DIY: Sound Deadening. most IMPORTANT part of the system

mike11202 · 12-23-2007, 01:35 PM

I had had my doors already sound deadened with eDead and Dynomat Xtreme, but missed the most important part: sealing the holes in the doors.

I believe this separates the rear and front waves.

Recently I ordered a roll of RAAMat BXT, Ensolite and spray adhesive.

After this project I was in awe. My speakers came ALIVE, sealing off the doors made a HUGE difference. Midbass-response is amazing now, my mids really slam. (And these are temporary cheap $50 Eclipse Coaxials)

Another thing I did was Seal off the Trunk. Again ANOTHER must, it stopped all the rattles completely. If I'm in the car at full tilt with the windows up, I cannot hear any rattles. My bass response was noticeably louder, I've never seen my windshield flex so much.

Materials Needed
--------------------

Screw Driver
Flat Head

Acetone
Scrap Cloths

Razor blades
10 backup blades
Scizzors
Cardboard
Duct Tape

--------------------

Step 1: Take the door off (DIY is provided here in the index) Should only take you about 2 minutes once you get the hang of it.

Step 2: Remove the weather gaurd, begin using the Acetone and scrap cloths to completely remove all the oem putty.

Step 3: Clean the doors, gently rub the doors with acetone to be asure they are clean before you begin work.

Step 4: Deaden the inside of the doors, be patient and take your time to reach all the hard to get places.

Step 5: Apply deadener to the outside of the panel. Make sure you DO NOT cover up the screw tips. And DO NOT go outside the door skin. I made that mistake the first time, as you can see I got most of the deadener off and covered it up with electrical tape.

Step 6: Seal up ALL holes. NOTE: I did this step after sealing the 2 big holes.

Step 7: Cut out cardboard to fill in the 2 big holes, then apply deadener to the front of the cut-outs.

Step 8: Tape on the cardboard cut-outs onto the doors, I applied deadener over the holes before this step to prevent most of the moister from getting to the cardboard.

All small holes were covered up.

Step 9: Begin to apply Ensolite. I did mine in several large chuncks and small trim around the panel. NOTE: To hide my mess of deadening outside the door panel, I applied Ensolite over that area.

The Trunk. NOTE: I applied 2 layers of deadener and used cardboard to seal off the holes again. There is weather stripping around the trunk lid to eliminate any rattles.

SilverSedanDJVG · 12-23-2007, 01:45 PM

pretty nice, does this make your ride alot quieter when driving by any chance?

The only problem I have with rattle is my 3rd brake light...it shakes like crazy ; ( I have no idea how to fix it...I just wedged a piece of padding...ghetto....are you having this problem? got a fix?

Kroze · 12-23-2007, 02:07 PM

good job. any problem putting the door panel back on with all them layers on the door?

Also, by covering all the holes, you do know that it's going to be real hard to replace the windows regulator..

mike11202 · 12-23-2007, 02:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SilverSedanDJVG

pretty nice, does this make your ride alot quieter when driving by any chance?

The only problem I have with rattle is my 3rd brake light...it shakes like crazy ; ( I have no idea how to fix it...I just wedged a piece of padding...ghetto....are you having this problem? got a fix?

Yeah its a lot quiter and makes you think like your riding much smoother

Yes I fixed that problem, but mines removed right now until I get a chance to deaden the deck.

To fix the rattle where the roof meets the window I stuck a piece of AC trim to eliminate the rattles.

After you put the rear deck back on, go underneath the metal trim and shove paper towls where this meets it.

mike11202 · 12-23-2007, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kroze

good job. any problem putting the door panel back on with all them layers on the door?

Also, by covering all the holes, you do know that it's going to be real hard to replace the windows regulator..

Nope, no problems. The panel can't snap into place anymore but the screws still go in.

I took the time to apply it, and if I ever need to replace I'll take the time to remove it

bikinpunk · 12-23-2007, 02:30 PM

The cardboard idea got a lot of flack when I did this last year, but it's still holding up just as good as ever.

As for getting into the window, all I have to do in my case is peel back the deadener and pull off the cardboard pieces. Done.

Yes, separating front waves from rear waves is what I've been preaching for a year now; glad someone finally listened.

The weather stripping stuff works like a charm.

Mike, it seems you did everything I've suggested in other threads.

mike11202 · 12-24-2007, 02:59 PM

Yeah deadening the doors and trunk is by far the best investment you can make. You won't believe the sound difference after its all done.

