THIS IS LONG!!! You may want to get a beverage or 6 and maybe even print it…
ok... let's get some basics down first, before we talk brands.
1. exhaust drone and tire noise will only be knocked down a small amount with "Peel-n-stick" type dynamat products. Buytl P-n-S products address panel resonance/vibrations so all you are doing is loading what ever the product is stuck to with more mass to lower is resonance.
2a. P-n-S usage has changed ALOT since Dynamat hit the market in the Late 80's. Back then until recently it was believed that the more you put on the more benefit.. totally wrong. All you are doing after a full layer is adding weight to the car. Mainly see #1 above. once you load the panel. you are done.
2b. Also, the original notion of more-is-better, has been proven overkill and not necessary. A checker board pattern of 25-50% is MORE than adequate on major spans like the floor and roof in a single layer. We will discuss full coverage and multiple layers later.
Because of 2b man companies have changed packaging & gone from selling large rolls to 12" x 12" squares or 16" x 16" squares for many reasons. Packaging, shelf space, etc. But mainly because the manufacturers are accepting that partial coverage, since "checker boarding" during install is what customers are generally doing.
3. Application Tips :
* keep product inside at all times until ready to use. Only take out into areas under 65* the amount you can use for that short time to apply.
* Heat gun is MANDATORY if the vehicle is cold. heat up the area where your square is being laid down. it should be fairly warm to the touch. then gently heat the square.
* Rollers: the Wooden rollers everyone supplies are for rolling wall paper NOT deadening materials. Go to Lowes or Home Depot and get a Laminate, rubber roller. For putting down Formica counter top laminates. they won't pop or break, you can put more pressure on it, get more force into the corners and recesses. This is what you REALLY want:
http://www.lowes.com/pd_290286-1687...ate+roller&N=0&langId=-1&storeId=10151&rpp=24 its $11.00 worth every penny
* Work from the middle out of the vehicle. Start on the trans tunnel run down it like a spine, then start your checkerboard out from there.
* Keep a couple paper backing pieces near by DO NOT throw away even the slightest scrap. They can be used on A-pillars, B-pillars, little nooks etc. If you trip off a scrap stick the scrap back on the backing paper.
* Cleanliness is next to sound quality utopia. You can and SHOULD leave the OE sound deadener in place. Just be sure to have a gallon of Wax-n-Grease(w-n-g) remover and some Scott blue shop towels. Put the W-n-G in a spray bottle. Spray, wipe repeat until the towel is virtually dirt free. work in small areas. If using 12" x 12" squares, do a 16"x16" area clean then heat etc.
* If exhaust and road/tire noise is a major issue (flowmaster mufflers, big tires etc) do a FULL DOUBLE layer on the wheel wells (inside the car. Also be sure to over lap the 2nd layer over the adjacent checker board. We will talk more about exhaust/road noise in a bit.
* On doors/trunks/lift-gates all apertures: Do your checkerboard on as much of the back side of the outer door skin as possible. THEN do a full single payer on the inner door skin where the door panel mounts. this is one area where the rolled product comes in handy. Cover all the holes completely. If you ever need access, punch a hole, then recover with a piece of left over. This will help with the mid-bass output of the door speakers, help kill off a great deal of noise and give the door that soild "thud" we all want like a Mercedes or Caddy.
* Do not forget the B-pillar (the metal beam between the front and rear doors) Get those scraps working for you and get them on the back of the outer panel and then cover the inner section of the metal completely.
* Areas like the windshield posts (a-pillars) the rear c & D-pillars behind the rear doors and by the lift gate are also great places for random little scraps. Front A-pillars are a place where lots of wind noise get through. Also the little triangles at the tops of the doors where they often put tweeters are also wind-noise entry points.
4. Different types of noise need different types of deadening materials.
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P-n-S products, as I said are for resonating/vibrating panels.
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Mass-Loaded-Vinyl (MLV) is a product combining closed cell foam and a heavy vinyl layer. This is what you want over wheel wells, trunk/hatch floors, lower firewall to floor transitions, behind kick panels, etc. those are the areas where the most noise come in. if budget allows, the entire floor should be covered. Then where the trans-tunnel and floor meet, the MLV should be overlapped and taped with duct tape or better glues AND taped.
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Closed Cell Foam (CCF) is great for spray gluing to the back of plastic interior panels, between panels and their attaching points. Lots of people will do a soild P-n-S layer on the door, then a solid layer of CCF. Use the door panel as a template, trace on to the CCF, cut out. Spray glue to the door.
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Butyl Rope: or Butyl Tape is great for speaker mounting flanges, places where 2 metal pieces are bolted/screwed together.
5. Brands: here are links to the major players:
http://www.sounddeadenershowdown.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi
http://www.raamaudio.com/
http://www.b-quiet.com/
http://www.fatmat.com/
http://www.dynamat.com/
http://www.secondskinaudio.com/
http://www.lizardskin.com/
http://www.tcpglobal.com/detailsupplydepot/dsd18.aspx this site has various spray on products.
6. Best? There is not 1 company that does it all. They all offer various versions of the basic products. Some offer a version of everything, others, like Raam & Lizard Skin offer a tighter grouping of products. Shop for price and value in the amount you get per $ spent. It takes some calculating since they all offer products in a variety of sized tiles, or rolls, or bulk materials. Ebay is another option. Fat Mat is ALL over ebay for good prices.
7. Spray materials and bed liner materials: These are interesting since they can be applied inside AND outside the vehicle. They are great for panel resonance, keeping fumes and heat out of the interior.
8. how much time: a full deadening job in an Explorer/Monty (or any midsized SUV) will take a full morning just in getting the Truck blown apart. Then a full day + to do the entire truck. A Long weekend start to finish is a safe starting place. In my old F150 (super crew Ford) I had 4 full days with the interior out and working all day each day. But I did pretty much all you can do. The results are worth it.
9. Consider doing the Truck in stages over a couple-three weekends. Do the front compartment (front seat/dash area and front doors. Then the middle. Lastly the rear hatch area. Your arms and back will thank you.
10. The bottom line is what I call “ The law of diminishing returns.” The P-n-S will give you an audible sense of accomplishment with that solid “thud” of the doors and you can wow your friends, wife, and wive’s friends with the ever present “knock test”. The MLV layer will do the most for your own ears when you drive it. CCF alone will help with the rattle, squeaks and creeks. BUT… you have to gauge what you really want. You can easily wrap $400-600 in deadening. And as always that last $100 is sometimes hard to swallow, because you don’t always “hear” a difference.
With all that said what is my own receipie:
P-n-S as prescribed above, I use Be-Quiet, Fat mat, and Raam based on who’s got the deal, group buy on the forums or deals on Ebay.
MLV: I like the composite version with CCF attached better. Its less work and faster. Sound deadener Showdown sells its MLV without the CCF attached. I’ve used it and it works great as well. I just prefer the single step. However the composite is harder to get into some areas.
Spray: I like Raptor on the underside of the car it looks great,, easy to clean and does help reduce road noise.
Just my extended .02 worth....
Rob
