The Sound of One Hand Dampening

[Merian]

Those thinking of cheaping out with Peel 'n Seal may want to read this:

http://www.stevemeadedesigns.com/board/topic/20533-thoughts-on-fatmat/

[charrepz]

This is no no. If you install your sound material on the side panels and not the inside of actual door or panel you will find it very difficult to do any repair to your window regulator or door locks with out removing the mat in the future.
Peel and Stick is a great product in 6' rolls for the doors and hard to get inside panels. Inside directly on the inside of the exterior panels will allow the window to operate properly and give you the sound dampening you are seeking. Don't believe the BS about these products failing in extreme weather. They will last and hold up just as well at the brand name products.
Plus these Van really need the front behind the dash done to have a decent sound dampening project completed. The doors make a huge difference alone but when you dampen the front and

[mr_vanagon]

I've been thinking about sound deadening for a long time. The only reason I have resisted ripping out all the interior and dropping big cash on Dynamat (or any other brand) is the un-removable nature of the stuff. The last thing I want is a layer of asphalt glued to the top of metal panels that could rust, dent or bend in the future. If I need to repair a panel because or rust or an accident what do I do about the perma-layer of gunk? I'd be a lot more excited about a removable mat or something like that.
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'68 Autostick Bug Mom bought new
'89 Tintop Vanagon Dad bought new

[mr. c]

[MrPolak]

Read this before you do:

http://www.sounddeadenershowdown.com/

[vanagonforever]

I did the front cab area of my Westy using Frost King duct insulation that I bought from Lowe's. I ended up using around three rolls of the stuff. Honestly I not sure that I would do the same thing again. While the road noise is reduced it is far from quiet while I'm driving. I could probably make some more improvements by doing the same thing in the galley area and added an undercoating but its a little hard to say exactly how much of an improvement it would be. Basically the job is just a pain and I'm not sure it is worth the time investment.

Once I deal with my kitchen seam rust then I'll go ahead and insulate the rest of the cabin and I'll post an update. Overall though I've been a little disappointed by the improvements considering the time required to do the job.
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1986 2WD 2.1L WBX Vanagon Weekender
1983.5 1.9L WBX Vanagon Westfalia

[HeftySmurf]

Great stuff,
Does any one have a good estimate of material needed in doing the interior with tape and the sound deadening paint? I too think I am going gto steer clear of the roofing tape as well, cheaper yes, but not worth the future pontential damage.

[Rhinoculips]

A cheaper and supposedly just as good alternative to Dynamat is FatMat. 50 square feet is $80 and 100 Square feet goes for $130. This is the route I am going with when the bigger projects are done with.

http://www.fatmat.com
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“May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds.” - Edward Abbey

Click to view image

[iiigoiii]

a couple of notes on this from my research....

toxicity: since some roofing products are made only for use in non-habitable areas (and the warnings on the larger roll material called bituthene are positively TERRIFYING), i requested the MSDS for peel-n-seal from the manufacturer. it had very low toxicity ratings, related to the very slight offgassing that the asphalt it's made with gives off. however, it turns out that several companies manufacture stuff under the same name of peel-n-seal, so other versions may be worse.

vertical surfaces: turns out that a few people have had asphalt-based products gradually creep down vertical surfaces in hot temps. where it's inside a door, in some cases it gradually got to the point where it stuck to the window when rolled down, and made a mess that's hard to get out of the door and off the window & mechanism. the butyl rubber products (most newer sound dampeners) are rated for higher temps.

[keithwwalker]

I've got the roofing stuff in my doka. Let's give it a summer to see what happens. I have it on vertical panels as well as on the floor.

No problems yet, but the hot weather in this part of the country just started.

[sc-surfer]

1621,

That was the site I was talking about. I was leaning toward the good stuff but I'm not opposed to saving money when possible. I do agree with you though, I don't want problems later. Unless I get some really positive feedback about the roofing materials I will most likely do the Raammat.

Thanks for the info!!

