# Plasti-dip sound deadening??



## papabearsc

So they make plasti-dip in a spray can, and a buddy of mine was using it and saw that on the can it says it can be used for sound deadening. So....he sprayed it all over inside of his door. Only did one and it had no other products present. 

It sounds so much better. The door skin doesn't ping anymore and the sound from his mids is noticeably better. 

Anyone else ever done this?


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## scooter99

No but if that really does work well, I think it's gonna open up a whole new realm of possibilities for the audio world. How thick did he put it on? One, two, three or more coats? I may do this with my new door pods I'm building for dual mid bass!


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## cobra93

I'd think anything that can dampen vibration will work to some extent.
You could probably run some lines of silicone caulk on the panel and make a difference.

Some products work better than others. 
$6.00 - $10.00 a can. What's the coverage like per can (area)?


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## papabearsc

He did one door with two coats with one can. A can is $8 at lowes. 

I really want one of you guys that knows what the hell you're listening to to try it and let us know......

I mean, I know it sounds BETTER, but how good does it sound compared to other products?


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## scooter99

Well I'm not sure I'd be the one to do that with. my doors already have two layers inside, and two layers outside. But I was thinking of something besides deadener, to deaden the insides of the door pods I'm going to be doing. I think I'm going too have to remove one layer when I go to do my door panels. But speaking of that, this might be something that could be a good application on the inside of door panels. Not too thick as far as depth but dense.


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## papabearsc

Good idea. I haven't done the insides of my door cards yet.....hmmmmm


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## Rob Dobbs

From past experience, Plasti Dip will peel due to excessive heat and cold. Ive used it on production vehicles before.


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## HondAudio

Funny - I just bought a can to spray along the inside corners of my [nearly completed!] enclosure. That stuff is pretty thin - they make spray-on deadening that would work better, but for a door, using CLD is better on large panels.


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## matthewo

Rob Dobbs said:


> From past experience, Plasti Dip will peel due to excessive heat and cold. Ive used it on production vehicles before.


not sure about that, i have had it on my front grill of my car for about 6 months already, it actually holds up better to rock chips then my diy paint with a bunch of prep work and clear coat. its also been down to 20 or below, and up to 90+ deg. also there are a bunch of people that have been using it for over a year in summer and winter with no problems at all. there are also people coating their wheels with it. you know wheels can get pretty hot with the brake heat transfer.

i did 4 coats on my front grill surround of my car. the best part about the stuff is it will peal off with your finger nail if you try hard enough, and not mess up a painted surface under it. its really great stuff.

i plan to use it to spray the inside of the a pillars i just made, im also using sound deadening on the back side and on the metal behind it, but on the inside fiberglassed part im going to spray a bit of plasti dip, to keep the resonance down.


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## King Nothing

What about spray bedliner. If plasti-dip will peel the bedliner definitely wont. dont know what kind of deadening properties it has, but it definitely adds mass


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## Rob Dobbs

Some people have used Rhino Liner on their Honda Element exterior plastic panels. It works but in my opinion is fugly.

matthewo,

Im just voicing on past experience. Just as with using Plasti Dip on anything from tools to a car, proper prep is key. Plasti Dip can promote rust just as with rubberized undercoating due to improper prep. Not to get into an argument over it but you even say yourself it can be peeled off. Problem is, you get an area that chips, peels or bubbles the rest of the finish follows.

Your mileage may vary.


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## ticklechicken

I have had plasti-dip peel off with high heat. A more durable alternative is liquid electrical tape. It's probably more expensive, but I have found it to stick better.


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## matthewo

Rob Dobbs said:


> Some people have used Rhino Liner on their Honda Element exterior plastic panels. It works but in my opinion is fugly.
> 
> matthewo,
> 
> Im just voicing on past experience. Just as with using Plasti Dip on anything from tools to a car, proper prep is key. Plasti Dip can promote rust just as with rubberized undercoating due to improper prep. Not to get into an argument over it but you even say yourself it can be peeled off. Problem is, you get an area that chips, peels or bubbles the rest of the finish follows.
> 
> Your mileage may vary.


No not at all, Understand, it's working good for me but you know different applications and climates very. I did use a lot of coats which I figure helps...


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## dragonrage

Anything that adds mass will help.

If you want a GOOD spray, get Cascade VB-1s from Parts-Express. Kinda expensive at $16/can, though. They say you can do 2 doors with a can, or if you do well, 1 can per door. I recommend 2 cans per door. And do it in a WELL VENTILATED area and COMPLETELY seal the car from the door. The fumes aren't going to kill you in low concentration from what gets in your car but they do stick around for a while and smell bad. I'd leave your door panels off for a good couple of days.


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## SoulFly

i've used truck bed liner and even rubber roofing type material. Anything that adds mass to a panel will be better than before. However i think there is still a difference between actually sound deadening and just vibration deadening. Either is better than nothing but sound deadening has a better impact..to me it does a better job at keeping outside noise out and inside sound in.


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## BMWZ31997

I love Plasti Dip I just did my BMW Z3 pearl Matt white and my 19" wheels center white. So I will try this as a deadener


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## Broshi

Anything with microballoons in it serves as a moderately effective spray-on sound deadener. It's essentially what LizardSkin is (which is funny seeing as it runs for nearly $90 a gallon).


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## Phil Indeblanc

Send some to TooStub...

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum...isons/146403-sound-deadening-cld-testing.html


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## TOOSTUBBORN2FAIL

No spray on liner will perform better than a true CLD material. Spray on products are free layer dampers. A free layer damper has inherent disadvantages to constrained layer dampers. They must completely depend on the mass and thickness of the spray, which is a very inefficient way to reduce vibration.

