Wheel Balance Weights

KGBnut

KGBnut

Well-known member
Am I the only one nutty enough to do this? I just stripped and repainted the rims on my tired, scratched, and weathered daily-driver. When I was done, I didn't like the dull-gray of the balance weights...so I painted them.

Pop is now grumbling that the rims look too new and don't fit with the rest of the car. I think they dress the whole thing up.

Does anyone else paint their balance weights?

Ken
 

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That's kool! I've gone even farther and put my weights in the drop center of the wheel. Bubble balanced the wheel & tire by laying the required weights on the tire while it is on the balancer to determine the need. Then removed the tire and reworked the weights, cutting the steel clip off each weight and rounded the edges with a file. With the heavier & longer ones I bent them to fit the drop center, painted to match then JB Welded the weights to the drop center and cover with duct tape or rim liner. The pressure in the tube and JB Weld holds them just fine and nothing shows. On the 21" wheels , if you hear rust sliding in the rolled edges you need to either immobilize it by shooting paint in the edge or drill a 3/16" hole and shake it out as you can never get it balanced otherwise. ( I had one wheel I got over an ounce of rust out of each side.)
 
I use stick-on weights on the inside edge of the wheels so you can't see them unless you look under the car. Even so, I still paint them to match.
 
On Vermins' 16's, I have conventional weights, just on the inside, don't look TOO bad. I wasn't quite brave enough to use BALANCING BEADS.
Believe it or not, Minervas' 19" Firestones had NOT EVEN one balance weight & was TOTALLY SMOOTH at ALL speeds, even up to 75 MPH!!!!!
Bill W.
 
Mitch,
Have you ever used beads? And were you OK with them? Minerva was SMOOTH & I always forgot to ask Glenn, (RIP) if he put beads in her tubes???
Bill W.
 
After punching a hole in a fender when a wheel weight let loose I shifted to beads.
I don't used weights on ANY of my vehicles (motorcycles, cars and trucks.)
 
Those look good for stickons. Curious why you chose that route instead of Dinabeads? Have heard many good reports on them. Installing them is abit of a pain, but I believe they are well worth it. Just my opinion. Rod
 
Pop is an old-time mechanic. We do all our maintenance the way he did back then (often with vintage tools). He also throws nothing away, so he has a bucket full of balance weights. We use these balance weights because that is what he has and is familiar with.

He also taught me to split the weight, half on the inside edge, half on the outside edge. He thinks I'm way to picky to paint them, but I like the look.

Ken
 
Ken, I used to paint mine. With a little patience you can do a god job of 'hiding' the weights. This last set of tires I mounted I switched to balance beads - very satisfied and painting eliminated.
 
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