Question re sunglasses - custom tint?

Half Fast

Half Fast

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Half Fast
Before everyone chastizes me for yet another thread about sunglasses, yes I've used the search function. I couldn't find the answer I need.

Does anyone know anything about getting a custom tint? I need a gradient tint that goes nearly clear in the bottom third of the lens. Or does anyone know of an off-the-shelf pair like that?

I have several pair of gradient tint glasses, ranging from Serengeti to flea market cheapies, and all of them are still too dark at the bottom. I'm having trouble seeing the glass displays in the cockpit with sunglasses on.

Any suggestions?
 
I had a pair of gradient sunglasses before and they bugged me for flying use. Probably because I'd never used any with gradient before.
My current sunglasses are completely neutral gray with distance Rx on top half and computer distance (fingertip distance to panel) Rx on bottom half.
 
Find a mom-and-pop optician shop - they'll dye your lenses any way you want.
 
Ray-Ban allows you to customize a pair on their website. You pick exactly what you want and they'll ship them to you. It's what I did and I fly with my pair all the time and have never had an issue.
 
Ryanb said:
Ray-Ban allows you to customize a pair on their website. You pick exactly what you want and they'll ship them to you. It's what I did and I fly with my pair all the time and have never had an issue.
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Tried that, but I didn't see an option to select the ratios for the gradient. Looks like gradient is just a yes/no option without any way to customize the gradient itself.
 
Half Fast said:
Tried that, but I didn't see an option to select the ratios for the gradient. Looks like gradient is just a yes/no option without any way to customize the gradient itself.
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Yeah I don't think you can adjust the gradient itself, but I had the grey gradient put onto mine and I haven't had any trouble at all with them.

Why do you need it clear towards the bottom of the lense?
 
Because the tint makes it difficult to read the Garmin and Dynon display screens. The gradient lenses I have are still too dark. No problem reading the screens if I'm not wearing shades.
 
Half Fast said:
Because the tint makes it difficult to read the Garmin and Dynon display screens. The gradient lenses I have are still too dark. No problem reading the screens if I'm not wearing shades.
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Gotcha. I'll second the idea of having an optometrist customize it in that case. Tell them what you're wanting and I'm sure they can rig something up.
 
My shades from Randolph Engineering are gray gradient, fully clear at the bottom. I love flying with them.
 
Half Fast said:
Do they offer the same thing in an amber tint?
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They have what they call 'tan gradient' available. If you are looking for something like a Ray Ban or Oakley amber, it is nigh on impossible. Loved mine in a set of wraparound frames. Then my eyes started getting picky (I got old) and I searched all over for similar gradient tint with no luck. Serengeti Drivers come closest, and lucky for me work with the EFIS's in my planes.
 
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My girl gets lots of her shades from coach and the other chick shops, most of the, have that gradient crap, I've tried them on, and for how much head movement I would have flying with them, yeah nope.

I just fly with Spy polarized shades, some G14 color ray bans, and some polarized Oakleys, all work great.
 
Polarization is an old topic:
(From the FAA regarding polarized glasses)
Polarized lenses are not recommended for use in the aviation environment. While useful for blocking reflected light from horizontal surfaces such as water or snow, polarization can reduce or eliminate the visibility of instruments that incorporate anti-glare filters. Polarized lenses may also interfere with visibility through an aircraft windscreen by enhancing striations in laminated materials and mask the sparkle of light that reflects off shiny surfaces such as another aircraft’s wing or windscreen, which can reduce the time a pilot has to react in a “see-and-avoid” traffic situation. (Airliners.net, 2009)

More information:
FAA publication: Sunglasses for pilots: beyond the image. http://www.faa.gov/pilots/safety/pilotsafetybrochures/media/sunglasses.pdf
FAA pilot safety brochure: Pilot vision. http://www.faa.gov/pilots/safety/pilotsafetybrochures/media/Pilot_Vision.pdf

References:
Nakagawara, V.B. & wood, K.J. (2009). Not All Sunglasses Are Created Equal. Retrieved 2 Oct, 2009 from http://www.aoa.org/x5349.xml
 
Not that this is helpful from a gradient standpoint, but where is the brightness level set on your GPS displays? If you increase the brightness, it might make help offset for the gradients that "aren't clear enough".
 
I had the same issue as the OP and found that it was technically easy trivial to solve, though the implementation was a PITA.

Plastic lenses are tinted using water soluble dyes. They are simply dipped and held in the dye solution for whatever period of time it takes to get the desired tint density. They are held partially in/partially out of the dye and moved in a controlled way to create gradients. There is also a bleach, called by the trade a "neutralizer." So, starting with a pair of gradient lenses that is too dark at the bottom, one can simply dip the lenses in the neutralizer to lighten or eliminating the tint at the bottom of the lens. The dyes and neutralizer are fairly available on the internet and not too expensive.

The catch is that the dye solutions and neutralizer need to be heated to near-boiling and the time to tint or bleach is measured in minutes. This is pretty easy for the labs because they have special "stoves" that hold their dyes at temperature and mechanical devices to hold and move the lenses to create gradients. Doing it by hand is tedious.

If anyone wants to try this, PM me and I'll give you the details of my home tinting setup.

