Questions about lead in lead weights

I found a guy selling lead weights on FB for $2/lb, which is half price of most karting shops: link. My questions:

  1. Most places require them to be painted white, so I plan to take a spray can and go at it. Is that all there is to it, or do people recommend a different coating (e.g. plastidip or something rubberized)?

  2. Do I have to worry about exposing my kid to lead? Obviously they will be sitting next to it, and I might take it on/off for practice vs race day, etc.

  3. Is there a way to “seal in” the lead so that #2 isn’t a concern? Some google’ing for lead paint, it can be encapsulated with some kind of epoxy, but I’m not sure that would last in karting conditions.

Thanks!

Curious on this too. It is nasty and I see it mainly covered in tape.

It’s only nasty if you ingest it, sitting next to it won’t do any harm at all.

Never heard of it being painted, but does make sense so you don’t get it on your pinkies whilst handling it then go eat your lunch and ingest it.

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I absolutely wouldn’t do that. I’ve seen parents at practice that do that, the kid practices and gets used to a lighter kart which handles different to a weighted kart, then they’re not competitive when you weight them up.

Practice sessions are most meaningful in the conditions under which the kid will race.

Re: requirement to paint white, it seems to be a thing. Example: How to install weight on kart (reply #3). Tape would be a no-go.

Re: taking the weights off. At my local track, the lead lap time in his class is 37 seconds. My son is around 50 seconds. You’re obviously right once he’s competitive, but right now, wife acceptance factor is most important… and 40-45 pounds of weights won’t help that cause. :wink:

Thanks for the pointer to the instructions, I didn’t realize lead isn’t like regular metal, and needs multiple coats of special primers. I’d have to paint 80 pounds, looks like an all-day ordeal. Will need to look into the costs of the various sprays to see if this still even makes sense.

Gotcha - gotta keep her indoors happy lol

We don’t paint them in UAE - no requirement, although to be fair if I was regularly handling weights I would paint them or plasti-dip them regardless of any requirement

You can spray paint lead with good success just make sure it’s clean beforehand. I used a paint/primer spray paint available at any hardware store for my sons weight and it’s held up fine except for a couple rock chips.

Yes use multiple coats, and yes do it outside far away from anything that could get exposed to overspray. Paint all sides. Also don’t choose a windy day should be common sense. I also used thick pieces of cardboard to put the weights on so I could move them in groups and try not to destroy my lawn when I was painting them.

You can just paint it with normal white spray paint. I use rust-oleum epoxy gloss white on mine. They need painted for visibility. It’s not for safety of handling.

You can see a white chunk of lead on the track. Dull gray, not so much.

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In the Quarter Midget world where we got started your weights (lead or otherwise) had to be painted/taped white and have your name on it so if it was found on track the owner could be identified ( for multiple reasons :sunglasses: ). It was a tech item and a good idea.

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Just to follow up. The guy selling on FB will powder coat for a few bucks per puck, which is worth it to save an afternoon of spraypainting. Some random searching claims that powder coating seals the lead better than paint, though paint is (much) better than nothing. Thanks for all the help!