John seeks advice on removing wheel weight adhesive from his rims after having wheels balanced.

To Whom it May Concern:

I have read your articles on wheel care and have two questions that I am not aware of you covering. First, what is the best/safest way to remove the old balance tape/residue from the inside of the wheel and second, do you have a preferred method/tool of cleaning inside the area surrounding the lug nuts? Thanks in advance for your time.

Hello John, and thank you for submitting your questions.

First let’s address the issue with the pesky adhesive and residue from where the old wheel weights used to be. I’ve seen some that were easily removed, and others that were more challenging so I will address both kinds. As with polishing, I like to always try the least aggressive method first. I recommend using a product like Goo Gone or 3M Adhesive Remover and a general purpose microfiber towel to break down the residue. It may take several applications, and you should work with clean areas of the microfiber towel as the residue starts to build up from the removal process. Continue to use light pressure as you slowly remove the residue to ensure that you don’t scratch the surface of the wheel.

If you have a large amount of the wheel weight tape still in place, and it has become hard and difficult to remove with just the chemicals, you may want to use a plastic razor blade to gently scrape away as much material as possible before using the adhesive remover. Be sure not to use anything sharp or metal because you can easily scratch the finish of your wheels. Once you have removed most of the tape, then work the remaining residue as mentioned above.

For cleaning the area around the lugnuts, just about any (soft) long-bristled brush will do. Just keep the brush in your wheel washing bucket, and perform this step during the wash process. You can then use the same brush to clean your brake calipers as well.

I hope this helps!

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