Get Creative – If It’s Broken, Fix It Instead of Replace It

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We are big believers in coming up with creative solutions and making do instead of spending more money on something that doesn’t really enhance your life. We really try to pick and choose the things that will impact our lives and set aside the desires to be “perfect” like everyone else. There are times that we succumb to our perceived peer pressure, but most of the time we are successful at keeping our eyes on the goal- to be debt free.

The coating on my husband’s glasses frames has been chipping away over the past few months.  I’ve colored in the gaps with a black permanent marker numerous times, but it’s never lasted long.  He’s the kind of guy that’s sensible enough to realize if someone is going to think less of him because his frames aren’t perfect, that person’s opinion probably isn’t someone he needs to worry himself with.  Every time I’ve suggested that he replace the frames, he’s said “They don’t bother me and we don’t need to spend the money on that”  (I love his determination!)

This weekend I asked if he’d thought about buying some enamel paint and giving that a try. Turns out a tiny little bottle is just $1.38!  He took the screws and lenses out, gave the frames two coats, and they’re almost as good as new.  While not perfect, they’re a huge improvement for the minute financial investment and they will suffice until we can replace the glasses. 

If you consider doing this, be advised that enamel paint has very strong fumes and takes much longer than other paints to dry completely.  I would only touch up the areas that need touching up, or paint just the front of the frames.  I ended up having to remove all the paint on the ear pieces because it reacted with my husband’s sweat and left black marks on his temples – oops!

Comments

  1. What a great idea! My husbands glasses get that way very easily. I’ve not checked them out in a while, but this might be a great fix.

  2. Thanks- I wish we’d tried black finger nail polish though. Probably a lot easier to work with and it wouldn’t have reacted with his sweat.

  3. If it gets to the point where they are actually broken, check out zinni optical. You can get a pair of glasses for as low as $7. You just need to know your prescription.

  4. Yep, that’s where we get Turkey’s backup glasses at. Problem is my husband’s prescription is 2 years old so it’s not valid anymore.

  5. We’ve used Sharpie on kids’ frames, which wasn’t even the correct blue, but it was good enough that unless you were really staring at his face, it was fine. The silver chips shining out from under the blue were much more visible.

    We use Zenni, but also WM had a good back-to-school deal last yr, with replacement option & a sturdier frame than Zenni. Z is also more limited in options for boys that girls – tons of pink/purple ones available. Had also been considering nail polish touch ups!

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