Removal of Balance Weights
 

Please reply with any tips on clean removal of adhesive fastened lead wheel balancing weights. The tire shop said to just paint over the resultant scratches. Bad solution!
My RS2 wheels are painted black and I hope not to damage the finish while removing the original stick-on weights. Will be having UHP times mounted in place of the OEM Primacys.

Use a solvent and work slowly, plastic tools. It will leave no marks. I use brake cleaner.


edit: next time take the weights off first before going to the tire shop. They like to use a putty knife. Magic marker or black paint stick (auto store) will make you feel better.

Also, find a shop that cares as much as you do about the car(or at least they act like it)and stick with them.
I have a local place(Tiresplus of all places) that when I first came to them to have tires installed they in pointed out a tiny scratch
before even touching the wheels even I didn't see because they could tell by the way the car was taken care of and looked that I
was a discerning customer. These guys won't scrape into my wheels guaranteed. Find those kind of guys near you.

I remove the weights with non-marring plastic tools. Then, I use a non marring plastic scraper to get the adhesive off.



I hear heat gun also helps with the adhesive. WD40 was somewhat effective, but I've scraped it just dry as well.

Heat gun and patience with plastic tools. I wish I had more to offer, but I'm the kind of person to take a knife to it, sand down the scratches and re-paint it. Nobody will ever be able to tell and it's faster. I'm a cheap ass though...

Thanks all for your input.
I will seek out a plastic scrapper. I likely have one somewhere from my Reno business days. Also have Goo-Gone for the adhesive and a heat gun if need be.
No rush. Lots of time to kill while in lock-down.

Well, my plastic scrapper couldn’t get under the weights so I used a flat mini screwdriver to pry each weight up just enough to break the foam and them pulled them off by hand. Then I soaked the foam/adhesive with Goo-Gone and left it overnight. The next day a plastic scrapper took the adhesive right off easily.
Thanks All for your input.

3m general purpose adhesive cleaner