Monte
_________________
'89 Syncro Westy
Catalog of Vans at SDM 2010
Westfalia, Syncro & Tristar Reproduction decals here.
* * * Coming Soon: Washable seat covers for westy bench seat...keep the pets off the upholstery! * * *

[1621]

[sc-surfer]

izzydog,

Thanks for the info!!

There was a thread here awhile back that had a link out to a page that reviewed the commercial sound deadener products. The reviewer claimed that the roofing products would not stick on vertical surfaces in high heat, among other things. Anyone have that experiance.

Sorry for resurecting such an old thread, but I just want to make sure I'm not putting in something that will fail. I only want to take my van apart once!!

Mightyart, 1621, any problems so far??

Thanks for the feedback.
_________________
'89 Syncro Westy
Catalog of Vans at SDM 2010
Westfalia, Syncro & Tristar Reproduction decals here.
* * * Coming Soon: Washable seat covers for westy bench seat...keep the pets off the upholstery! * * *

[izzydog]

I used this roofing material called "Foilastic" over a year ago throughout my Syncro and it looks like I put it in there yesterday. You can get Foilastic at any roofing supply place. It comes in rolls from 2" to 24" and is, as far as I can tell the exact same material as B-Quiet. B-Quiet Extreme looks to be a little thicker. I got this stuff so cheap on eBay that I could afford to double it up in a lot of places. I got 2, 50 ft rolls--9" wide for $20 plus shipping. At a roofing supply place, its about $35 for a 12" x 50 ft roll.

Jeff

[sc-surfer]

Those of you who have used the Home Depot/Lowes Roofing material as sound deadener....

Several years down the road are you still happy? Any issues with odor, with material coming unstuck....anything??
_________________
'89 Syncro Westy
Catalog of Vans at SDM 2010
Westfalia, Syncro & Tristar Reproduction decals here.
* * * Coming Soon: Washable seat covers for westy bench seat...keep the pets off the upholstery! * * *

[Rodknock]

You got your floor panels out of there without having to remove the cabinets?

[1621]

I just added more sound deadener and acoustical foam to my floor, and have previously done the entire front floor, roof, and all doors. I also used a sound deadening paint made by Second Skin called Spectrum in the wheel ells (http://www.secondskinaudio.com/sound-deadener/spectrum.php) I read about it here, but can't find the thread right now.

I was a bit skeptical about the Spectrum, but man it really works. It definitely dulls out some of that road noise. Don't get me wrong, I can still hear the BFG treads, but the paint eliminates some of the harshness. At any rate, here are some pictures of my raamat and ensolite installation. Rick, the owner of Raammat suggested layering to achieve even greater sound deadening. It definitely works. Now I can hear my kids fighting in the back seat.

[/url]
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'85 Westy

[brooklynvan]

In my 1990 I have the rubber floor mats.

Anyone ever put B-quiet or other sound dampening under the rubber floor?

I'm not sure if there's room as the rubber is a close fit.

There is some sound deadening in there and on top of the engine, but not in the front or in the seat boxes.
_________________
1990 Vanagon "Plain Jane" Bostig in the Back
TRADED: 1967 Panel for 1976 BMW 2002
SOLD: 1984 Sunroof Vanagon with EJ22
RIP 1986 Saab turbo
and my daily commuter: a Bicycle

[keithwwalker]

Good post, just wanted to mention that I am using a Home Depot product called Quik Roof, similar to other butyl/asphaltic foil backed products.

I have a doka and there was NO sound insulation and no carpet in the back, just rubber in the front.

Observations so far:

The sound attenuation is accumulative, the more panels you insulate, the more sound reduction you get - but the improvements are slight.

Do every flat panel you can. That is where most of the high frequency noise comes from.

Do the door skins and ceiling. I have yet to pull my headliner, but it is drenched in nicotine, so it will be done this year.

Finally SewFine makes the foam underlayer for the front floor. It is not expensive and can be dropped in place very quickly.

[Raynor Shine]

You people give people like me BAD ideas.... Just completed this project & I am happy with results. Had enough to do engine lid too. Home depot version $15 per roll. Did front doors/Floors & slider.

Next on my project list . if I could only.....