kronin323
Font of Useless Knowledge
As us Oakley lovers know, Oakley offers a wide range of lenses with different base tints, light trans %s, and iridium colors for any situation.
I wouldn't describe it as a "hot topic", but every now and then the same debate sparks up - can the iridium coating affect the base tint appearance?
Ruby is one of them, with its blue-appearing base tint - some say the actual tint is blue, others say it's their standard neutral grey and the iridium makes it look blue. But why would Oakley make a base tint specific for one lens? That's just not efficient, logistically. Maybe it enhances the red in the iridium? And why would red make grey look blue?
The greenish base tint in Fire, is that the actual tint or an effect of the iridium? G26 is more purplish than the rosey tint of the other "G" lenses; it is a different base or caused by the iridium? What is Chrome's actual base tint?
After Ruby, the other big debate is around Violet - it obviously appears to be a contrast tint, but some say it's actually neutral and that's an effect of the iridium.
Personally, I've believed the iridium has little to no effect on the base tint. I mean, look at Ice vs. Black Iridium - same base tint and light trans but quite different iridiums. But wearing them, it's almost impossible to tell the difference.
However, I haven't publicly taken a side on this; the people saying the iridium does affect it could very well be right. The only way to definitively answer that is to test it.
So, that's what I'm doing...
I posted a WTB for trashed lenses to be used in a destructive test. The first one I received is Ruby, sourced from @7legion77.
I have a set of 3M polishing cloths, like really really fine sandpaper, ranging in grit size from 30 microns down to 1 micron, with cloth backing for durability. They are used for polishing metals and plastics. For comparison, "very fine" sandpaper has a grit size ranging from 68 - 100 microns, and "coarse" sandpaper, from 336 - 425 microns.
The proposal is to remove the iridium coating and compare the appearance of the base tint with vs. without. The fine grades of the polishing cloths allow this to be performed without scuffing the lens to the point where it appears opaque, which might influence the results.
First, here's the "before" pics of the Ruby Batwolf lens. I apologize for the focus of some of these pics but you get the idea...
And as you see, they have Ruby's characteristic blue base tint appearance...
Next post, the results...
I wouldn't describe it as a "hot topic", but every now and then the same debate sparks up - can the iridium coating affect the base tint appearance?
Ruby is one of them, with its blue-appearing base tint - some say the actual tint is blue, others say it's their standard neutral grey and the iridium makes it look blue. But why would Oakley make a base tint specific for one lens? That's just not efficient, logistically. Maybe it enhances the red in the iridium? And why would red make grey look blue?
The greenish base tint in Fire, is that the actual tint or an effect of the iridium? G26 is more purplish than the rosey tint of the other "G" lenses; it is a different base or caused by the iridium? What is Chrome's actual base tint?
After Ruby, the other big debate is around Violet - it obviously appears to be a contrast tint, but some say it's actually neutral and that's an effect of the iridium.
Personally, I've believed the iridium has little to no effect on the base tint. I mean, look at Ice vs. Black Iridium - same base tint and light trans but quite different iridiums. But wearing them, it's almost impossible to tell the difference.
However, I haven't publicly taken a side on this; the people saying the iridium does affect it could very well be right. The only way to definitively answer that is to test it.
So, that's what I'm doing...
I posted a WTB for trashed lenses to be used in a destructive test. The first one I received is Ruby, sourced from @7legion77.
I have a set of 3M polishing cloths, like really really fine sandpaper, ranging in grit size from 30 microns down to 1 micron, with cloth backing for durability. They are used for polishing metals and plastics. For comparison, "very fine" sandpaper has a grit size ranging from 68 - 100 microns, and "coarse" sandpaper, from 336 - 425 microns.
The proposal is to remove the iridium coating and compare the appearance of the base tint with vs. without. The fine grades of the polishing cloths allow this to be performed without scuffing the lens to the point where it appears opaque, which might influence the results.
First, here's the "before" pics of the Ruby Batwolf lens. I apologize for the focus of some of these pics but you get the idea...
And as you see, they have Ruby's characteristic blue base tint appearance...
Next post, the results...
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