using caulk for some sound deadening?

[jscherf92]

I just ordered a 50sq ft bulk pack of fatmat and i was thinking about the actual panels in the trunk, would it do any good to lay a bead of caulk where the panels would make contact with the metal to eliminate any rattle? for example the plastic piece that snaps onto the inside of the hatch; it is connected with the little white clips. If i were to use silicone caulk around the perimeter of the panel and around each of the white clips to make rattle impossible, would that do any good? obviously i wouldnt make any of the caulk visible, it would all be behind the panel.im just looking for some extra tips and tricks to kill as much noise as possible to get the most from my subwoofers before I upgrade to better ones.

[ParknVibe]

Quote, originally posted by jscherf92 »I just ordered a 50sq ft bulk pack of fatmat and i was thinking about the actual panels in the trunk, would it do any good to lay a bead of caulk where the panels would make contact with the metal to eliminate any rattle? .Please do NOT caulk or glue any plastic panel to the metal body frame of the car. You must always maintain the ability to gain access behind it of any wiring or parts that may need fixing or replacement. You will be very sorry that you started such a glue job. You will never be able to remove the panel without cracking the plastic. And, if you need auto body work, they will end up wreaking it as well.Just add soft felt blanket batts (padding) to fill the cavieties behind the panels to dampened the sound transmissions in the hollow voids.Allow for the blankets to be removable if you must gain access behind the panels.

[Water boy]

Did you read my write up ??? http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=43728

[ParknVibe]

Quote, originally posted by Water boy »Did you read my write up ??? http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=43728I was very interested in just looking at the interior's exposed metal body. I personally am not a fan of using Dynomax or equal type of stick on thin rubber mass. If this was the best way, the car makers would have been doing this with the cars. As you can see with your photos in the back areas, you will note that the sheet metal has many stamped bends, shapes and forms that will minimizes the tinning sounds of sheetmetal and give it stiffness. I would (and may soon do) add thick but lite weight felt battens and some type of padding behind the plastic interior panels and floors. I will add some cotton felt padding behind the door panels. I will not stick anything to the backside of the door's sheetmetal. I'm hoping that just filling the hollow cores between the plastic panels and the metal body is all that is needed to suppress the road noise's air motion. In my 2009 Vibe I have found a gap under the rear's hatchdoor floor trim. You be able to see the ground by looking under the back of the tire storage well towards or through the back of the bumper.

[jscherf92]

Sorry ive been off for a while now, i didnt mean using the caulk as an adhesive but rather a more flexible means of padding the panels. Like taking the panel off, laying down a bead of caulk and letting it dry so that the line of silicone acted as a strip of padding.Ill take a good look at that writeup now that im actually working on this, ive only glanced over it before.And while padding between the panels and the metal body might lessen some road noise, it didnt do a thing for my subwoofer rattle (I padded everything from the rear seats back with foam and fluff). Lastly, was it a large gap you found? I know on my '05 there are small spaces that vent to the outside of the car.

[ParknVibe]

Quote, originally posted by jscherf92 »Sorry ive been off for a while now, i didnt mean using the caulk as an adhesive but rather a more flexible means of padding the panels. Like taking the panel off, laying down a bead of caulk and letting it dry so that the line of silicone acted as a strip of padding.Ill take a good look at that writeup now that im actually working on this, ive only glanced over it before.And while padding between the panels and the metal body might lessen some road noise, it didnt do a thing for my subwoofer rattle (I padded everything from the rear seats back with foam and fluff). Lastly, was it a large gap you found? I know on my '05 there are small spaces that vent to the outside of the car.Did you ever use a silicone caulk or any caulking goo before? It is the same as an adhesive. I just can't see you using it as a padding backing behind anything without it sticking to the back of the plastic panel. The spaces behind nearly all of the panels are very large volumes. The panels only touch the metal frame at the fastener clip points. You will never be able to form a blob of caulking to the exact depth you need between the panel and the nearest metal frame. It's just going to be a big mess and you will get it the caulk on every thing you don't want it. Soft foam padding adhered to the back of the panel or on the frame, using double stick tape, will be a better solution. It will then compress to fill the gap but not stick to both surfaces. Any noises that you maybe hear from the panels are coming from where the fastening clips, or plastic is touching each other. It may sound like snapping noises or cracking sounds. Filling the volumes of air behind the plastic panels with compressible batt insulation, is in my opinion, the best way to suppress the road noise that transmits into the interior.

[jscherf92]

I dont think we are on the same page with the caulk. ive decided to just stick with my fatmat and black weatherseal tape for the edges and points of contact.

[A Psycho Martyr]

I understand what you're saying with the caulk or silicon.Sounds like it would certainly kill any possible vibration noises

[ParknVibe]

Be very carefull with caulk, Once it is in place, you find it very hard to remove the panel or panels.Also remember that it may stain the surfaces. Without seeing your speaker, the first thing that will vibrate is the grill or screen cover over the speakers. My door panel vibrate's in front of the door speakers because it's hard plastic instead of cloth. Another thing that will vibrate is the panel or wall across from the speaker that the sound waves are reflecting off of.Save your hearing and keep the volume down! My issue is road noise from the tires and wind, once I solve that then I can keep the radio volume down.

