How to Replace Ray-Ban Aviator Lenses (RB3025 & RB3026)

Replacing Ray-Ban Aviator lenses is a different job from any acetate frame — and in some ways an easier one. The RB3025 and RB3026 hold each lens inside a slim metal rim that is closed by a single tiny screw at the top outer corner. Loosen that screw and the rim relaxes just enough for the lens to slide free; retighten it and the new lens is locked in for years. No heat, no popping, no flexing. Here is the complete method, step by step.

Why metal frames work differently

An acetate frame like the Wayfarer grips its lens in a moulded groove — you pop the old lens out with thumb pressure and click the new one home, as our guide to replacing Wayfarer lenses shows. Try that on an Aviator and you will bend the rim. A metal Aviator front is really a thin wire channel wrapped the whole way around each lens, and the two ends of that channel meet at a small closure block held by a screw, tucked at the top corner near the hinge. That screw is not decoration; it is the clasp of the entire frame. The whole job revolves around loosening it just enough — and not a turn more.

Confirm your model and lens size first

Fold the glasses open and read the code inside the left temple arm. The classic Aviator is the RB3025, produced in 55, 58 and 62 mm lens widths; the RB3026 Aviator Large Metal II is the same silhouette cut in 62 mm only. The number straight after the model code is your lens width, and it has to match exactly — a 58 will never seat in a 55 rim. If the printing has faded or the string reads like hieroglyphics, our guide to finding your sunglasses model number decodes it digit by digit. With model and size confirmed, choose your tint from our Ray-Ban-compatible replacement lenses — 15+ colours, polarized and non-polarized, all precision cut with full UV400 protection.

What you’ll need

• A precision screwdriver set (flat-head, sizes #00–#000 — match the driver to the slot)
• Your new compatible lenses, left and right identified
• A clean microfiber cloth to work over
• A small dish or a strip of tape to hold the screw if it comes all the way out
• Good, direct light — the screw is genuinely tiny

Removing the old lenses

1. Lay the cloth flat and work above it. If the screw escapes, it lands somewhere soft and visible instead of vanishing into the carpet.
2. Find the rim screw. Follow the top edge of the rim towards the hinge: the small barrel with a screw head sitting at the corner is the closure. Each lens has its own.
3. Loosen — don’t remove. Seat the screwdriver square in the slot, press down and turn counter-clockwise about one full turn. You want the rim to relax, not come apart. If the screw does come free, park it in the dish immediately.
4. Ease the rim open. Gentle finger pressure opens the channel a hair’s width at the closure — that is all the gap the lens needs.
5. Slide the lens out. Support the lens with your fingers and ease it forward and out of the channel, starting from the loosened corner. It should come with light, even pressure; if it fights, give the screw another half turn.
6. Repeat on the other side.

Fitting the new lenses

1. Check the orientation. Confirm left and right, and hold the lens by its edges only — a thumbprint in the centre of a brand-new lens is a rite of passage nobody enjoys.
2. Feed the lens in at the bridge side. Start the inner edge of the teardrop into the rim channel and hold it seated with a thumb.
3. Work around the rim. Ease the lens edge into the channel along the bottom and up the outer side, letting it follow the teardrop curve until the whole perimeter sits in the groove.
4. Close the gap. Press the rim gently shut at the corner so the two ends of the channel meet flush around the lens.
5. Retighten the screw. Press down, turn clockwise, and stop at snug. The lens should sit firm with no rattle when you tap it lightly — anything past snug only strains the thread.
6. Inspect the seat line. The lens edge should disappear evenly into the channel the whole way round, with no proud spots at the closure corner.

Mistakes to avoid

• Unscrewing all the way by default. Most swaps need only a loosened screw. Fully removed screws are the number-one casualty of this repair.
• Overtightening. The screw clamps a metal channel around a lens edge; snug is fully tight. Force strips the thread — and a stripped closure is a frame problem, not a lens problem.
• Forcing a lens past a closed rim. If it will not slide, the rim is not open enough. Loosen a little more instead of pushing harder — pressure can kink the wire.
• Gripping the rim with pliers. Bare metal jaws leave permanent teeth marks. Fingers are enough for every step of this job.
• Swapping left and right. The teardrops mirror each other; a crossed pair never seats cleanly. Check twice, fit once.

The teardrop never goes out of style

The Aviator silhouette has outlived every trend thrown at it, and now you know the maintenance ritual that keeps a pair alive indefinitely: loosen, slide, seat, snug. Browse our Ray-Ban-compatible range for the RB3025 and RB3026, and if you are torn between tints, our guide to polarized vs non-polarized replacement lenses makes the call simple. Every order from our replacement lens range ships free worldwide, backed by a 3-year warranty against manufacturing defects and 14-day returns. SunglassRevivers lenses are independently manufactured compatible parts; they are not products of Ray-Ban® or any frame brand, whose name appears here only as a compatibility reference. Don’t replace your Aviators. Revive them.