SilverSedanDJVG · 12-24-2007, 06:20 PM

hey thanks alot for an explanation....how much of a pain in the ass is it to pop the rear deck out

mike11202 · 12-24-2007, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SilverSedanDJVG

hey thanks alot for an explanation....how much of a pain in the ass is it to pop the rear deck out

really easy

you lift up vertically to disconnect the clips attached to the frame

simply pop up the panel, the clips will pop out

make sure you disconnect the 3rd brake light before taking it all the way off

***07mugencivic*** · 12-24-2007, 08:07 PM

nice......how the sound

SilverSedanDJVG · 12-24-2007, 08:16 PM

awesome, i'm going to pad the hell out of that area, its the only problem spot in my entire car.

redguym · 02-01-2008, 02:23 PM

Looks great man

I am also wanting to deaden my LX coupe, but this will be my first time, so I've got a few questions...

How much RAAMat BXT did you end up using? Ensolite? Adhesive?

Did you just put deadener on the trunk lid, or other places in the trunk?

What does the Ensolite do?

Does the RAAMat have some built on adhesive? Was the adhesive just to attach the Ensolite? If not, how did you get the spray can into those "hard to reach places" you were deadening on the inside of the door?

MaXaZoR · 02-01-2008, 06:29 PM

I order two rolls of Raamat BXT and did my entire car w/ two layers and a layer of Ensolite. I'm probably going to do another layer on my doors. Too be honest I did my old car and I wasn't as impressed with the results in the civic. I still have yet to install my rear seat or do the rear deck so I'm really hoping that will improve the results.

Redguym
- Again I spent ~$250 for two rolls and ALOT of ensolite
- I did everything except the roof interior.
- Yes, especially on the trunk lid. I plan on filling the rest of the lid in w/ expandable foam.
- Ensolite is a closed cell foam - It differs from BXT (meant to stop rattles) Ensolite is used to keep sound from penerating the interior (i.e Tire noise or road/engine noise)
-Raamat is by far the easiest sound deadener I've worked w/ It cuts easily and is very adhesive, unlike other deadeners that I found falls off after a few years of use.
- The adhesive spray is only used for your doors where the Ensolite has to be held in place.

MaXaZoR · 02-01-2008, 06:34 PM

About the cardboard idea. - this is why I plan on doing my doors over I left the gaps there and just covered over in ensolite which is why I think I'm still getting alot of road noise. I plan on redoing them, but using sheet metals or sometime of wire mesh. I agree I'm not a huge fan of using cardboard, but if it works for you then I can't knock it.

redguym · 02-01-2008, 07:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaXaZoR

Redguym
- Again I spent ~$250 for two rolls and ALOT of ensolite
- I did everything except the roof interior.
- Yes, especially on the trunk lid. I plan on filling the rest of the lid in w/ expandable foam.
- Ensolite is a closed cell foam - It differs from BXT (meant to stop rattles) Ensolite is used to keep sound from penerating the interior (i.e Tire noise or road/engine noise)
-Raamat is by far the easiest sound deadener I've worked w/ It cuts easily and is very adhesive, unlike other deadeners that I found falls off after a few years of use.
- The adhesive spray is only used for your doors where the Ensolite has to be held in place.

Great! Thanks for the info!

Toxis · 02-02-2008, 01:27 AM

I might do a full write up on when I deaden my entire car this spring (aka when it gets warmer!).

So if people are knocking the cardboard idea, what are they using instead?

thisisdudewhoru · 02-02-2008, 01:35 AM

Did you deaden the whole trunk or just the trunk lid? Did it stop the license plate rattle? Also did it help with your rear deck rattle or must I deaden that too to get that to stop rattling? Its only my trunk, rear deck and rear headliner that rattles. So how much dynomat do you think I need just to get that to go away? Btw I have a sedan. Thanks in advance.

mike11202 · 02-02-2008, 09:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thisisdudewhoru

Did you deaden the whole trunk or just the trunk lid? Did it stop the license plate rattle? Also did it help with your rear deck rattle or must I deaden that too to get that to stop rattling? Its only my trunk, rear deck and rear headliner that rattles. So how much dynomat do you think I need just to get that to go away? Btw I have a sedan. Thanks in advance.

I deadened the trunk lid, and the rear tire well.

To stop license plate rattle stick some pieces of weather foam over the back then mounted it on like normal.

