The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Sound damping re-visited

I searched and found several post on this topic but nothing more current than 2012. I saw in several of these post many responses referenced using the adhesive backed rubber construction material used for sealing roofs against ice dams and sealing around window and door openings. Are the products sold for sound damping basically the same type of material? (dynamat) I am in possession of several rolls of this material but I did not want to use it if I am wasting my time. I have enough to double layer it if the sound material is a thicker rubber.

My plan was to apply the rubber material to the inside of the firewall and floor. I was also thinking of use the spray on stuff on the inside of my front fenders. How important is it to apply something to my doors?

I have a 54 3100 that is mostly original. Original engine and transmission. I love driving my truck but the noise inside the cab is deafening.

Any suggestions are welcome. Professional application is not an option. I have to "do it myself on a budget".

Also, should I apply spray to the underside of my hood?

I have used Dynamat in a few old cars. The difference is significant and it was always well worth the cost. I am restoring my '50 3600 and the entire interior cab is lined with it, with the exception of the kick panels. I will also line the interior of the doors, once those are finished. It is super easy to do yourself. Dynamat is expensive, but some of the other products are kinda substandard and a few of them smell kinda bad... no odor with the Dynamat though. For the thinness of the product, it provides a lot of sound damping. I would also cover the inside of the roof too, and the back of the cab, behind the seat and under the seat. You don't need to buy the Dynamat tape- just go to the hardware store and buy regular HVAC aluminum tape. The rubber roller that they sell to install the mat is kinda pricey, but it was well built and necessary, I think. You might be able to find a different roller that will work just as well for less money.

The only issue that I have with the stuff is that my approach to working on old cars/trucks is to do it right for the next guy....and once you put Dynamat down on a panel, it's going to be tough as hell to get it off down the road, I imagine. But the stuff probably has a half life of 100 years and it makes a big difference in comfort. I'm hard of hearing, and anything I can do to be able to have a conversation in the cab is worth it..

I bought a fixed position wheel (like you would find on a cart) at harbor freight to roll my sound barrier into place. There were several sizes to choose from and I just bought one that seemed good for me. It’s a cheaper option than buying a dynamat roller.

I used the aluminum backed, rubber flashing from Home Depot on the firewall/toeboard/floor on my '49 and I get no heat from the engine into the cab. It is much quieter than my very sound and nearly original '50. I had a problem getting it to stick to the underside of the cowl near the bottom of the windshield. I would recommend applying contact cement there prior to installing the flashing there. BTW, The stuff has no smell to it at all even in the heat of the summer.
As far as the inside of the doors, the access holes for the doors are too small for applying the sticky sheets in there. I tried and I ended up with angry, wadded up balls of stickiness.
I am going to use Herculiner in there on the '52 I am currently building. I will use a small brush and a small cup which can stay inside the door to help keep the mess down.

I used dynamat. Yes expensive ($320) but what a difference. My truck goes THUD when I close the doors. I did the firewall, toe board, floor, back wall, roof and doors.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/lcpRZy5ACNZiyRJq2

I didn't put it everywhere but cut it to shapes and laid it down. You can see in the pictures some gaps, but coverage was extensive. Then I layed over top aluminum foil insulation everywhere and wow. The truck sounds solid everywhere.

As for the inside of the doors, I cut the matting into squares and rectangles to avoid the balled up mess I also had on my first attempt. Worked very well in little patches. First road trip I'll let everyone know how she rides and sounds.

Brilliant idea, cutting it into small pieces to put into the door... as simple as it is, I probably would not have thought of that!

I used the bubble wrap style inside my doors and on the inside of the roof. Spray on contact cement and installed in two strips for both doors and roof.
Noticeably quieter and cooler just with that.
Firewall is original and floor matt is just rubber, definitely could use some added sound insulation but that's for another day!

I used Eastwood's Thermo coustic. It's the same thing as Dynamat at half the price. I tried the construction material but it didn't compare and didn't stay stuck. I also used a 1" thick closed cell carpet underlayment on the floor under my carpet. It's designed as a sound barrier for homes and works great in the truck. The use of a cloth seat or seat cover makes a huge difference as does covering the cardboard headliner. Noise is still going to get in but it helps to reduce the hard surfaces the noise will bounce off of.

Replace the rubber parts of your cab mounts! That made a HUGE difference in my case.

Even after all of this I still wear earplugs on long trips. It's the cheapest and easiest soundproofer you'll find

You don't need to cover everything.
what stuff like dynomat does is stop the sheet metal drumming.
the knock off. band stuff works well
now on the plus side of doing things like the floorboards is if you got rid of all the rust and
painted it with good epoxy primer and a quality paint it will be very rust resistant.

if you have a heat coming through the fire wall better to use other things on the engine side


used it on my MG and it is much quieter

After extensive comparison shopping, I found the best value was "Noico" , see eBay. Very good heavy duty butyl rubber with black foil cover. I used over the entire cab interior , and as I don't have a headliner, the exposed black surface looks good without the aluminum foil spaceship effect. Also put inside the doors with large sheets dropped through the window slit as the doors were torn down already.

I'm also ready to buy some deadening/heat material. It seems as though there are better deals out there than the pricey ones. Has anyone used the Deimos_Deals stuff? The Noico seems good also. As I will be doing my doors and roof, whatever I buy needs to stick very well.

Has anyone tried Lizard Skin?

I bought B-Quiet for my 68 gmc about a year ago. I don't know what it will be like when it's installed but so far I haven't heard any sound at all come out of the box.

Do we have some kind of “post of the week” award? If so, (or even if not) I hereby nominate jfnar.

Best post since sstock openly wished that his own garage burned down over some sort of window frustration.

JW51, I have to agree. I laughed when I read it, I laugh now when I read it. About the kind of response you would expect from 52Carl, but I think jfnar just took the belt away.

I've been reading the responses, because I'm wanting to do my doors also (1951 3100). So now, I'm going with B-Quiet.

Mike