# Started sound proofing my doors



## Sethticlees (May 30, 2002)

Well, I'm finally getting around to sound proofing the inside of my car doors. This project has been 2+ years in the making. That's what going to college will do to ya.  I've just stripped the panel off the inside passenger door. Removed that nasty plastic vapor shield all stuck together with white goop. Then I took some goo gone and scrubbed all the white goop off the door. Took me the better half of an hour and 1/3 bottle of goo gone to remove that nasty white stuff. The door looks great! Had to stop early to go to work, but I'll be on it all day tomorrow. 
My plan is to clean the inside of each door really good, then lightly sand the insides to get a good painting surface. Next I'll be coating each door with Cascade Audio VB1 spray. Three or four coats should do it. Then I have 100sq feet of Fatmat (like Dynamat Extreme) on its way. I’ll slap one or two layers of that on the outer portion of the door. This should make a great combination with VB1 spray inside and FatMat Extreme out. My little Polk Audio 6.5" components should just love their new home. 
I'm hoping the sound deadener will kill some road noise too. It's pretty annoying, especially while driving on the freeway. 

Looking to take some pics of the job later this weekend. Once I do, I'll be sure to post em here!
 

It’s only just begun…


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## samo (Apr 30, 2002)

Sounds like it's going to be awesome! Where do you get the VB1 spray? I've been looking for a spray-on deadener for a while.


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## Sethticlees (May 30, 2002)

CAR TOYS...

They sell it in the gallon buckets. I got a good deal on mine. Like 45 bucks a gallon. I got 3 gallons and I met the guy who invented the product. Very cool guy. He answered all my technical questions without even batting an eye. This was at the car toys tent sale here in Seattle. I try to go every year.  


Seth


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## samo (Apr 30, 2002)

Cool, I'm going to have to get some!


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## Sethticlees (May 30, 2002)

Started phase two.

Finished cleaning both doors today. God, that white gunk is a major PITA to remove. It took 2/3 of a bottle of Goo Gone just to strip that crap from the door. Next I took some 120 grit sand paper and roughed up the entire door. Got some pics. I'll have to post em later… Last, I sanded the removed door panels. The backsides are plastic, so roughing them up was pretty easy. After that I broke into my first gallon of Cascade Audio VB1. Gave it a good stir, grabbed a brush and started painting. I coated the entire backside of those door panels with two coats of VB1. They look awesome. I set them in the sun to dry for about two hours. Give it a few days and this stuff should be like concrete.  

Well, that’s all for today. 

I came up with a perfect solution to fit a 6.5" mid-bass in the B13.
I’ll have to explain it in further detail later.

Tell then.

Takes it easy
Seth


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## ccroaddog (Jun 20, 2002)

i used dynomat for all my hook-ups and it looks great


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## Sethticlees (May 30, 2002)

Things are moving right along. Since my last post I've applied three coats of Cascade Audio VB-1 to the insides of both doors. This stuff is awesome. The only down side is letting it cure for 8 hours before you apply another coat. Plus, the car needs to be 70 degrees for the VB-1 to cure properly. This is why I would recommend doing this project in the summer. Depending on where you live of coarse. I live in Seattle, so not to many sunny days left. 

My 100 sq ft of Dynamat Extreme arrived today!!!
This means I can finish up the doors sometime this week. 

The only obstacle left to overcome is the mounting situation for the speakers...
The speakers are 6 1/2" and as we all know the door mounts for a 93’ Sentra is 6 3/4". This creates a problem when mounting a component set 6 1/2" mid-bass driver. The solution will have to be some sort of adapter that can mount the mid-bass driver and then mount to the vehicles existing speaker hole. 

Can anybody tell me what they did to combat this problem? 
I have a buddy working on some plans to custom build a set of inserts that adapt a 6 3/4" Nissan setup to a 6 1/2" speaker. 
An easer route would be preferred.

More to come…


Seth


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## ccroaddog (Jun 20, 2002)

Sethticlees said:


> *Things are moving right along. Since my last post I've applied three coats of Cascade Audio VB-1 to the insides of both doors. This stuff is awesome. The only down side is letting it cure for 8 hours before you apply another coat. Plus, the car needs to be 70 degrees for the VB-1 to cure properly. This is why I would recommend doing this project in the summer. Depending on where you live of coarse. I live in Seattle, so not to many sunny days left.
> 
> My 100 sq ft of Dynamat Extreme arrived today!!!
> This means I can finish up the doors sometime this week.
> ...



i think today was well over 70 around 11.00 here in fed way


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## dante81_98 (Jun 14, 2002)

*Mounting the speakers*

they do sell adapters but i still had to make my own holes because they didnt match up. i have a 99 sentra gxe and i put some alpine 6 1/2s in with little problems. once you get the adapters you will see what is needed. good luck and i want to see those pics man! laters


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## Guest (Aug 15, 2002)

i took the hard way and removed my door skin to mat up my door, look a long time but thats the best way to go


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## Sethticlees (May 30, 2002)

I’m glad to see people are interested in this project. I hope my experience will help answer questions and motivate others to do their own custom installs. 

Today I applied FatMat (Dynamat Extreme) to the frame of the door. The FatMat is a little lighter weight than Dynamat Extreme, but the quality seems to be just as good. For the price you just can’t beat it. 

