The metal frame on my Oakley Holborn sunnies has popped open allowing a lense to come out.
Out of warranty so attempting a fix myself.

I can glue the frame back together correctly but the tab I can apply glue to is very small – a rectangle about 1.5mm x 2mm (possibly even less).
I’ve only got one go at this so what should I use:
Superglue – advantages are it’s quick and would be easy to apply to a very small area
Epoxy: probably stronger but harder to apply to a small area with potential for mess in a very visible location.

Wotcha think?

Always worth an email before attempting the fix, oakley tend to be pretty good at supporting their product, but outside that, it’s a frame, does it require the strength of epoxy, especially due to the amount of epoxy you’d need to make, superglue can come in various forms, but should be the easier to use for this, especially if it’s a plastic frame.

think i’d bin ’em, the frames are usually under tension to give the lens a tight snug fit, which makes gluing them back together tricky.

I’d Try Oakley first.

If that fails, then prep the surfaces well and use superglue.

I’ll certainly try Oakley first.
This is a replacement pair for ones that some of the frame surface came off 18 months ago.

whatever you use, surface preparation will be key to getting it to stay stuck. I follow your concerns about the potential for mess, but I would accept that it’s not going to be totally invisible and use epoxy, between the faces, and also get some nylon sewing thread and knot it round the tabs to hold them together, and let the epoxy that squeezes out saturate the thread. Do a dry run with the thread. Apply the epoxy where you want it with the tip of a needle. Tidy it up with the needle before the epoxy sets, and a bit more once it’s set but before it’s fully cured.

Might be worth running a thin layer of superglue around the lens itself to massively increase the surface area.

There’s an idea.

I’ve gone with a time bit of epoxy. Turns out that the bottom part of the lense “clamp” came off the frame.
So I’ve tried to stick it back on and if that works I’ll speak to Oakley about the bit of coating that’s come off these frames as well.
My theory is that they’d just say no if I sent a picture of the frame “broken” – better to send a picture of them in one piece but showing the faulty coating.

Sugru?

I bought some Oakley crosslinks from an indie optician, the lenses developed a small imperfection, they were transitions, so in the sun a white spot appeared. Took them back after 18 months. Optician noticed tiny crack in frame, barely visible to me.

Oakley replaced frame and lenses free of charge.

Massively impressed with service.

I don’t think any adhesive would stick a metal frame, I’ve got a pair of Arnet Black Dogs that split in two down the centre of the nose bridge; they’re a sort of faux tortoiseshell effect. I’m going to have a go at fixing them, by carefully drilling two holes, then inserting two brass wire pins in with plenty of two-pack epoxy, then wipe off the excess and clean up when dry. That wouldn’t work with a thin metal frame, however, a jeweller or goldsmith with a laser welder might be able to fix it. Mate of mine’s a goldsmith, and he uses a laser to fix small breaks in chains, rings, etc.
Certainly superglue wouldn’t be up to the job.

I fixed metal frame glasses with superglue, though granted it was only meant to be temporary so isn’t very pretty. A big blob of the stuff covering the whole area (so the bit to be glued is basically in the centre of a glue ball) and it’s still holding up fine 2 years later haha

Tip – use a sprinkle of bicarbonate of soda to make superglue set instantly. Makes it white/cloudy colour but is very useful.