Rubberized undercoating opinions

[DrDusty86]

I was thinking about spraying that rubberized undercoating on the underside of my Escort. My objective is to quiet some road noise down. They have Duplacolor at both WM and AZ.
Should I notice a difference in road noise if I do this?
I would start at the back of the control arm and go back to trunk floor pan. I would not spray the axles or sway bars. I would stay 4-5" away from exaust piping the entire way.
Thoughts??
Thanks,
Dusty

 

[JHZR2]

Id stick with 3M stuff.

None of the rubberized products are OK to use in areas where rocks may hit the undercarriage, read the PDSs.

Id look at the 3M undercoating schlitz, which is designed to serve as undercoating and rock protectant.

 

[Papa Bear]

In TX shouldn't make too much difference. In the rust belt it would.

Dusty, I always thought it would be cool to spray bedliner under the floorpan/fenders as a sound deadener.

You are looking for a sound deadener, not so much an undercoating.
There is a difference.

 

[DrDusty86]

Yes, I'm in Texas, so no rust.

So Should I go with the 3M Stuff?
Papa, the Duraliner works GREAT for truck interiors.

I know there is a difference, But can't justify $1,500 of sound deadner in a car that would $3,500 tops.

It has no undercoating right now. My old junky dodge CTD had this waxy stuff, as my newer ford truck does.

 

[eljefino]

Get inside the wheel wells too. Lots of noise there.

 

[KrisZ]

It won't do a thing to dampen the noise, the mass is simply not there and if you spray too much it will just fall off. You're better off buying some aluminum backed roofing material and sticking that into to the wheel wells.

 

[JHZR2]

bedliner will not stick (tried it as a tougher patch before).

Rust is a consideration, so long as TX gets rain, because the cracks and gaps in the rubber will seep moisture in, and keep a nice microclimate for rust.

 

[DrDusty86]

Some say do it, some say it's a waist.

I guess I will try it.
I will lightly sand the areas, then spray them with Rustolium primer, then spray the undercoating.

 

[DubTee1480]

I've heard people speak well of the truck liner for sound dampening; maybe not so well as dynamat, but not a bad investment for the money. The only under car treatment I would pursue would be in the wheel wells, I would go under the carpet with a roll in bedliner (or spray in sound deadener if you like). That way you can do the entire bottom of the cab, if it tries to flake it will be held in place with your carpet and you can pressure wash your carpet while you have it out. Given that you drive an Escort, which has been out of production a few years, if could probably use it even if you have tried to be meticulous about keeping it clean.

 

[razel]

You can effectively and cheaply sound deaden wheel wells with a combination of dynamat, neoprene and/or under carpet padding. You don't need the expensive Dynamat brand. Cheap and equally effective knock-offs are available. You don't need to cover the entire surface either, just the flat thin metal areas. Neoprene sheets at different thickness can be bought off ebay and carpet padding from Home Depot or Lowes. For the carpet padding, ensure it is open celled which absorbs better than closed cell.

You cover the flat-ish, thin areas with Dynamat which adds mass to the metal. Then use either carpet padding (thick) or neoprene (thin) based on how much space you have left above the wheel well and your car covers. Then enjoy a quieter ride.

However, in my experience, neoprene under your carpet floor and in the doors will help get you an even quieter ride. Neoprene in the doors is easy since you can cut it to match the shape of the moisture vapor wrap.

Either way, best of luck. I have done this to 3 cars within my friends and family and every owner was beyond happy.

 

[IndyIan]

How about your tires? If they are getting down near the bars they could be much noiser than newer ones. You could make the switch to some narrower tall ones too which could help.
Also the front strut mounts could be transfering alot of noise into the body.

 

[Trav]

Quote:
My objective is to quiet some road noise down

This is best accomplished from inside the car.
The floor under the carpet and doors are the main areas you need to concentrate on.

Believe it or not the best source for these very expensive products are at your local junk yards, high end cars or higher end models of common daily drivers usually have good sound deadening underlay which is also rubber covered.
Look for a Caddy, lincoln, etc something with a big floor and cut out large enough pieces that will fit your floor under the carpet.

Place them under the door and inner quarter panels also over the plastic vapor barrier. You can use this stuff anywhere inside really, the more places the better.
You should be able to get all you need for a $20 bill.

 

[HTSS_TR]

^ Best advice so far.