Sound Deadening This Weekend...I Have Questions!

Going to do the doors at least this weekend, and the rear wall is next though Im likely to have my local shop that did the amp/sub work to do it as they are more familiar with the way they wired the amps, etc. back there. Ive got some BXT II and P&S Ensolite on the way thanks to Rick at RAAMmatt.

Anyway, Im pretty nervous about the whole project, and have several questions for those of you who have done it as most of the DIYs and tutorials out there are incredibly brief and seem to make many assumptions about peoples abilities and knowledge of their vehicle.

For the inner portion of the outer door, did you just try to cover a good portion of the door?

Most the pictures and tutorials Ive read talk about reaching the deadener through the access holes and covering the inner wall (which I plan to do). How much of that inner wall is important. Its a "go for most" scenario correct?

For the inner portion of the inner door, did you apply many small cut pieces, or a few big pieces?

In the Dynamat install page, the show having cut two large pieces, then cutting the necessary holes etc. See here:



Is that realistic or should one plan to cut several small pieces and slowly go about overlapping most the door? Does the same apply for the Ensolite?

How did you "press" your deadening to the door?

Did you use a little roller? Hands? Sponge? Any tricks or "be careful to" etc.?

What did you use to cover the access holes?

One thing that seems really important, and is very beneficial to bass, etc. is to properly cover the access holes once done with the inner door. Ive seen several suggestions in regards to plexi, aluminium, etc. What did you use and how did you cut/mount it?

When you did your doors, did you have anything that you realized in the process...or after the process...that you wished you had approached differently?

Any lessons learned etc? For example "make sure to remove this first" or "be sure to organize this this way..." etc?

Any other insights would be greatly appreciated. If you have any pics of your install that would be incredibly helpful as well. Im trying to get this all sorted out prior to the install so I can move along in a timely fashion without spending time wondering about the next step lol

For those of you who may also be interested in such a project, here are some threads-links Ive found helpful and/or informative...

*Octane 151's DC Makeover Thread
*Mr Marvs Complete DC Audio Makeover DIY
*http://www.dynamat.com/technical_installation_installation_menu.html
*http://www.raamaudio.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=51&Itemid=56
*http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/diyma-tutorials/27-simple-cheap-effective-door-treatments.html

 

Please keep in mind that this is strictly MY opinion.



For the inner portion of the outer door, did you just try to cover a good portion of the door?

Most the pictures and tutorials Ive read talk about reaching the deadener through the access holes and covering the inner wall (which I plan to do). How much of that inner wall is important. Its a "go for most" scenario correct?



In theory, you are just stopping the vibrations of the outer so you should only need to cover most to accomplish this goal... not every square inch.



For the inner portion of the inner door, did you apply many small cut pieces, or a few big pieces?

In the Dynamat install page, the show having cut two large pieces, then cutting the necessary holes etc.

Is that realistic or should one plan to cut several small pieces and slowly go about overlapping most the door? Does the same apply for the Ensolite?



I did mine in three full size sheets (I used Second Skin Damplifier Lite). I felt comfortable using full sheets instead of cutting them up. It is certainly easier to deal with smaller pieces, but in the end both ways will give the same result. I would go with whatever method you feel most comfortable using.

In theory you want to try and avoid cutting up the Ensolite. Since this will be absorbing sound, I think you want to shoot for fewer seams. Seams have potential to let sound through.



How did you "press" your deadening to the door?

Did you use a little roller? Hands? Sponge? Any tricks or "be careful to" etc.?



Use a roller... your hands will thank you for it. Obviously you need to lay the mat down by hand, but you should for sure use a roller to press it down. Be careful around the edges of the deadener... they will cut you.



What did you use to cover the access holes?

One thing that seems really important, and is very beneficial to bass, etc. is to properly cover the access holes once done with the inner door. Ive seen several suggestions in regards to plexi, aluminium, etc. What did you use and how did you cut/mount it?



I think the main goal in covering up the access holes is to provide stability when laying down the deadener. This whole process is done to seal the door. I didn't cover my openings and just laid the deadener over everything. This method still seals the door but has potential to puncture during the install. I'm happy with the sound of my door speakers, so I think my method works fine.

If I were to cover the holes, I would use thin aluminum sheets and attach it with metal screws. You can cut the aluminum fairly easy with metal cutting shears.



When you did your doors, did you have anything that you realized in the process...or after the process...that you wished you had approached differently?

Any lessons learned etc? For example "make sure to remove this first" or "be sure to organize this this way..." etc?



Not really. I thought this was a very simple job. The best thing IMO is to just take your time and do a little at a time (i.e. don't try and do the whole truck in an afternoon). I started out doing just my front doors. My next step is to just do the back doors. Then the back wall. etc.

