Wheel weights

[abunaitoo]

Friend gave me 1/3 bucket of wheel weights.
1/2 of it was steel. a small pile of zinc.
A pile of real lead, and the rest is "not sure"
They are a little magnetic, but not like the steel.
They cut with the cutter. Kind of weigh the same as the lead.
I'm thinking some kind of compound????
Any idea what it could be????
When smelting, will the compound float????
Should I just dump it????

[bmortell]

if something dents like lead with cutters, it either is lead, or will float on lead, suppose it could be gold which would dent and sink in lead but that doesn't seem very likely. I don't know if theres some kind of compound weights that dent but id imagine it floats without hurting the lead.

[poppy42]

If they cut with a side cutter they are lead. You are probably picking up the steel clips with a magnet. They are clip on correct?

[dimaprok]

What poppy said, the shorter ones might seem magnetic but its the metal clip inside so test with snipers.

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[Winger Ed.]

Dig around here and see what everybody says about Zinc and take precautions for that.

Anything else will just float up and ya skim it off.

[lightman]

If they cut with a side cutter they are lead. You are probably picking up the steel clips with a magnet. They are clip on correct?

I agree, your magnet is probably picking up the clip.

[LAGS]

My suggestion would be to Melt each pile of separated weights and cast separate ingots.
That will give you a preview of what you will end up with after the dirt and clips are gone.
Then the questionable lead can be tested with acid to see if it bubbles, and test it again with the side cutters or a hammer and punch to see if it is still soft.
I have also used a Hatchet and Hammer to see if the ingots were soft or very Hard like Zinc.
Also, if you have a thermometer you can check the melting point of each pile to see if there is any difference when you smelt them.
I am not in favor of just dumping All of it in one pot and skimming off what doesn't melt right away.
There is a chance that some Zink will melt into the mix, or some weights will be thrown out too soon and you are throwing away good lead with what you skim off.
I save all my Zink Wheel weights, and smelt them separately.
Then I use that Zink to cast all kinds of stuff with them , like Vise Jaws, drilling fixtures and other stuff for my gunsmithing.

[rancher1913]

melt the known weights and get your temp around 650 and add the "maybe lead" weights, if they melt quickly fine, if they dont, scoop them out and dispose of them

[jsizemore]

There are some plastic COWWs out there that use powdered steel. They're a little bigger than the same weight lead COWW.

[Uncle Grinch]

I actually found some “lead” foam tape. Not the traditional stick-on weights, but a rubber like foam that was heavy like lead. The last bucket I got from a dealership was almost all pure waste of my time. It had so much zinc, steel, plastic like weights and foam tape, that I’ll bet only a 1/4 of it was any good.

[RogerDat]

I actually found some “lead” foam tape. Not the traditional stick-on weights, but a rubber like foam that was heavy like lead. The last bucket I got from a dealership was almost all pure waste of my time. It had so much zinc, steel, plastic like weights and foam tape, that I’ll bet only a 1/4 of it was any good.

No new car will have a lead WW on the wheels. Since vehicles are sold into states that ban lead WW's or countries that do the auto manufactures will always use a non- lead WW. That means the cars coming into the dealer will probably be too new to have a lead WW. Dealerships are about the worst sources.

You want a place that gets the car for at least its SECOND set of REPLACEMENT tires if not the third set of replacements. First replacement might put a lead WW on the rim, but it is the second replacement that the lead weight comes off and goes in the shop bucket so the third set of tires can be balanced. If the first replacement set of tires was at a dealer? May not even get a lead weight then.

Best bet is places where people bring older cars, shops that advertise they sell "used tires" are a good bet. The smaller independent shops. Chains won't generally sell them as corporate has made arrangements for a company to pick them up, providing a paper trail and making sure none of the shops are skimming the scrap sales. Independent shops if you have buckets and a scale and are polite AND willing to pay a bit more than the scrap yard will then those independent shops may just hook you up.

You should know what the scrap yard pays for WW's and if they give 25 cents you offer a nickel more at 30 cents. And tell them you are paying more. Just be aware some shops will call the local yard and see if it is true. Need to know the current price paid and beat it. That little bit more money is just enough reason for some shops to say "sure" and sell to you instead of the yard or a commercial outfit. Small businesses I think appreciate hustle and you pricing to beat the competition seems to amuse some.

Just figure you buying from the tire store at "wholesale" beats the heck out of buying from the scrap yard at "retail" prices.

Asking if you can have any wheel weights is pretty much a fools errand. Free WW's are pretty much a thing of the past unless you have an "in" with the shop or a long standing arrangement.

[abunaitoo]

I sorted out all the small ones, thinking the clip would be picked up by the magnet.
Not much lead, if any, on them anyway.
I dropped them on a metal plate. Tapped some of them.
Lead makes a "thud", alloy makes a metal sound, and zinc rings.
What is the alloy type made of????
Does it have any lead in it????
Just trash it????

[pjames32]

I sorted 2 buckets this week so it's fresh in my mind. I'll describe my process. I use a side cutter and a magnet. I sort on my pickup tailgate since it's the right height. Dump them out, remove the trash to the trash can. Separate all stick ons to a separate pile. From the clip on pile I can tell from experience about 25% are lead so they go in the lead COWW bucket. From the remaining pile I look for square type corners then look for FE or ZN stamped on the weights. Those go in their respective FE or ZN bucket. Now I'm down to about 25% left which are unknown. Time for the side cutters. I cut toward the end of the weight. If I can cut it and its shiny they are lead. If I can cut it and it's not shiny I slide the end over the magnet. If it's not magnetic it goes in the I don't know bucket. If I can't cut it and it does not say ZN it goes in the FE bucket.
On to stick ons…. If they are shiny from rubbing they go in the Soft lead bucket. I run the magnet over the pile and scrape the FE weights into the scrap iron bucket. When I don't get anymore magnet weights the rest go in the Soft lead bucket. I'm not seeing ZN stick ons yet, but you can check anything questionable with your side cutters. When I smelt I always use a thermometer and never get the smelt temp over 625-650 degrees. If you happen to have zinc in the mix it will float at that temp and you can skim them with your spoon with the clips and dirt. I do use sawdust when making ingots. I use wax when casting bullets. This is my method and may or may not work for you. There are lots of tricks and tips and many methods of doing this project and you will develop your own. I've been making ingots and bullets for over 50 years and this is the method I've developed. I do remember with great joy when you could just dump them all in the pot. They were all lead and there were no stick ons.