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X-Metals and Saltwater

pupusasrock

I should Work at Oakley
548
1,343
USA
Just wondering if anyone knows how saltwater affects X-Metal. Is it corrosive or should I not be overly concerned. I imagine my lenses my be affected as well. Any thoughts would be appreciated.
 
It'll trash the lenses and rust the screws for sure but the frames are pretty resilient. As long as you always wash and rinse them after use you'll be fine, even if you just take them in the shower with you.
 
On a similar note, how about the chlorine in pool water? Not that the pools in Kansas are open...
Xmetals are damn near bomb proof aside from being crushed. Much like salt water the frame will probably be fine but it at least needs washed and rinsed after you are done. Its the lenses, screws, and rubbers that will suffer the damage no matter what you do. Chlorine isn't something that plays nicely with anything that oxidizes or breaks down. Ti is pretty safe in the short term as long as you wash it.
 
My prized 13-448 Ice Polarized were basically destroyed but never noticed any rusting screws or anything. That was at the beach. I still have the lenses but they peeled really bad so swapped them out for a pair of 16-826's. Can they be recoated by the aftermarket maybe? They have a scratch or two, as well. :(

I keep them as a lesson and was the main impetus to buy the Splits (for that and hiking when I didn't want a tree branch or dirt or excessive sweat getting on my Juliets, of course.
 
Without doubt both chlorine and sea water can cause ti to rust.

Pool water is about 25 times more corrosive than sea water. As long as you give everything a good rinse it should be fine. If you get salt water on your x metals and leave them in the case, then I'm certain they'll show signs of rust.

My lenses get salt water and pool water on them all the time and again, as long as they're rinsed off in fresh water afterwards, it's not a problem.

Hope that helps :)
 
Without doubt both chlorine and sea water can cause ti to rust.

Pool water is about 25 times more corrosive than sea water. As long as you give everything a good rinse it should be fine. If you get salt water on your x metals and leave them in the case, then I'm certain they'll show signs of rust.

My lenses get salt water and pool water on them all the time and again, as long as they're rinsed off in fresh water afterwards, it's not a problem.

Hope that helps :)
 
Bottom line is salt, chlorine, or any caustic chemical will eventually affect an Xmetal frame in some sort of way. Why not leave the Xmetal frames securely tucked away and get an Omatter pair or something else for the beach or pool. Remember that a good beach wave may snatch up those x metals and you won't find them. It's a no brainer really..... But the xmetal frame and lenses should be rinsed with water throughly if your gonna do it anyway. You may also want to pull the lenses and clean them separately and make sure you rinse the orbital channel with water very good. Salt residue and chlorine will sit in there if not and start to eat away at the lenses causing them to flake.

I have pairs just for the ocean and the pool, so if I loose them I won't kick myself for taking prized pairs to the water.
 
Bottom line is salt, chlorine, or any caustic chemical will eventually affect an Xmetal frame in some sort of way. Why not leave the Xmetal frames securely tucked away and get an Omatter pair or something else for the beach or pool. Remember that a good beach wave may snatch up those x metals and you won't find them. It's a no brainer really..... But the xmetal frame and lenses should be rinsed with water throughly if your gonna do it anyway. You may also want to pull the lenses and clean them separately and make sure you rinse the orbital channel with water very good. Salt residue and chlorine will sit in there if not and start to eat away at the lenses causing them to flake.

I have pairs just for the ocean and the pool, so if I loose them I won't kick myself for taking prized pairs to the water.
I still have the first pair of x metals that I bought 15 + years ago! they have been in pools ,salt water,deserts. ,tropical rain forests ,snowfields,oilfields,mountains ,rice paddys,aircraft ,motorbikes ,helicopters and worn in the sun with no visible effect on the frames, lenses have come and gone,
Why not get o matter frames for the beach - because I don't wear plastic crap that's why!
 

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