It is true that anything helps, but a true CLD will help far more.



Edit - this is coming from someone that used 4 gallons of second skin spectrum in the wheel wells and trunk of my last car, and damplifier pro on the front half of the car. If you've seen my other posts, you'll know my future methods of deadening.


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## InstantCrush

Not only that but Plastidip is not heavy and is also not durable... to be honest, this is an awful idea. Painting a car with it is also an awful idea.


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## Alrojoca

What about FLEXSEAL?

I was thinking of this the other day, not as as deadening or maybe, but more of a subwoofer box sealer on the joints 


It's is sticky, I used a rusteouleum version of it on my gutters and it seems to be working good even after a couple of years 


Here is a video by a non bias user putting it to the test

http://youtu.be/oh3JSR1URe0


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## InstantCrush

Rubberized stuff is fine. I'd sooner suggest 3m rubberized undercoating for cars, but that Flexseal stuff is probably fine as well. Make sure to let it dry for a good few days before installing a subwoofer. Certain types of chemicals can offgass while curing and harm materials used in some speakers, especially those with foam surrounds.

In general I don't recommend Rustoleum brand, but I'm glad to hear that it's working well for you. I've used other stuff from them like truck bed liner that was incredibly bad. They have perhaps some decent products, but lots of crap.


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## SkizeR

Alrojoca said:


> What about FLEXSEAL?
> 
> I was thinking of this the other day, not as as deadening or maybe, but more of a subwoofer box sealer on the joints
> 
> 
> It's is sticky, I used a rusteouleum version of it on my gutters and it seems to be working good even after a couple of years
> 
> 
> Here is a video by a non bias user putting it to the test
> 
> http://youtu.be/oh3JSR1URe0


nope. tried it on my old car. does literally nothing. CLD is the one thing you cant beat the system on in car audio.


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## InstantCrush

SkizeR said:


> nope. tried it on my old car. does literally nothing. CLD is the one thing you cant beat the system on in car audio.


I would say they accomplish different purposes.


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## SkizeR

InstantCrush said:


> I would say they accomplish different purposes.


then what would you use the rubberized undercoating for?


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## Theslaking

Shop LEAK STOPPER Roof Sealant at Lowe's

As I work in the roofing industry I have tried most rubberized sprays. This is what has worked out best for me. Honestly I have never used a spray to fix someone's house. None have impressed me enough to put my business reputation on the line. I have however had this on custom built armrests for years in a car with zero degradation. The others mentioned failed way faster and never made it to a high traffic installation for me. 

And there is no way I would waste my time or $20 using as a sound deadener. If I wanted a liquid or confirming sound deadener for door panels I would use Second Skin.


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## Alrojoca

InstantCrush said:


> Rubberized stuff is fine. I'd sooner suggest 3m rubberized undercoating for cars, but that Flexseal stuff is probably fine as well. Make sure to let it dry for a good few days before installing a subwoofer. Certain types of chemicals can offgass while curing and harm materials used in some speakers, especially those with foam surrounds.
> 
> In general I don't recommend Rustoleum brand, but I'm glad to hear that it's working well for you. I've used other stuff from them like truck bed liner that was incredibly bad. They have perhaps some decent products, but lots of crap.





SkizeR said:


> nope. tried it on my old car. does literally nothing. CLD is the one thing you cant beat the system on in car audio.


I was not planning on use it as a deadener, just a sealer inside a sub box but based on the smell and chemicals ( I remember almost getting high spraying that stuff on my gutters, being outdoors) I think I will just use, glue, silicon or butyl rope. Not worth risking damage to sub or drivers


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## InstantCrush

SkizeR said:


> then what would you use the rubberized undercoating for?


It accomplishes a similar purpose as foam (not mass-loaded stuff).


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## cmccoy0102

Interesting


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## hunde

love plasti-dip and use it on all sorts of stuff. does hold up much better than expected, but eventually fails. just cant take loads of heat cycling before it breaks down. That said, i've had it on my sprinter wheels for 3 mos, did a quick and dirty spray, and it is solid and MAN do those wheels get hot. Less than 20k on it and i have destroyed the pads and rotors because i drive it like a track car, hah ha. Custom slotted rotors, pads and braided SS lines on the way...


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## axipher

I can't see Plasti-dip adding enough mass to make a difference, but what about reducing reflections? I would think spraying a decent coat on a flat surface behind a speaker could help.


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## SkizeR

axipher said:


> I can't see Plasti-dip adding enough mass to make a difference, but what about reducing reflections? I would think spraying a decent coat on a flat surface behind a speaker could help.


Nope

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk


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## TOOSTUBBORN2FAIL

axipher said:


> I can't see Plasti-dip adding enough mass to make a difference, but what about reducing reflections? I would think spraying a decent coat on a flat surface behind a speaker could help.


In order to reduce reflections, a material has to either absorb the energy or diffract it. Plasti-dip can't absorb air so it can't absorb them, and it's not rough enough to diffract anything but the frequencies we can't even close to hear.

As far as adding mass, that is not the way good vibration dampers work. Adding mass is a horribly inefficient way to reduce vibration.


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## axipher

SkizeR said:


> Nope
> 
> Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk





TOOSTUBBORN2FAIL said:


> In order to reduce reflections, a material has to either absorb the energy or diffract it. Plasti-dip can't absorb air so it can't absorb them, and it's not rough enough to diffract anything but the frequencies we can't even close to hear.
> 
> As far as adding mass, that is not the way good vibration dampers work. Adding mass is a horribly inefficient way to reduce vibration.


All good to know, I really wasn't convinced Plasti-dip was a good alternative, was just trying to figure out how it could make a difference, however small.


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