How to Break In Your New Mask

SeaJay · March 30th, 2006, 03:41 AM

So, you searched high and low, tried on a couple hundred masks, and finally got just the right one for you, hunh? Congratulations on the new gear! It's always fun to have new stuff, especially when it's scuba gear!

Before you go diving your new mask, though, we recommend cleaning the inside of it with toothpaste. Yep, you heard us right... Toothpaste! Here's why:

Your mask was manufactured by someone cutting out the right pieces of glass and placing them in a mold. This mold closed up and hot liquid silicone was injected into the mold. When it cooled, the mold was opened and out popped your mask. In most cases, there were some other parts that were then snapped in place, and your mask was ready for sale.

Normally, the silicone sticks to the inside of the mold... That is, they open the mold and expect the mask to drop out, but instead it sticks to the inside of the mold like an egg might stick to a frying pan. To keep this from happening, a lubricating spray is sprayed liberally on the inside of the mold and all over the glass lenses prior to injection. Think of it as PAM baking spray! This substance is called, "mold release" by those who are familiar with it, and it's clear and odorless.

Now, shifting gears, there's another thing you need to know... Why your mask fogs up.

Your mask fogs because there's ultra-humid air inside of your mask while you're wearing it. The glass is cooler than the air inside your mask, and so much like a soda can on a humid day, water condenses and forms little droplets, right on the surface of your mask lens.

The interesting thing to note here is that water will not condense on glass. Instead, a catalyst is required. Water will condense on dust, dirt, oils from your skin, or any other particulate matter... Even on mold release.

So... If you dive without cleaning that glass on the inside of your mask, you're going to have a serious fogging problem. Many people do all sorts of things to prevent this - the most common is to purchase some sort of wonder-fluid that you can spray or smear on the lenses of your mask, which will prevent fogging. The wonder-fluid accomplishes this by "coating" the lens... That is, applying a layer of some sort of clear substance which will prevent the humid air from touching the mold release. Of course, this is predictably effective only until the substance washes away.

Instead, we recommend the more common sense approach of cleaning the mold release off of your mask's lenses prior to diving. This can be accomplished with toothpaste... Put a dollop of any brand of toothpaste on your finger, add a little water, and scrub the lenses of your mask liberally. Many of us are really picky about this, and we'll scrub for ten minutes or more. Still others scrub both sides of the lenses. We've tried lots of other cleaning agents - some have used dishwashing detergent, baby shampoo, or Windex. Nothing seems to work quite as well as plain ol' toothpaste.

Once you're done, rinse well... Some people's eyes get irritated later by the mint in the toothpaste.

...So will your mask be fog-free from then on? Well, yes... Until you get a little dust or dirt on the lenses of your mask. But now that you've polished the lenses with toothpaste and gotten all of the mold release off, you'll find that dusting them off is easy. Simply rub a little saliva on the lenses with your finger just before putting the mask on (rinse afterward) and your lenses will keep a constant "spit shine" on them, and fogging will never be a problem.

...And you'll never run out of wonder-fluid again.

canucksubmariner · March 31st, 2006, 12:51 PM

Quote: (Originally Posted by SeaJay)

...So will your mask be fog-free from then on? Well, yes... Until you get a little dust or dirt on the lenses of your mask. But now that you've polished the lenses with toothpaste and gotten all of the mold release off, you'll find that dusting them off is easy. Simply rub a little saliva on the lenses with your finger just before putting the mask on (rinse afterward) and your lenses will keep a constant "spit shine" on them, and fogging will never be a problem.

...And you'll never run out of wonder-fluid again.

Nice Job

However,use a defog after the cleaning, using spit will cause another type of mold problem in your mask, the mold with spores....

It won't do any better than spit for stopping the fogging after you do the cleaning w/ toothpaste, but it will keep the mask cleaner and the mask will last longer.

**jb2cool** · April 25th, 2006, 01:53 PM

Paste type toothpaste seems to work better than the gel type toothpastes. Generally, if you cannot see through it and it's fairly thick it'll do the job a treat.

Tricky · April 25th, 2006, 02:02 PM

Quote: (Originally Posted by jb2cool)

Generally, if you cannot see through it and it's fairly thick it'll do the job a treat.