The rear deck rattle I used the foam posted above, its posted in this thread. I stuck paper towels where the brake light meets the frame.

Rear Headliner I stuck a piece of AC Foam to prevent that from rattling.

Get 2 rolls of RAAMmat BXT, 3 yards of ensolite and 1 spray adhesive can.

lostdaytomorrow · 02-02-2008, 01:15 PM

Great DIY Mike!

I already had the doors done from a while back. Yesterday I did the floorboard of the coupe after taking everything out. I did one layer of BXT and one layer of Ensolite and there's a noticeable difference. It only took about 4-5 hours to do everything. The main noise now is the engine noise through the firewall so I'll be taking care of that shortly.

If anyone has any questions about taking the apart of deadening the floor/doors just post in this thread and we will help you out.

Toxis · 02-03-2008, 03:09 AM

any tutorial on how to pull the interior?

12-23-2007, 01:35 PM	#1 (permalink)
mike11202 Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Delaware Posts: 677 Mike iTrader: 0 / 0%	DIY: Sound Deadening. most IMPORTANT part of the system I had had my doors already sound deadened with eDead and Dynomat Xtreme, but missed the most important part: sealing the holes in the doors. I believe this separates the rear and front waves. Recently I ordered a roll of RAAMat BXT, Ensolite and spray adhesive. After this project I was in awe. My speakers came ALIVE, sealing off the doors made a HUGE difference. Midbass-response is amazing now, my mids really slam. (And these are temporary cheap $50 Eclipse Coaxials) Another thing I did was Seal off the Trunk. Again ANOTHER must, it stopped all the rattles completely. If I'm in the car at full tilt with the windows up, I cannot hear any rattles. My bass response was noticeably louder, I've never seen my windshield flex so much. Materials Needed -------------------- Screw Driver Flat Head Acetone Scrap Cloths Razor blades 10 backup blades Scizzors Cardboard Duct Tape -------------------- Step 1: Take the door off (DIY is provided here in the index) Should only take you about 2 minutes once you get the hang of it. Step 2: Remove the weather gaurd, begin using the Acetone and scrap cloths to completely remove all the oem putty. Step 3: Clean the doors, gently rub the doors with acetone to be asure they are clean before you begin work. Step 4: Deaden the inside of the doors, be patient and take your time to reach all the hard to get places. Step 5: Apply deadener to the outside of the panel. Make sure you DO NOT cover up the screw tips. And DO NOT go outside the door skin. I made that mistake the first time, as you can see I got most of the deadener off and covered it up with electrical tape. Step 6: Seal up ALL holes. NOTE: I did this step after sealing the 2 big holes. Step 7: Cut out cardboard to fill in the 2 big holes, then apply deadener to the front of the cut-outs. Step 8: Tape on the cardboard cut-outs onto the doors, I applied deadener over the holes before this step to prevent most of the moister from getting to the cardboard. All small holes were covered up. Step 9: Begin to apply Ensolite. I did mine in several large chuncks and small trim around the panel. NOTE: To hide my mess of deadening outside the door panel, I applied Ensolite over that area. The Trunk. NOTE: I applied 2 layers of deadener and used cardboard to seal off the holes again. There is weather stripping around the trunk lid to eliminate any rattles.

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12-23-2007, 01:45 PM	#2 (permalink)
SilverSedanDJVG Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Florida Age: 21 Posts: 452 iTrader: 0 / 0%	pretty nice, does this make your ride alot quieter when driving by any chance? The only problem I have with rattle is my 3rd brake light...it shakes like crazy ; ( I have no idea how to fix it...I just wedged a piece of padding...ghetto....are you having this problem? got a fix?

12-23-2007, 02:07 PM	#3 (permalink)
Kroze Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 670 iTrader: 0 / 0%	good job. any problem putting the door panel back on with all them layers on the door? Also, by covering all the holes, you do know that it's going to be real hard to replace the windows regulator..

12-23-2007, 02:30 PM	#6 (permalink)
bikinpunk Senior Member Join Date: May 2006 Age: 27 Posts: 3,693 Erin iTrader: 3 / 100%	The cardboard idea got a lot of flack when I did this last year, but it's still holding up just as good as ever. As for getting into the window, all I have to do in my case is peel back the deadener and pull off the cardboard pieces. Done. Yes, separating front waves from rear waves is what I've been preaching for a year now; glad someone finally listened. The weather stripping stuff works like a charm. Mike, it seems you did everything I've suggested in other threads.

