Painted WW and how do you tell if its zinc?

[jh45gun]

I just got some WW from my source and some are painted a tannish grey color. ( Looks factory done) So are these lead or something else and how do you tell the zinc ones from the lead ones? I never worried about the zinc before but I have seen it mentioned more here lately.

[HeavyMetal]

shuld be marked ZN (I believe) on side of weight

[clodhopper]

I have melted down some painted WW. They smoke and stink more. haven't got zinc yet.
Might try breaking some and see what they look like compared to broken "good" WW.

[kooz]

Just use a thermometer when melting and keep the melt at about 600-650, this will be enough to melt the weights and skim the clips, but will not be hot enough to melt the zink weights which can be skimmed off with the clips.

[TexasJeff]

I use an old pair of dykes to snip at the end of a suspect wheel weight. Lead is easily cut and nice and shiny in the middle.

And man, do those things stink when you smelt them.

Jeff

[dmftoy1]

If I have any doubts I tend to drop them on the top of the melt after I've skimmed all the clips off . . if it floats it comes back out. FWIW

[jh45gun]

Thanks for the tips I think since they stink I will put the painted ones aside to do separate.

[Down South]

I get a lot of painted ones. I just looked at a few in a bucket full of WW that I picked up Tuesday on my way home from work. I just throw all of them together in the smelting pot. It's gonna smoke anyway. I was going to smelt this bucket of WW down but I just haven’t had time yet. I’ve got four buckets of WW that need smelting. My butt has been planted in my tractor seat for the past three days.

[kir_kenix]

I seem to get alot of the grey painted ones as well. They seem to smoke and smell, but work just fine. I was just like you, I wasn't sure what to do with them at first. Now I cull them into a bucket and try and do a few pounds of them at once outside when the wind will whisk away the smoke.

[DLCTEX]

The paint is to prevent a chemical reaction between the weight and aluminum alloy wheels. It will burn off and provides some flux. or can be dipped off pretty much intact if you get to it quickly. DALE

[rickomatic]

I use an old pair of dykes to snip at the end of a suspect wheel weight.

I don't care how good they work, I'd never let Ellen Degeneres and Melissa Etheridge get near my casting bench! [smilie=1:

[jh45gun]

I don't care how good they work, I'd never let Ellen Degeneres and Melissa Etheridge get near my casting bench! [smilie=1:


Or Rosie either LOL

[Down South]

I don't care how good they work, I'd never let Ellen Degeneres and Melissa Etheridge get near my casting bench! [smilie=1:

That was a good one.

[mto7464]

all the zince one I have seen, that are clip on, have the clips rivetted on instead of molded into them.

[billyb]

I just got some WW from my source and some are painted a tannish grey color. ( Looks factory done) So are these lead or something else and how do you tell the zinc ones from the lead ones? I never worried about the zinc before but I have seen it mentioned more here lately.

is a polyester coating.did a google on wheel wieghts and the makers web sight had fotos of the various styles and showed the zn cast into the wieghts. zn=zink Bill

[DLCTEX]

All the zinc weights I have seen have the clips cast on, but the clip has a raised area in the weight. All the riveted ones have been iron. It may vary with different brands. DALE

[azrednek]

Or Rosie either LOL

Especially if you have been casting ingots in a muffin pan.

[jh45gun]

Especially if you have been casting ingots in a muffin pan.

Would that be considered baiting?

[jskellington]

CALIF has banned the use of lead WWs. A source of lead will be lost. Since most of the largest tire distributors are located in Calif (for the Western States) all future WWs will be made to Calif standards. So this ban will affect most states as the major tire distributors will not be making different types of WWs to suit State requirements. Source--my local Firestone manger.

[Southern Son]

I lit up the gas burner today and melted down 1 1/2 buckets of wheelweights I got the other day. I was real lucky, I went to a tyre store and asked what they sell the old wheel weights for, bloke says a carton of beer for a full 20 litre bucket. I thought that was a reasonable price and ask him how many he has out back. He went and checked, when he came back he said I could have them for free cause there isn't a full bucket. He then tipped about 7/8 of a 20 litre bucket out for me. When I got them home I found about 1/4 of a 10 litre bucket of them were either Zinc, aluminium or some type of steel (they were marked Fe). All up I got about 50 pounds of lead. It is a bummer to hear that California is banning the lead, that will effect us over here, sooner rather than later. Most of the Aluminium weights had Japanese writing on them and according to the Tyre guy they are what is comming in on the new cars. He also said that the steel ones seem to be getting more and more prevelant. If the big companies stop making the lead ones in the US, then they will disappear down here, and If our recently elected comunist government hear of some radical ban on a substance becuase it is effecting the Albanian Mud Slothe, then they will ban them here.

[Cloudpeak]

it is effecting the Albanian Mud Slothe, then they will ban them here.

I hear they taste like chicken:wink:

Cloudpeak

[Woodsroad]

...It is a bummer to hear that California is banning the lead, that will effect us over here, sooner rather than later. ...

The EU is already in the process of banning lead WW. I think tht the zinc manufacturers are probably making a lot of political contributions ;-)