Alloy wheel weight glue marks

H

harleysuperduty

New member
My Mercedes has alloy wheels that appear to be clearcoated and painted. Whenever I change the tires for the summer/winter, they rebalance the tires and remove the previous glued wheel weight that are slightly on the inner surface of the wheel. I don't know what glue is used, but it leaves a real mess. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Mike
 
I would say Goo Gone would work, or a plastic razor blade and some careful scraping.



I didn't realize some wheelweights were glued on? I thought most clamped on from both sides.
 
I've been wondering the same. Newer-school wheels, especially those with a lip, utilize wheel weights with an adhesive backing. It's mainly for asthetic reasons.
 
The glue on weights are great, no more chipped paint! Been using them for over 20 years. But sometimes they come loose and you gotta have 'em rebalanced :(



I'd get a set of cheap wheels for the winter, all that mounting/dismounting can be hard on the wheels (the installers might cause a little cosmetic damage) and the tire beads (sorry, I know you didn't ask about that :o )...



I use 3M Adhesive Remover and often clay. A little polishing and they're ready to be resealed. Soak a rag/paper towel with the Adhesive Remover and find a way to hold the saturated rag against the spot where the weights were for a few minutes, the longer the dwell-time the better it'll work and IMO the dwell-time is the important thing.



Oh, and try to make sure the installation guys don't scrape the wheels up when they remove the old weights and/or install the new ones. I GM FSM I have says to sand the wheels with 400 grit sandpaper before sticking the weights on :eek:
 
Accumulator speaks. This thread needs no further discussion.



Stick on weights are great. I just wonder why I didn't know of them until about a year ago.
 
John Styrnol said:
Just tell them to put them on the inside of the wheel when balancing.
Click to expand...



Yeah, that's what I do too. But you gotta have people you can work with since sometimes (rarely, but sometimes) they just can't get the balance perfect with them all on the back. Then they gotta dismount/remount the tire and hope it goes better. This can be a hassle and some shops might decide to just leave the balance imperfect.
 
Just had new wheels put on my X, the machine does everything. The place where I bought my tires (Discount Tires) only placed them on my other wheels on the outside, so I was shocked to see them on the inside on the new wheels, they also gave me the option (inside/outside or both).
 
If the mechanical action of the solvent and/or clay doesn't work, trying heating while it is dwelling with a steamer ( if you have access to one) and then carefully wipe it away.
 
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