Doesn't sound too helpful for a mask

NickB · April 25th, 2006, 02:05 PM

Quote: (Originally Posted by Tricky)

Doesn't sound too helpful for a mask

You seemed to manage OK on Saturday

mstroeck · April 25th, 2006, 02:12 PM

Quote: (Originally Posted by canucksubmariner)

However,use a defog after the cleaning, using spit will cause another type of mold problem in your mask, the mold with spores....

Huh? I've never had a problem, and I've always just spit in them and don't even ever really wash them except for a quick rinse before getting out of the water.

Tricky · April 25th, 2006, 02:29 PM

Quote: (Originally Posted by NickB)

You seemed to manage OK on Saturday

Touche. Things were a bit better on the 2nd dive when I had some water moving around in the mask, but that mask does need some attention.

NickB · April 25th, 2006, 02:33 PM

Quote: (Originally Posted by Tricky)

Touche. Things were a bit better on the 2nd dive when I had some water moving around in the mask, but that mask does need some attention.

What with my crappy eyesight and your fogged-up mask we were the blind leading the blind

Tricky · April 25th, 2006, 04:37 PM

Quote: (Originally Posted by NickB)

What with my crappy eyesight and your fogged-up mask we were the blind leading the blind

Yup. It was a good job you've got bright yellow tanks as I was finding it hard to spot you as you disappeared (fast) in to the crap vis in the shallow end.

March 30th, 2006, 03:41 AM	#1 (permalink)
SeaJay(Offline) New Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Beaufort, SC, USA Posts: 162	How to Break In Your New Mask So, you searched high and low, tried on a couple hundred masks, and finally got just the right one for you, hunh? Congratulations on the new gear! It's always fun to have new stuff, especially when it's scuba gear! Before you go diving your new mask, though, we recommend cleaning the inside of it with toothpaste. Yep, you heard us right... Toothpaste! Here's why: Your mask was manufactured by someone cutting out the right pieces of glass and placing them in a mold. This mold closed up and hot liquid silicone was injected into the mold. When it cooled, the mold was opened and out popped your mask. In most cases, there were some other parts that were then snapped in place, and your mask was ready for sale. Normally, the silicone sticks to the inside of the mold... That is, they open the mold and expect the mask to drop out, but instead it sticks to the inside of the mold like an egg might stick to a frying pan. To keep this from happening, a lubricating spray is sprayed liberally on the inside of the mold and all over the glass lenses prior to injection. Think of it as PAM baking spray! This substance is called, "mold release" by those who are familiar with it, and it's clear and odorless. Now, shifting gears, there's another thing you need to know... Why your mask fogs up. Your mask fogs because there's ultra-humid air inside of your mask while you're wearing it. The glass is cooler than the air inside your mask, and so much like a soda can on a humid day, water condenses and forms little droplets, right on the surface of your mask lens. The interesting thing to note here is that water will not condense on glass. Instead, a catalyst is required. Water will condense on dust, dirt, oils from your skin, or any other particulate matter... Even on mold release. So... If you dive without cleaning that glass on the inside of your mask, you're going to have a serious fogging problem. Many people do all sorts of things to prevent this - the most common is to purchase some sort of wonder-fluid that you can spray or smear on the lenses of your mask, which will prevent fogging. The wonder-fluid accomplishes this by "coating" the lens... That is, applying a layer of some sort of clear substance which will prevent the humid air from touching the mold release. Of course, this is predictably effective only until the substance washes away. Instead, we recommend the more common sense approach of cleaning the mold release off of your mask's lenses prior to diving. This can be accomplished with toothpaste... Put a dollop of any brand of toothpaste on your finger, add a little water, and scrub the lenses of your mask liberally. Many of us are really picky about this, and we'll scrub for ten minutes or more. Still others scrub both sides of the lenses. We've tried lots of other cleaning agents - some have used dishwashing detergent, baby shampoo, or Windex. Nothing seems to work quite as well as plain ol' toothpaste. Once you're done, rinse well... Some people's eyes get irritated later by the mint in the toothpaste. ...So will your mask be fog-free from then on? Well, yes... Until you get a little dust or dirt on the lenses of your mask. But now that you've polished the lenses with toothpaste and gotten all of the mold release off, you'll find that dusting them off is easy. Simply rub a little saliva on the lenses with your finger just before putting the mask on (rinse afterward) and your lenses will keep a constant "spit shine" on them, and fogging will never be a problem. ...And you'll never run out of wonder-fluid again. Last edited by SeaJay; March 30th, 2006 at 03:47 AM.

