Product Care
Version 1.9 · Effective 23 July 2026
A good lens looks after itself
Lite, Air, Pro and Max are all built to be worn hard. Air, Pro and Max add polarising film, an anti-reflective stack and a hydrophobic top coat, properly bonded, and under normal use they ask very little of you beyond a rinse and the case. That is most of the reason to move up the ladder. An upgraded lens is the peace-of-mind option, not the fragile one.
Everything on this page applies to every pair we sell, Lite included. Rinse it, case it, keep it out of a hot car and it will outlast the fashion.
The one place the rules tighten is a mirror finish. A mirror sits on the outermost surface of the lens, which means it is the layer your hands, your shirt and your cleaning habits touch first. The four cleaning rules below matter on every lens, and they are unforgiving on a mirrored one.
The four cleaning rules
1. Water first, cloth second
The most common cause of a scratched lens isn't sand. It's someone wiping sand off. Dust and grit sitting on a lens become abrasive the moment cloth moves across them. Rinse with cool clean water first, every time.
2. Use Chemical X, or use nothing but water
Chemical X is formulated for our coatings. If you don't have it to hand, cool water and a clean microfibre bag is the correct fallback. Never a substitute chemical.
3. Never leave eyewear in a hot car
A dashboard in a Stellenbosch summer will pass 80 degrees Celsius. Frames deform, coatings lift, adhesives fail. That damage is permanent, and no warranty covers it. Ours or anybody's.
4. Case it or lose it
Loose in a bag, a pocket or a glovebox, eyewear gets scratched and sprung. The case isn't packaging. It's part of the product.
Cleaning, properly
- Rinse both lens surfaces under cool running water. Not hot. Heat and coatings don't mix.
- Apply Chemical X, one spray per surface.
- Wipe gently with the supplied microfibre bag, in straight strokes rather than circles.
- Air dry or blot. Don't polish dry.
Wash the microfibre bag by hand every few weeks in plain water. No fabric softener, ever. Softener leaves a residue that smears across coatings and will have you convinced the lens has failed.
Quick reference table
| Never use | Because |
|---|---|
| Alcohol, hand sanitiser, isopropyl wipes | Strips anti-reflective and hydrophobic coatings on contact |
| Acetone, ammonia, glass cleaner such as Windex | Attacks polycarbonate and the coating stack |
| Dish soap, shampoo, household detergent | Leaves surfactant residue. Some formulations craze the substrate. |
| Paper towel, tissue, T-shirt hem, shirt sleeve | Wood fibre and cotton weave are harder than a coating |
| Ultrasonic cleaners | Can separate polarising film and loosen bonded lenses |
Storage and transport
- Never on your head. This is the single most expensive habit we see. Perched up there they get forgotten, and the first low branch, doorway or bend down to pick something up sends them to the ground, lens first. More customers replace eyewear for that than for any other reason. It also springs the temple arms wider over time, and the fit never fully returns.
- Between uses: in the case, hinges closed, lenses not resting on a hard surface.
- In a pack or flight bag: hard case only. A soft bag protects against dust, not compression.
- Long term: cool, dry, out of direct sunlight. UV degrades frame polymer over years even when the eyewear isn't worn.
Fit and adjustment
Temple arms and nose pads can be adjusted for fit. Have us or an authorised partner do it. Heating and bending a frame yourself risks stress-whitening the polymer, and it voids Wingman cover on that component.
Not every frame in the range has separate nose pads or temple tips. Where a frame does carry them, they are consumables. They compress and harden with use and skin contact, and replacements are available and straightforward to fit. Ask us before you buy so we can confirm whether your frame takes them and which part is the right one.
Sport, salt and sweat
- Salt water and sea spray: rinse with fresh water the same day. Salt crystallises in hinges and around lens seats.
- Sweat: rinse after use. Sweat is saline and mildly acidic, and it sits in exactly the places that matter.
- Sunscreen and insect repellent: DEET attacks polycarbonate. Apply both before putting eyewear on, wash your hands, and rinse the frame the same day if you get it on there.
- Dust and sand: rinse, never dry-wipe. Water first, cloth second, which is worth reading twice.
Chemical X
Correct cleaning is the difference between coatings lasting years and coatings lasting months, and on a mirrored lens the gap is wider still. Chemical X is formulated for the coatings we use, which is the whole reason we make it rather than pointing you at something off a shelf.
It works on every lens in the range, Lite included, mirrored or not. It costs less than a single lens replacement and it is the cheapest thing you can do to keep a pair looking like the day it arrived.
Something not right?
Coating failure and abrasion damage look similar and are treated very differently. If your lenses are clouding, hazing, bubbling or peeling rather than scratched, that's likely a defect and likely covered.
Send photographs to support@aerospherevision.com, or WhatsApp +27 74 123 5069 if you're in South Africa, and we'll tell you which one you're looking at.