Another advantage of rolling your own is that you can choose whatever tint color you like. I have a pair with an upper lens tint similar to the Serengeti "Drivers" but with more red. It's great for haze when flying. On the ground the red makes green traffic lights almost invisible, so no good for driving. The lower lens is completely clear.
 
SoonerAviator said:
Not that this is helpful from a gradient standpoint, but where is the brightness level set on your GPS displays? If you increase the brightness, it might make help offset for the gradients that "aren't clear enough".
Click to expand...


First thing I tried. They are set at full brightness.
 
Goofy said:
Polarization is an old topic:
(From the FAA regarding polarized glasses)
Polarized lenses are not recommended for use in the aviation environment. While useful for blocking reflected light from horizontal surfaces such as water or snow, polarization can reduce or eliminate the visibility of instruments that incorporate anti-glare filters. Polarized lenses may also interfere with visibility through an aircraft windscreen by enhancing striations in laminated materials and mask the sparkle of light that reflects off shiny surfaces such as another aircraft’s wing or windscreen, which can reduce the time a pilot has to react in a “see-and-avoid” traffic situation. (Airliners.net, 2009)

More information:
FAA publication: Sunglasses for pilots: beyond the image. http://www.faa.gov/pilots/safety/pilotsafetybrochures/media/sunglasses.pdf
FAA pilot safety brochure: Pilot vision. http://www.faa.gov/pilots/safety/pilotsafetybrochures/media/Pilot_Vision.pdf

References:
Nakagawara, V.B. & wood, K.J. (2009). Not All Sunglasses Are Created Equal. Retrieved 2 Oct, 2009 from http://www.aoa.org/x5349.xml
Click to expand...

I was all about that when I bought my first pair of "flying glasses" some randolf engineering shades, full on mil issue off eBay

Later between forgetting them on occasion and trial and error with my normal my polarized shades flying, really hasn't been a issue in much of anything, there was one old panel mount GPS, like a GNC 300 or something, which you had to have your head level with it to read, aside from that one instance it hasn't been a problem even with EHSIs, MFDs, GNS, etc.
 
I've never had a problem in any plane I've ever flown, polarized is all I wear. I've graduated from Ray Ban driving glasses to prescription brown lenses. It takes a couple of days to get used to the new colors, but after that, you can't wear gray ones any more. The brown tint sharpens up things even without prescription lenses, that's how I put them off for so long.
 
I'm sorry, but the "GLINT" argument on traffic spotting has been pretty soundly refuted as far as I am concerned. What enables you to spot targets is contrast, which polarization helps, rather than the odd glint that might have been suppressed.

I've never seen an antiglare coating that polarized lenses had an issue with. About the only issue is if you have an LCD display that has the orthogonal polarization to what your lenses have. Frankly, I've found that most of my avionics are only slightly dimmed by my polarized sunglasses.
 
The brown / amber color seems to give better contrast and lets me see cloud shapes better, as well as helping me see through haze better. If there's color distortion, I haven't noticed it.
 
airdale said:
I had the same issue as the OP and found that it was technically easy trivial to solve, though the implementation was a PITA.

Plastic lenses are tinted using water soluble dyes. They are simply dipped and held in the dye solution for whatever period of time it takes to get the desired tint density. They are held partially in/partially out of the dye and moved in a controlled way to create gradients. There is also a bleach, called by the trade a "neutralizer." So, starting with a pair of gradient lenses that is too dark at the bottom, one can simply dip the lenses in the neutralizer to lighten or eliminating the tint at the bottom of the lens. The dyes and neutralizer are fairly available on the internet and not too expensive.

The catch is that the dye solutions and neutralizer need to be heated to near-boiling and the time to tint or bleach is measured in minutes. This is pretty easy for the labs because they have special "stoves" that hold their dyes at temperature and mechanical devices to hold and move the lenses to create gradients. Doing it by hand is tedious.

If anyone wants to try this, PM me and I'll give you the details of my home tinting setup.

Another advantage of rolling your own is that you can choose whatever tint color you like. I have a pair with an upper lens tint similar to the Serengeti "Drivers" but with more red. It's great for haze when flying. On the ground the red makes green traffic lights almost invisible, so no good for driving. The lower lens is completely clear.
Click to expand...


Interesting. Sounds like I could have a lot of fun and use up a couple dozen pair of sunglasses learning how to do this. :)
 
Half Fast said:
Interesting. Sounds like I could have a lot of fun and use up a couple dozen pair of sunglasses learning how to do this. :)
Click to expand...
Actually, you probably won't ruin any lenses. The process is slow enough that it's easy to monitor and there's always the neutralizer if you get a tint or an area that's too dark. As I fiddled with it, I would often go outside to check a tint to see if I liked the density. Not dense enough, just put it back in the bath.

Re lens color: Longer wavelengths get through haze and dust better than short wavelengths. That's why sunsets and sunrises are red/orange; the light is getting filtered through a lot of atmosphere before it gets to you and the short wavelengths don't make it. So lens colors that filter the short wavelengths reduce backscattered glare from haze and dust, making it easier to see. Red or red-orange is the best for this, but such lenses produce so much color distortion (and completely black out greens and blues), that they are not a good choice for use on land/driving. Hence, nobody sells them. Serengeti Drivers are the closest AFIK.
 
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