12-24-2007, 02:59 PM	#7 (permalink)
mike11202 Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Delaware Posts: 677 Mike iTrader: 0 / 0%	Yeah deadening the doors and trunk is by far the best investment you can make. You won't believe the sound difference after its all done.

12-24-2007, 06:20 PM	#8 (permalink)
SilverSedanDJVG Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Florida Age: 21 Posts: 452 iTrader: 0 / 0%	hey thanks alot for an explanation....how much of a pain in the ass is it to pop the rear deck out

12-24-2007, 08:16 PM	#11 (permalink)
SilverSedanDJVG Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Florida Age: 21 Posts: 452 iTrader: 0 / 0%	awesome, i'm going to pad the hell out of that area, its the only problem spot in my entire car.

02-01-2008, 02:23 PM	#12 (permalink)
redguym Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Luling, LA Age: 27 Posts: 35 iTrader: 0 / 0%	Looks great man I am also wanting to deaden my LX coupe, but this will be my first time, so I've got a few questions... How much RAAMat BXT did you end up using? Ensolite? Adhesive? Did you just put deadener on the trunk lid, or other places in the trunk? What does the Ensolite do? Does the RAAMat have some built on adhesive? Was the adhesive just to attach the Ensolite? If not, how did you get the spray can into those "hard to reach places" you were deadening on the inside of the door?

02-01-2008, 06:29 PM	#13 (permalink)
MaXaZoR Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: North NJ Posts: 709 iTrader: 8 / 100%	I order two rolls of Raamat BXT and did my entire car w/ two layers and a layer of Ensolite. I'm probably going to do another layer on my doors. Too be honest I did my old car and I wasn't as impressed with the results in the civic. I still have yet to install my rear seat or do the rear deck so I'm really hoping that will improve the results. Redguym - Again I spent ~$250 for two rolls and ALOT of ensolite - I did everything except the roof interior. - Yes, especially on the trunk lid. I plan on filling the rest of the lid in w/ expandable foam. - Ensolite is a closed cell foam - It differs from BXT (meant to stop rattles) Ensolite is used to keep sound from penerating the interior (i.e Tire noise or road/engine noise) -Raamat is by far the easiest sound deadener I've worked w/ It cuts easily and is very adhesive, unlike other deadeners that I found falls off after a few years of use. - The adhesive spray is only used for your doors where the Ensolite has to be held in place.

02-01-2008, 06:34 PM	#14 (permalink)
MaXaZoR Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: North NJ Posts: 709 iTrader: 8 / 100%	About the cardboard idea. - this is why I plan on doing my doors over I left the gaps there and just covered over in ensolite which is why I think I'm still getting alot of road noise. I plan on redoing them, but using sheet metals or sometime of wire mesh. I agree I'm not a huge fan of using cardboard, but if it works for you then I can't knock it.

02-02-2008, 01:27 AM	#16 (permalink)
Toxis Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: A Star of Death. Age: 30 Posts: 3,916 Luke... I have cookies! iTrader: 11 / 100%	I might do a full write up on when I deaden my entire car this spring (aka when it gets warmer!). So if people are knocking the cardboard idea, what are they using instead?

02-02-2008, 01:35 AM	#17 (permalink)
thisisdudewhoru Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: bristol,tn Posts: 3,039 I'm brian and I'll kill you. iTrader: 1 / 100%	Did you deaden the whole trunk or just the trunk lid? Did it stop the license plate rattle? Also did it help with your rear deck rattle or must I deaden that too to get that to stop rattling? Its only my trunk, rear deck and rear headliner that rattles. So how much dynomat do you think I need just to get that to go away? Btw I have a sedan. Thanks in advance.

02-02-2008, 01:15 PM	#19 (permalink)
lostdaytomorrow Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 785 iTrader: 0 / 0%	Great DIY Mike! I already had the doors done from a while back. Yesterday I did the floorboard of the coupe after taking everything out. I did one layer of BXT and one layer of Ensolite and there's a noticeable difference. It only took about 4-5 hours to do everything. The main noise now is the engine noise through the firewall so I'll be taking care of that shortly. If anyone has any questions about taking the apart of deadening the floor/doors just post in this thread and we will help you out.

02-03-2008, 03:09 AM	#20 (permalink)
Toxis Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: A Star of Death. Age: 30 Posts: 3,916 Luke... I have cookies! iTrader: 11 / 100%	any tutorial on how to pull the interior?