I lightly sanded and prepped the doors last week, so today I just cleaned the doors one last time with a citrus degreaser. I then cut up small pieces of FatMat and stuck them in the strange shapes of the door. There are lots of bumps and divots to fill, so I started small and worked my way to a flush surface. Once the doorframe looked more like a level surface, I started using nice big sheets of FatMat to cover my work. Using an old towel and a hair dryer I picked up at Value Village for 2 bucks, I heated every inch of that surface and used the towel to apply pressure and smooth the mat. I personally found using a towel was easer than using a Dynamat roller…of course I’ve never used the roller.(lol)

So, the install looks great! The doors have that shiny foil look from the FatMat and the road noise is almost totally gone. I still have the driver side door to do tomorrow. 

Oh, and I took picks of everything, but I don’t have a digital camera so I’ll have to scan them in later. 


Dante81_98

Question: Where can I find these 6 1/2s adapters you spoke about?



caraudio_nutt 



caraudio_nutt said:


> *i took the hard way and removed my door skin to mat up my door, look a long time but thats the best way to go *


Can you explain in further detail? I believe this is what I have done.


Thanks Guys.

Tell next time...

Seth


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## Guest (Aug 17, 2002)

i took of each door apart piece by piece, i actually took off the outer skin of the door and rewelded back on and painted it, a lot of work, but its worth it, some people think im a psycho but only the best goes in my car


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## Sethticlees (May 30, 2002)

Wow! That is a lot of work. 

Hey, you really are a CarAudio-nut...(hehe)

That's cool, I can relate.


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## dante81_98 (Jun 14, 2002)

*sorry it took so long*

i got mine at my local shop. i think that the clarion speakers come with them and we just snagged them out of the box and i used them for my alpine speakers. just go and ask them. they should have some in the back at least. 
laterz
chad

ps how is the project comming. i want to to this to mine as well.


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## Sethticlees (May 30, 2002)

Well the project is finished...sound proofing the doors that is.
I still have to find 6 3/4 to 6 1/2 converter rings for the speakers. 

Overall this project went smoothly. Took me about a week on and off to complete. The car doors have at least two or more layers of Dynamat on them plus all the VB-1 on the inside. The road noise has been cut in half. Plus, the sound the door makes when I close it is nice and solid not clanging like a tin can... 

Drove to Canada over the weekend and noticed how much the road noise has been dampened. I really like the idea of listing to music at medium levels while driving on the freeway. 

Once I get my Polk’s installed it should be pure heaven.

Pics are still on the way and tomorrow I'm gunna try and find those 6 3/4 converters and then hopefully install my speakers.

I'll keep you posted.


Oh, the only down side I can think of is the car smells like tarpaper or asphalt from the Dynamat stuff. It's only when I first get into the car and more pungent on hot days.
Funny it never crossed my mind the sound deadener would stink up the joint.
Oh well, I guess that’s the price you pay. I'm hoping it will disappear in the next few months.


Seth


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## samo (Apr 30, 2002)

I used to have 6.5" in my doors. I took a sheet of 1/8" Lexan and cut it to about a half-inch bigger than the door opening, cut a 6.5" hole for the speaker to mount in, and drilled like mad. It worked pretty well - Lexan is hella strong, and if you put a layer of sound deadener on the back, it wouldn't shake at all. Plus, the thickness of the Lexan helps keep the magnet away from the window.


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## sethwas (Apr 30, 2002)

Hey,
I don't know if you already soundproofed your floors, but, thats primarily where all road noise comes from. Yes soundproofing your doors will dampen out some sound (you said about half) but if you really want to quiet the car, tear out the carpeting and go nutz with the soundproofing on the floor. Then you have youself a little vault. If only I had the $600 to do it myself...

Seth


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## Sethticlees (May 30, 2002)

Thanks for the input Samo. I like your idea, but I found something that looks like it might work.

Believe it or not! I hit up the pvc pipe section at Home Depot and found some pretty nice flange rings just about the size I need.
I'll put a little work into these puppies and that should do the trick. 
Funny, I called Car Toys this morning to ask if they got any converter kits for the speakers. The dude said, "hell no, just make one out of ABS or wood…" good advice!


Sethwas-
You're right about sound proofing the floor. In fact it's my next project, in due time...

Hey, with just a gallon bucket of Cascade Audio VB-1, I bet you could get a lot of floor coverage. For only about 50 bucks a gallon you might as well get two and do the whole car.

Oh, and take your time...do it yourself...and do it right!

You'll be happy you did.


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## Binger (Aug 29, 2002)

*Speakers in doors*

I like what you are doing so far. I am currently in the planning stages of installing the system in my Sentra. I'm glad I came across this so I know of any small problems to expect when I sounddeaden my own car. I have one suggestion that you might want to try if you decide against the mounting adapters. I used to own a Saturn SC2 and it had those strange 5 1/4 inch square mount ring speakers, I put my six inch JL Audio speakers in the opening and filled the small (less than quarter inch) gap with molding clay that I got from my little sister. Granted you don't have a total seal around the speaker, but it worked untill I was able to build my trim rings. Good luck on the rest of your car


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