How clean do wheel weights need to be before you melt them down to make ingots. I spraid them with a degreaser and then hit them with high temp steam cleaner we have here at work. All of the grease and dirt is gone but they still look dull and dirty. Will all of this come to the top to be skimmed of at melting or do I need to clean a little harder.

Kenny1 Go ahead and throw them in the melting pot. The wheel weights do not need to be absolutely clean before you melt them. Just make sure you melt outside or in a very well ventilated area as wheel weights well smoke a bit and smell bad as they melt the remaining crud off. You will never get the weights clean enough to prevent the awful smoke or the smell unless they are brand new. All the crud will float to the top as you mentioned and I like to use a spoon and scrape the bottom and sides as some of the crud sticks to the sides and bottom. I have noticed that some weights have been painted and others seem to have a coating on them that when melted give off a horrible odour and I once attempted to melt wheel weights in the workshop and the smell was so bad I thought the wife was going to kill me. I personally only melt wheel weights outside. Make sure and you probably already know this but make sure they are absolutely dry as water and lead do not mix at all.

kgs gave you good advice. I'll only add one other caveat and that is you don't want any water in that mass of wheel weights your going to melt down. It can make the lead explode with terrible results. When your melting them down all the dirt, mud, paint and other metal parts will float to the top and can be skimmed off and discarded. Like was also said this is a good outdoor activity.

I flux my melt pot with a thumb size piece of candle wax after getting rid of the really nasty stuff from the first melt before I start casting ingots and just stir it in like I would a pot of melt for casting bullets.

Also, if possible, try not to breathe in the fumes. Once the clips and crud have been removed the fumes will dissipate and you can work closer to the pot. Pre-heat all your utensils to make sure there is no moisture present before putting them into the pot. Position your ingot moulds close to the pot as you ladle out the melt and be sure to wear your protective clothing. Best wishes and stay safe.

Be sure they are dry before you put them in the pot..

I don't have the steam cleaner. For small batches, will drop them in a large plastic container with a tight lid (usually a 5 gal. bucket with a lid), water and detergent, soak and then shake well, then rince, and at least a couple of days of dry time.

Guess the real question is "how filthy is pasable"...and the short answeris, "as clean as you can get them".

You do not need to clean them at all..

You are going to run the risk of having some
water in there and then you are going to
loose an eye or something...You choice man

what I do is dump them out on a sheet of plywood and separate the junk then the stick on's go into another bucket and never put a drop of water on them dirty greasy what ever is on them they go into the melting pot that way I have had steam explosions that has deposited lead all over me and knocked me back for about 8ft if it were not for wearing safety glasses I would not have a left eye if it were not fore long sleeves I would of been burnt as it was I lost about 15 lbs of lead and had minor burns which aloe plant took care of and one other thing my neighbor got the heck scared out of her when she saw and herd it go off so the point to this is DON'T LET WATER GET UNDER MOLTEN LEAD or you will be sorry Forest Punch