March 31st, 2006, 12:51 PM	#2 (permalink)
canucksubmariner(Offline) New Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: GA Posts: 72	Quote: (Originally Posted by SeaJay) ...So will your mask be fog-free from then on? Well, yes... Until you get a little dust or dirt on the lenses of your mask. But now that you've polished the lenses with toothpaste and gotten all of the mold release off, you'll find that dusting them off is easy. Simply rub a little saliva on the lenses with your finger just before putting the mask on (rinse afterward) and your lenses will keep a constant "spit shine" on them, and fogging will never be a problem. ...And you'll never run out of wonder-fluid again. Nice Job However,use a defog after the cleaning, using spit will cause another type of mold problem in your mask, the mold with spores.... It won't do any better than spit for stopping the fogging after you do the cleaning w/ toothpaste, but it will keep the mask cleaner and the mask will last longer. Last edited by canucksubmariner; April 2nd, 2006 at 03:00 PM.

April 25th, 2006, 01:53 PM	#3 (permalink)
jb2cool(Offline) Padawan learner Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Bracknell, Berkshire Posts: 804	Paste type toothpaste seems to work better than the gel type toothpastes. Generally, if you cannot see through it and it's fairly thick it'll do the job a treat. __________________ http://jb2cool.bulldoghome.com

April 25th, 2006, 02:02 PM	#4 (permalink)
Tricky(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Reading, Berkshire Posts: 555	Quote: (Originally Posted by jb2cool) Generally, if you cannot see through it and it's fairly thick it'll do the job a treat. Doesn't sound too helpful for a mask __________________ "I know that you believe that you understand what you think I said, but I am not sure you realise that what you heard is not what I meant." "Make me one with everything" said the Mystic to the Hamburger vendor. Sigmastorm RPG - Play online now free! UK Diving Forum Sryth: A Free Online Text RPG Join the Adventure! Fallen Sword: Free online RPG

April 25th, 2006, 02:05 PM	#5 (permalink)
NickB(Offline) Always lowering the tone Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Cardiff, UK Posts: 348	Quote: (Originally Posted by Tricky) Doesn't sound too helpful for a mask You seemed to manage OK on Saturday __________________ SnowHeads / BreastFriends / Free Money!

April 25th, 2006, 02:12 PM	#6 (permalink)
mstroeck(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Vienna, Austria Posts: 156	Quote: (Originally Posted by canucksubmariner) However,use a defog after the cleaning, using spit will cause another type of mold problem in your mask, the mold with spores.... Huh? I've never had a problem, and I've always just spit in them and don't even ever really wash them except for a quick rinse before getting out of the water.

April 25th, 2006, 02:29 PM	#7 (permalink)
Tricky(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Reading, Berkshire Posts: 555	Quote: (Originally Posted by NickB) You seemed to manage OK on Saturday Touche. Things were a bit better on the 2nd dive when I had some water moving around in the mask, but that mask does need some attention. __________________ "I know that you believe that you understand what you think I said, but I am not sure you realise that what you heard is not what I meant." "Make me one with everything" said the Mystic to the Hamburger vendor. Sigmastorm RPG - Play online now free! UK Diving Forum Sryth: A Free Online Text RPG Join the Adventure! Fallen Sword: Free online RPG

April 25th, 2006, 02:33 PM	#8 (permalink)
NickB(Offline) Always lowering the tone Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Cardiff, UK Posts: 348	Quote: (Originally Posted by Tricky) Touche. Things were a bit better on the 2nd dive when I had some water moving around in the mask, but that mask does need some attention. What with my crappy eyesight and your fogged-up mask we were the blind leading the blind __________________ SnowHeads / BreastFriends / Free Money!

April 25th, 2006, 04:37 PM	#9 (permalink)
Tricky(Offline) New Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Reading, Berkshire Posts: 555	Quote: (Originally Posted by NickB) What with my crappy eyesight and your fogged-up mask we were the blind leading the blind Yup. It was a good job you've got bright yellow tanks as I was finding it hard to spot you as you disappeared (fast) in to the crap vis in the shallow end. __________________ "I know that you believe that you understand what you think I said, but I am not sure you realise that what you heard is not what I meant." "Make me one with everything" said the Mystic to the Hamburger vendor. Sigmastorm RPG - Play online now free! UK Diving Forum Sryth: A Free Online Text RPG Join the Adventure! Fallen Sword: Free online RPG