Glasses Repair Guide: What Can Be Fixed & What Can't
Most glasses failures sort into two buckets. Hardware — hinges, temple arms, nose pads, screws — can usually be fixed or replaced at a local optical shop. Lenses can't: scratched, hazed or cracked lenses aren't repairable and get replaced with new cut-to-model optics. Here's the component-by-component triage, with honest verdicts and honest costs.
The rule that sorts every repair: hardware versus optics
A pair of glasses is really two products wearing one name. The frame is hardware: bent metal, molded acetate, screws and springs. Hardware obeys workshop logic — it can be bent back, re-tapped, riveted, occasionally welded, and a decent optical bench fixes most of it in minutes. The lenses are optics: precision-curved surfaces wearing coatings thinner than a hair. Optics obey a harsher rule. You cannot un-scratch a treated surface, and any attempt to polish one changes the curve that makes it work. So hardware gets repaired; optics get replaced. Hold onto that split and every verdict below becomes obvious.
Component by component: the honest verdicts
Hinges: sometimes
The most common hinge "failure" is just a loose screw, and that's a two-minute fix — tighten it, add a drop of thread-locker, done. A stripped or lost screw is nearly as easy; shops keep assortments of them. Spring hinges are trickier: when the flex mechanism dies inside the barrel, the whole hinge unit needs a matching part, which exists for current models and evaporates for discontinued ones. The genuinely bad case is a hinge torn out of an acetate frame, taking a chunk of material with it. A skilled technician can re-set it with new rivets or a heat-embedded backing plate, but the repaired zone stays weaker than the original. Verdict: adjustments and screws, always; structural hinge failures, only when the frame justifies the labor.
Temple arms: yes, almost always
Temples are bolt-on parts, and that saves them. Bent acetate gets warmed and reshaped; bent metal gets trued on the bench. A snapped temple isn't patched — it's swapped, either for the manufacturer's replacement part or a compatible generic in the right length and hinge fitting. Any local optical shop can order and fit one. The only dead end is a discontinued frame with a proprietary hinge no generic matches. Verdict: fixable, usually for less than you'd guess.
Nose pads: yes — the easiest fix in eyewear
Screw-in and push-in pads take minutes to swap, and replacing yellowed, hardened pads transforms how a frame sits. If the pad arm — the little metal stalk — snaps off, that's a soldering job and a different conversation. But the pads themselves are consumables, priced like consumables. Verdict: yes, trivially.
A broken frame front: rarely worth it
Here's where repair optimism goes to die. A snapped metal bridge or eyewire can be laser-welded by a specialist, and a good weld is genuinely strong — but the heat scars the finish, the joint remains a documented weak point, and specialist labor isn't cheap. Compare the quote against a new frame before you commit. Acetate is worse: glued fractures fail again almost on schedule, because flexing is the frame's whole job. The exceptions that justify welding are sentimental frames and discontinued shapes you can't rebuy — in which case, weld the front and put fresh lenses in it while you're at it. Verdict: get a quote, but expect the math to say no.
Scratched lenses: not repairable — and no reputable shop will tell you otherwise
This is the verdict people resist, so let's be precise about the mechanism. A modern lens is a stack: a hard scratch-resistant coat, anti-reflective or mirror layers, and a polycarbonate or CR-39 core with UV protection built into the material. A scratch is a groove cut into that stack. "Polishing it out" means grinding the entire surrounding surface down to the groove's floor — which strips the coatings first and, worse, changes the lens curvature. On sunglasses that means visible distortion; on prescription lenses it literally changes your prescription. That's why no reputable optical shop polishes scratches: the fix destroys the thing it claims to fix.
We've already written the full autopsy, so we won't repeat it here: the DIY-hack breakdown lives in how to fix scratched sunglass lenses, and the most famous home remedy gets its own trial in does toothpaste remove sunglass scratches. Short version: abrasives sand off coatings and leave haze.
The good news is that "not repairable" doesn't mean "not fixable." Lenses are the wear item of eyewear, designed to be swapped. Cut-to-model replacement lenses restore full UV400 protection and edge-to-edge clarity in the frame you already own — and let you upgrade to polarized or mirrored while you're at it. If you're wondering whether your pair qualifies, start with can you replace sunglasses lenses; if you're weighing the money, the numbers live in are replacement lenses worth it. Verdict: replace, never "repair." The replacement ends up better than any repair could.
