Sound Deadening - Seeking Professional?

[tobz 10+ year member]

Hello,

I am seeking to get my car sound deadened. I would like to watch a professional the first time so I can learn a correct way to do this. I installed my own amp and I figured that out, but this sound deadening thing seems like it might be a bit tougher. Is there anyone in the midwest that can do a good job sound deadening my car, possibly letting me watch? They would need to be in MN, WI, Eastern SD, Northern IA, Chicago Area or the UP of MI.

I don't know how much something like this would cost, but I want a nice job done. I would like the car to be rattle free. (Obviously seat belts, mirrors, etc, won't change with Sound deadening), but I'm running a BX1500D and a DD 9512 so the system is loud, and I'd like to keep it sounding clean, and keep the sound in the car to not disturb others while I do my freeway driving every weekend.

I guess any hints, tips, pointers, help, suggestions or any other comments are more than welcome. Thanks to any in advance.

T.J.

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[n0ftInc 10+ year member]

Actually, it is a easy process. The difficulty comes in when trying to get the material into curves and such, but all-in-all it is not a hard process. Talk to Ant (secondskinaudio.com) and I'm sure he will be very helpful in your installation. :thumbsup

 

[Gauntlet 5,000+ posts]

Do it yourself....it's a long process, and if you get it done "professionally" you'll wind up paying more for the installation than you did for the material itself.

Here's a quick run-down of the process:

1) Completely empty the area out so all you see is bare metal

2) Vacuum the area

3) Clean all the metal with paint thinner or acetone and let it air dry (15 or 20 mins)

4) Cut a piece of sound deadening material to whatever size you want (it's been my experience that it's easier to use a few small pieces instead of one big piece)

5) Heat the piece with a heatgun or hair dryer (a hair dryer will take longer)

6) Apply the piece like you would a decal....take the backing off of one corner, put it down, and slowly take all the backing off, applying pressure to the piece as you move along.

7) Roll out any air bubbles......sometimes rolling doesnt work, so just take your utility knife and make a slit in the air bubble and then roll it.

The most important thing with sound deadening is to make sure the surface youre adhering to is as clean as possible, and that the material itself is securely on the metal.....if it's not on the metal, then it does no good.

Good luck!

 

[tobz 10+ year member]

Thanks. I already emailed Ant about his recommendations for my vehicle. I guess the tough part now is to just get the car ready. It's my daily driver, but thank God while I'm up at the college I don't really have to drive daily, but it's cold out, that's for sure. It will look kind of odd for me to be sound deadening my car in the middle of the parking lot, but maybe it will make for a nice x.mas break project. I should have about 3 weeks off. I would like to sound deaden it "virtually everywhere" so I can eliminate any road noise as well, I like the quiet if I'm not listening to music.

I was going to replace my stock speakers in my 2000 dodge stratus, but upon further research I realize that I should remove my 6x9's to allow more base into the cabin through the rear panel-dash-wall-thingy.

I'm also going to remove my front door speakers and my in dash tweeters and build some custom fiberglass kicks and work on some imaging. I will also replace my factory under the seat amp with a roughly 100x2 amp for whatever components I get.

It should be a fun project for the next 6 months or so and I'll have it ready by next season, in which I promised myself to try my first SPL and SQ competition ever, just to see what happens, and to see what it's like.

But at this time, I realize that I need to do the sound deadening first, I think it will be wise to do this before I start customizing my car.

Thanks for your help, I will have fun with this one!

T.J.