Persistent Mask Fogging?

[mahjong]

I found a nice fitting mask for my otherwise hard-to-fit narrow face: the Cressi Lince. I took it out the first time after scrubbing the lens several times with toothpaste, my old time-tested method. I hadn't even submerged yet and the mask was already fogged up on my face. I spent the entire dive clearing the mask underwater--here salt water probably a bit above 60 degrees F.

I next took a lighter to each lens to burn off any film and then scrubbed clean the lens--this is a method told to me by a dive instructor. I took the mask out again, this time the salt water was a bit colder (perhaps upper 50s), and once again the mask fogged up before I even submerged and fogged up badly throughout the dive.

Before all my dives I just rub a little dish soap on the lens and let the mask sit until just before I plunge, when I give the mask a quick rinse in fresh water before donning it. Has worked fine for me on hundreds of dives prior to encountering the Lince. I dive other masks--Scubapro Futura 1 and 2, Sporasub Samurai--and almost never have a fogging problem.

Any idea what might be going on? Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Mahjong

 

[ae3753]

Spouse has two Cressi Linces (agree that it's a great mask for narrow/small faces) and 2 other Cressi masks, and they have been very easy to clean and keep defogged. In fact, we picked up the second Lince as her back-up since her mini Shadow would always fog. So odd.

Cleaning, she use standard white toothpaste (not gel) and rubs a few minutes on each lens. For defog, she uses spit and does one quick dunk to rinse. This has worked from warm water diving to our regular 50-54 degree waters in MoCal.

Good luck.

 

[fisherdvm]

1. It might not been scrubbed well enough. Use a toothbrush with cream type toothpaste, the regular creamy type with fine abrasives. Scrub it well for at least 5 minutes, then rinse. This will remove a thin coating that prevent defogger from sticking.

2. If you use defogger, do not follow the direction on the bottle. Apply about one drop to the mask. Spread it thin. Let it dry until you are ready to dive. Just before the dive, put about 2 or 3 drops of water on the mask and spread it around the mask. Dump excess out. If you put too much water on the mask like they suggest, it would simply wash off all the detergent and you have no defogger left.....

3. If you use spit, you still don't need much. Then mix a smaller amount of water just enough to dilute the spit so it isn't gooey. Dump off the excess.

 

[xose]

Use Sea Buff http://mcnett.baron-co.com/page.cfm?pageID=520 to remove the silicone leeched.

And latter apply Sea Gold http://mcnett.baron-co.com/page.cfm?pageID=519 as anti-fog.


They were tested and recomended by Scuba Diving magazine.



more info at:
- http://www.mcnett.com/
- http://www.mcnetteurope.com/


regards,

 

[spectrum]

I agree, there is no magic to defogging but some masks can be stubborn, It is not yet clean. Be sure to make the test described here at home as part of your cleaning.

Pete