Some people go crazy with deadener, which I think can be overkill. The thing I had in the back of my head was the more deadener I use... the heavier my truck will be... and the more it will cost (in gas) to drive. Keeping it simple will greatly increase the sound from your system even if it's not perfect.

 

azTRD thanks for the insightful response man.

 

Definitely do the outer part of the inner door. That helped IMO. I just did about 3 square feet in there.

I used plexiglass to seal the holes but I'd use sheet aluminum next time if I had some metal sheers. No need to use screws to hold it to the door; deadener works fine

I'd urge you to work in smaller strips first. Don't try and use huge pieces at first. As you get better you can start using larger pieces but certainly not to start.

And IMO, the roller is only useful on flat surfaces which you'll find almost non existent on the door. It saves your fingers but I think your fingers are the best tool by far.

 

Thanks as always ItalynStylion!

 

I don't know if you are planning on doing your roof or not, I just did one layer of larger pieces of Dynamat and the went over that with a foam sheets called Dynaliner. my roof sounds SOLID now.

 

Actually, I retract my previous statement about the roller. The roof is a GREAT place to use it since it's so flat. But that's about it.

 

I used a roller on everything... I thought it worked phenomenally better then just using my hands... it really pressed the mat down evenly through all of the contours that I came across... to each his own I guess.

 

I think it would also largely depend on the diameter of the roller being used. A larger diameter roller wouldn't work in as many places. I have one and I tend to use my fingers to get in all the waves in the metal.

I think the important thing to remember is just to make sure that ALL of the deadener is adhered to the surface and non is just suspended/not doing work.

 

I did some deadening two weeks ago and I still have the templates I created to cover the door openings. I'll try to scan them in and post em here in this thread later in the week. Might save you a step.

 

Approximately how long did it take you guys to do 2 doors? Or 4 doors? Im trying to figure out how much time to plan to put aside.

 

Have you taken the car apart before? If so I'd say about 3 hours for the front doors. The time really is taken up on how long it takes you to cut the inserts for the large holes in the doors.

 

I have not taken the car apart before. Im hoping to try to do the front doors tomorrow if I have time.

 

Make sure you have a couple hours for sure. I would recommend using the roller for the best bond. Make sure you don't use a wooden roller on any surfaces that can be seen from the other side like the roof. It's easier to make creases or dents with a wooden roller. Never had any trouble with the dynamat rubber roller. It's really not that hard. So don't psych yourself out. i usually lay it on in big sheets and trim the excess just inside the edge so the panel will fit and not show any sound material. Good luck!!

 

1 door down (passenger front), 4 to go! Got started late today so I only got one of the two doors I was hoping to get. So far so good I think!

The BXT II is fairly easy to work with, and the ensolite is very easy to work with. The door has a noticeably more solid "thump" to it. Took my time...thats for sure. Id lay down some BXT II, then "tap tap tap". I wanted to make sure that when I was done, I was DONE. I only made one major error (that I know of lol). I forgot about the brace...the one that you screw the door back into behind the handle lol. I had BXT and Ensolited right over it...so it took some clever pressing with a phillips head to find the holes. Lucky for me I was smart enough to take lots of pictures along the process.

Anyway. Got music coming out of it etc. and no rattles. Im on call for work tonight so I dont really want to tear into the drivers side today...but at least now I have a good idea what Im doing. Ill get back to it first thing tomorrow when I get done at the gym.

Now time to relax a little and watch "Its Might Get Loud."

 

Sounds like I'm too late, but here are the tracings of the door openings I made when doing mine. Just be sure to print on 8 1/2"x11" paper at 100% and you should only then need minimal additional trimming, especially where the door latch cables come through. The bottom openings on the rear door are too large for 8 1/2"x11", so just butt A & B together.

 

^Very cool. That would have been bitchin when I was doing the MLV in the doors!

 

Ok...remind me again...what exactly am I looking at here? These are the cuts you made to cover access holes?

 

Yep. I cut those out from the trace paper and then traced around them on some galvanized steel flashing from Lowe's/Home Depot. Then I cut them out using tin snips and did some fine tuning for each location. You actually need two of each, one for the driver and another for the passenger side. I couldn't tell you at this point how I scanned them in, but they're just mirror images of each other, so turn it over if its backwards.



Some use screws to attach them, but I used clear silicon. Worked well, but had to wait awhile for it to dry/cure. Didn't hold me up since I had plenty of other crap to do.

 

So, puncture aside would it be a big deal if some of the holes were just covered with BXT II? I already did it that way for the passenger front door The BXT II is so thick and heavy I just measured far enough from the hole and draped it right over.