Oakley Tailpin Polarised sapphire iridium sunglasses cleaning question

[Fatboy]

Hi everyone, I’ve just joined the forum and there is some excellent help and info on here.

I have a question that I wondered if someone could answer for me please?

I have just purchased a pair of Oakley Tailpin Polarised sapphire iridium sunglasses (my first pair of Oakleys). I see on the included warranty paperwork, in the care and maintenance section, that Oakley mentions:

“Use either an approved Oakley cleaning solutions or otherwise use a mild soap and water”


I was wondering, with the iridium lenses having a thin film reflective coating, is it OK to clean them with mild soap and water?

And also, could I clean the frame, nose pieces, arms, and lastly the ends of the arms that rest on the side of the head, with some liquid anti bacterial soap?

By mild soap I mean an anti bacterial liquid soap in the pump dispenser bottle.

Thanks in advance.

 

[cyclerdoug]

Hey @Fatboy welcome to the forum community here! Thanks for signing up!

Please reference this thread before you go any further with any cleaning:

How To Properly Clean Your Oakley Glasses

That being linked, I clean mine with the Oakley solution (5% or LESS alcohol in solution, no magic involved) and the cleaning cloth that comes with every cleaning kit.
For my Radars that I cycle with, I take the lenses off the frame and run them under semi-hot water. (Not scalding and not tepid. Warmer than lukewarm.) And then dry with the cleaning microfiber cloth. Doesn't harm the iridium at all.

If you can't get the lenses off (your Tailpin) you can do the same with the water, just dry them well.

See the thread and read the comments! Good luck and please stick around!

 

[Fatboy]

Thanks very much for the help cyclerdoug.

Unfortunately the Tailpin's don't look like the lenses could come out.

The Oakley cleaning kit/solution seems to be the easiest option I would guess. I just wasn't sure if this particular kit (the one in the first link below) would be suitable with Iridium lenses as there is no mention on the webpage. And thought perhaps it might be only suitable for none Iridium Oakley lenses.

Oakley Lens Cleaning Case | Oakley


Where as with the Nanoclear Hydrophobic Lens Cleaner Kit, it mentions about Iridium on the webpage for it:

Oakley NanoClear Hydrophobic Lens Cleaner Kit | Oakley


The Tailpins that I own have the matt black finish C-5 alloy frame. Have you got to be careful of getting the Oakley cleaning solution on the frames, with it having a 5% alcohol level. Or is it better to just clean the frames with a mild liquid hand soap and warm water. I'm just thinking of the sweat, suncream skin oils that would collect on the arms, frame etc and want a good way of removing these so as these are not getting kept on for long periods of time.

Thanks again for the help

 

[jdd32]

I always use mild hand soap water as it removes oil cleanly even in cold water. The c5 alloy frames won't be harmed by the lens cleaner or the soapy water.

Never use bath/shower liquids or shampoos as they're very aggressive on the lens coatings

 

[Fatboy]

I always use mild hand soap water as it removes oil cleanly even in cold water. The c5 alloy frames won't be harmed by the lens cleaner or the soapy water.

Never use bath/shower liquids or shampoos as they're very aggressive on the lens coatings

Thanks very much for the help jdd32.

The mild hand soap method that you use, are the lenses you clean by this method, are they Iridium lenses?

Thanks again

 

[jdd32]

Thanks very much for the help jdd32.

The mild hand soap method that you use, are the lenses you clean by this method, are they Iridium lenses?

Thanks again

Yup! I only ever use Oakley iridium lenses (even rx)

 

[Fatboy]

Yup! I only ever use Oakley iridium lenses (even rx)

That's good to know, in case I don't have the Oakley Lens Cleaning kit at hand.

Thanks again

 

[jdd32]

Cleaning kit is handy if you're out and about

 

[Fatboy]

Cleaning kit is handy if you're out and about

Yes it is. Easier to take this while out walking/camping, least that way I can remove any suncream residue, skin oil/grease at the end of the day, so that they are clean for wearing the next day.

Thanks again.

 

[cyclerdoug]

Thanks very much for the help cyclerdoug.

Unfortunately the Tailpin's don't look like the lenses could come out.

They don't, that's why I referenced your model in parentheses.

and @jdd32 was spot-on when he said to use mild hand soap on your frames, the c5 alloy and the O-matter are not harmed at all by this. My oldest Radar lenses I have are 6 year old fire iridium and I use and clean them the most with the "hot" water rinse method I described earlier, not a mark on them except for the scratch from a crash.

Remember too those cleaning kits are refillable for free at any Oakley store!