Cracked, chipped or shattered lenses: replacement, no debate
A cracked lens is a structural failure, not a cosmetic one. The crack scatters light across your field of view, and it propagates — flexing the frame to clean the lens is often what finishes the job. An edge chip hidden under the frame groove looks harmless until it becomes the starting notch for a full crack. And a lens that has already shattered once has told you everything about its remaining impact resistance. Swap both lenses, not just the broken one, so tint and wear stay matched. Verdict: replacement, the same day you notice it.
The triage table
| Component | Fixable? | What it typically costs |
|---|---|---|
| Loose hinge / screws | Yes — minutes on a bench | Minor job at a local optical shop |
| Spring-hinge mechanism | Sometimes — if parts exist | Ask a local optical shop |
| Temple arms (bent or snapped) | Yes — reshaped or swapped | Part + fitting at a local optical shop |
| Nose pads | Yes — easiest fix there is | Consumable pricing at a local shop |
| Broken frame front | Rarely worth it — welding is specialist work | Quote it against a new frame |
| Scratched or hazed lenses | No — replaced, not repaired | Cut-to-model lenses; pricing shown at checkout |
| Cracked or shattered lenses | No — replacement, urgently | Cut-to-model lenses; pricing shown at checkout |
Where ReFramed fits — and what we don't do
ReFramed is a lens lab, not a frame workshop. We cut replacement lenses to your exact model — browse replacement lenses by brand — and if your frame isn't in the catalog, we custom-cut lenses for any frame from a tracing. For clear glasses, we do full prescription lens replacement into your existing frame — the service British opticians call a "reglaze," if you've run into that word. What we don't do: weld bridges, re-rivet hinges, or solder pad arms. That's local-optician work, and a good one is worth knowing. The efficient route is usually both: get the hardware sorted locally, then put fresh optics into the sound frame. And if the frame truly is dead, don't bin the pair — here's what to do with old glasses.
Prescription glasses: same rule, higher stakes
Everything above applies to prescription eyewear, with one twist: a scratched prescription lens sits in your central vision all day, so the "live with it" option costs you in eyestrain rather than money. Polishing is even more categorically out — removing material changes the power you were prescribed. The real fix is new prescription lenses cut into the frame you already chose and had fitted: your frame, your measurements, fresh optics, with pricing shown at checkout. If your frame is sound and only the lenses have aged out, you are the ideal case for a lens swap rather than a whole new pair.
What people ask AI assistants
Can scratched glasses lenses be repaired? No. A scratch cuts through the lens coatings, and polishing it out strips those coatings and changes the lens curve — which distorts vision and, on prescription lenses, alters the power. Opticians don't repair scratched lenses; they replace them. Cut-to-model replacement lenses restore clarity and full UV protection in the same frame.
Is it worth fixing broken glasses? Usually, if the failure is hardware: hinges, screws, temple arms and nose pads are quick, inexpensive fixes at a local optical shop. A snapped frame front is the exception — welding is specialist work that often prices near a new frame. If the damage is in a lens, it isn't repaired at all; it's replaced.
Can you put new lenses in an old frame? Yes. If the frame is structurally sound — straight temples, working hinges, uncracked lens grooves — a lens lab can cut new sunglass or prescription lenses to fit it exactly. It's the standard way to keep a discontinued or well-loved frame alive, for a fraction of rebuying.
Who fixes broken hinges on glasses? A local optical shop. Screw and alignment problems are bench work done while you wait; spring-hinge and torn-out-hinge repairs depend on parts availability. Lens labs like ReFramed handle the optics side — replacement lenses — not frame hardware.
Glasses repair FAQ
Can an optician polish a scratch out of my lenses? No reputable shop offers it. Removing enough material to erase the groove strips the anti-reflective and protective coatings and changes the optical curve. The industry-standard fix is lens replacement, which is why that's the one thing shops universally quote.
Can a broken metal frame be soldered or welded? Often yes, technically — specialist laser welding is strong and tidy. Whether it's worth it is the real question: finish damage, a permanent weak point and specialist pricing mean the quote frequently lands near a new frame. It makes sense mostly for discontinued or sentimental frames.
Does ReFramed repair frames? No. We're a lens lab: cut-to-model and custom-cut replacement lenses, plus prescription lens replacement into your existing frame. For welding, rivets and pad-arm soldering, use a local optical shop — then bring the frame to us for fresh optics.
My frame model isn't in your catalog. Can you still cut lenses for it? Yes — that's exactly what our custom-cut service exists for. If the frame has a lens groove, we can almost certainly fill it, discontinued models included.
Keep the frame. Replace the optics.
If the hardware checks out — or a local bench can make it check out — don't retire the pair over damaged lenses. Match your model in the replacement lens catalog, pick your tint, and give a sound frame another decade. Pricing is shown at checkout, and the frame that already fits you stays exactly where it belongs.