge have rubber parts which some sunscreens can stick to. Many sunscreens contain corrosive chemicals which can lead to these rubber parts degrading over time if left unchecked.
Warm fresh water may not be enough to remove the sunscreen, so we recommend using a mild and diluted detergent and a soft toothbrush to gently clean the sunscreen from the frame and the rubber parts.