[Water boy]

Quote »I was very interested in just looking at the interior's exposed metal body. I personally am not a fan of using Dynomax or equal type of stick on thin rubber mass. If this was the best way, the car makers would have been doing this with the cars. ...You forget, the bean-counters are in control. Less stuff used to build the car the higher the profit margin.That said.Using just any type of material does not mean that it is effective as a sound deadening material. The Roxul I used is sold as such but in a home and commercial application. The stuff I used similar to Dynomat reduces the vibration of flat metal. Sure, the engineers placed forms into the metal but that is for strength and stiffening not for noise. And to be fair, there was some factory applied "dynomat" under the rear seat and in the hollow space at the upper rear corners.

[Sublimewind]

Quote, originally posted by jscherf92 »I just ordered a 50sq ft bulk pack of fatmat and i was thinking about the actual panels in the trunk, would it do any good to lay a bead of caulk where the panels would make contact with the metal to eliminate any rattle? for example the plastic piece that snaps onto the inside of the hatch; it is connected with the little white clips. If i were to use silicone caulk around the perimeter of the panel and around each of the white clips to make rattle impossible, would that do any good? obviously i wouldnt make any of the caulk visible, it would all be behind the panel.im just looking for some extra tips and tricks to kill as much noise as possible to get the most from my subwoofers before I upgrade to better ones.I'm sorry I didn't see this, these questions usually fall in car audio, but YES.. it's called Isolation... Better than silicone is felt pads for chairs.. the round ones.. you want the panel to snap back, but tighter than before, sometimes silicone can be unruly.. lol..

[Sublimewind]

Quote, originally posted by Ivibe »I was very interested in just looking at the interior's exposed metal body. I personally am not a fan of using Dynomax or equal type of stick on thin rubber mass. If this was the best way, the car makers would have been doing this with the cars. As you can see with your photos in the back areas, you will note that the sheet metal has many stamped bends, shapes and forms that will minimizes the tinning sounds of sheetmetal and give it stiffness. I would (and may soon do) add thick but lite weight felt battens and some type of padding behind the plastic interior panels and floors. I will add some cotton felt padding behind the door panels. I will not stick anything to the backside of the door's sheetmetal. I'm hoping that just filling the hollow cores between the plastic panels and the metal body is all that is needed to suppress the road noise's air motion. In my 2009 Vibe I have found a gap under the rear's hatchdoor floor trim. You be able to see the ground by looking under the back of the tire storage well towards or through the back of the bumper. Manufactures DO add sound deadening to cars, just not CHEAP ones... sorry to say, the vibe is a cheap car.. it's got some, but not much.. AFA the folds and ridges in the car, yes, for stiffness, but because it's a unibody car, not for sound deadening purpose, I assure you.. Peel and stick deadener will go much farther than batting and carpet padding, not that padding won't, but deadener will do more.. just sayin..

[ParknVibe]

Quote, originally posted by Sublimewind »Manufactures DO add sound deadening to cars, just not CHEAP ones... sorry to say, the vibe is a cheap car.. it's got some, but not much.. AFA the folds and ridges in the car, yes, for stiffness, but because it's a unibody car, not for sound deadening purpose, I assure you.. Peel and stick deadener will go much farther than batting and carpet padding, not that padding won't, but deadener will do more.. just sayin.. Yes the car makers always added LITE felt padding behind door panels, under carpets and in the trunk spaces. As for the Dynamat, Yes I know there is a small square piece against the rear fender (next to my gas filler) I can see it through the light access door. Dynamat will work best and most efficiently when applied to large thin sheet metal areas that will sound tinty. It really is a big waste of Dynamat when it is applied to the floor surfaces that DO have all the bend form shapes that keep the tinty sound to a minimum. It is not necessary to pad the entire car with the dynamat. It just adds a large amount of weight. Why it's almost like putting lead in your car.Suppressing the transmission of sound through the air is best done when using thick soft padding.The road surface and the tires are the main sources of the loud noise that enter the car through the wheel well space. Car makers of luxury type cars are now installing a soft fiber mat in place of the thin plastic wheel well shields. This is what helps suppress the high pitch noises of the rough road surface and the course tire treads. Lately when I drive over a newly paved highway, it becomes very quiet in the Vibe. Pavement is now being made with a finer grit of stone or sand in the bitumious mix to help quiet the road noise not just for the cars but for the surrounding residential areas.

[jscherf92]

Just checking back in, thanks for all the good info guys

[hotbug1776]

Sorry to make this a zombie post, but, I was getting ready to quiet the rear plastic and was wondering if the felt pads used for cupboard doors would work in quieting the panels down. My hatch plastic rattles with even the slightest bump and lowest sub volumes. The pads I'm talking about use the sticky back and are firm but conform to what they are resting against. I'm going to try and deaden the front of the car as well to cut down on road noise. Also, as a side note. I've experienced the worst of spray foam in cars. My 1975 beetle had some spray foam in the rear quarter panels. It allowed the panel to rust from the inside out as it keeps moisture by the panel.