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How much does a scratch-resistant coating actually protect a lens?

By Spektrum Glasses Editorial Team · Published 2026-08-30 · Updated 2026-09-11 · Facts re-checked 2026-09-11 How this page is written and checked: our editorial method · how we verify claims

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Short answer

A scratch-resistant coating raises the amount of everyday abrasion a coated PROSPEK lens can take before it marks, but it does not make the lens scratch-proof, and no honest industry-standard percentage exists for how much protection it adds. We have not measured or published our own abrasion-resistance number; our published lab data covers light transmittance and color, not surface hardness.
  • A scratch-resistant coating reduces everyday surface abrasion; no coating makes a lens scratch-proof.
  • No standardized industry test produces a comparable scratch-resistance percentage across brands.
  • We have not published our own abrasion or hardness measurement, so we do not quote one.
  • Our COLTS Laboratories report (O-SPG111015) measures light transmittance and chromaticity, not mechanical durability.
  • ANSI Z80.3 governs transmittance and color only; lab accreditation certifies the lab’s process, not the coating’s hardness.

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What a scratch-resistant coating actually does

A scratch-resistant coating is a thin, hard layer applied to the outside of the lens after it is shaped and, on tinted styles, tinted. Its purpose is to make the surface harder than the base lens material underneath, which raises the amount of everyday abrasion the lens can take before it marks: a shirt-hem wipe, a pocket with keys in it, dust trapped in a cloth, a case with grit already inside it. Every PROSPEK lens carries this coating as a standard feature across reading and non-reading styles alike, not as a paid upgrade. What the coating does not do is make the lens scratch-proof. Scratch-resistant and scratch-proof describe two different things. A harder surface raises the force and grit needed to leave a mark; it does not remove the possibility. Dropping a lens face-down on concrete, or wiping it dry with sand or grit already sitting on the cloth, will still mark a coated lens the same as an uncoated one - it just takes more force or grit to do it.

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Why there is no honest percentage to quote

It is common in eyewear marketing to see a coating described as some percentage more scratch-resistant than a base lens. There is no single industry-standard test that produces a number comparable across brands: different labs use different abrasive materials, different reference lenses, and different pass thresholds, so a percentage from one test method is not comparable to a percentage from another. A bare percentage with no test method named tells you almost nothing about what actually happened to the lens. We have not run or published our own abrasion or hardness measurement for PROSPEK lenses, so we are not going to attach a number we cannot back with a report. What we do publish is spectral transmittance data from an accredited lab, and that measures a different property than scratch resistance.

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What our accreditation and ANSI Z80.3 actually cover

Our published lab data comes from COLTS Laboratories report O-SPG111015, produced by a laboratory accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 by A2LA (certificate 1612.01) and tested to ANSI Z80.3. Accreditation under ISO/IEC 17025 certifies the laboratory’s testing competence and process, not the product being tested. And ANSI Z80.3 itself governs light transmittance and chromaticity: how much light passes through the lens at a given wavelength, and what color the lens appears. It has nothing to do with surface hardness or abrasion resistance. Our clear lens passed ANSI Z80.3 transmittance and chromaticity testing on every sample in its group, and is classified filter category 0, cosmetic lens, with 91.6% visible (photopic) light transmission. That result tells you the lens is close to optically clear and passed the applicable transmittance standard. It says nothing about how the coated surface holds up against grit or repeated wiping, because neither ANSI Z80.3 nor our report tests for that. The same limit applies to every other transmittance figure we publish, for the yellow, orange, and red lenses alike: those numbers describe wavelength bands filtered, not coating hardness.

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What actually reduces scratching day to day

Day-to-day habits affect a coated lens more than any spec-sheet number would. A few that matter:
  • Store the glasses in a case when not worn, rather than loose in a bag or pocket.
  • Clean with water or a lens spray and a microfiber cloth. Wiping a dry lens drags whatever dust or grit is already on the surface across it.
  • Skip paper towels, tissues, and clothing for cleaning; they hold more grit than a cloth made for lenses.
  • Set lenses down lens-side up, not face-down on a hard surface.
None of this is specific to PROSPEK lenses - it applies to any coated lens from any source, and it is the biggest lever a wearer actually controls.

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Bottom line

A scratch-resistant coating is a real, standard feature on every PROSPEK lens, and it does raise the amount of abrasion the lens can take before marking. It is not scratch-proof, and there is no honest percentage we can give you for how much protection it adds without a named test method behind it, which is why we do not publish one. Our own lab report speaks to light transmittance and color, not surface hardness. If a scratch-resistance number from any brand matters to a purchase decision, the test method it came from matters as much as the number itself.

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Where these numbers come from

Every measured figure quoted here is transcribed from a third-party laboratory report, published in full with the wavelength band and the report number: lab results. Our rule for what may appear on this page at all is on how we choose what to publish.

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