# Stop MB Water Damage *Under $25* no 56k



## circa40

Sorry if something like has already been discussed. 

This will _help_ stop water from dripping onto your MB's. 

I finally found another set of replacement RMBs

Buy List, everything available at either home depot or Lowes: 
Thin aluminum sheet - $12
Gasket chalk - $8
Leftover sound dampening material - $5 

Tools needed: Metal snips, gloves (recommended), and zinc coated screws

This is my 1st gen. 5~6 year old Kicker RMB8 (one was blown)









Rust:blush:

























Aluminum sheet









Measure and cut the aluminum to the depth of the speaker + ~1" and about 1/2 the radius of the speaker









Measure up 1" and about 3/4" even slits









Cut









Bend to 90 degrees


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## circa40

Big hole









Dynashield and ED V4 (hasn't fallen off yet )









Install. Use 1 screw on top. yeah yeah, i know it looks a bit silly 









Problem









Problem solved









I applied a layer of ED V1 on the bottom and above the aluminum (this might fall off tho)









Carefully install the woofer. Make sure it fits snugly. By installing the woofer now, it evenly spreads out the flanges. While the woofer is in, seal the flanges with SD material. 









Out with kicker's original gasket and in with the chalk. Its kinda like a non-harding clay.

















Applied. 









Installed. I added a layer of 1/8" closed cell foam for the heck of it. If you look closely at the edge of the woofer flange, I added another bead of the gasket









Partially fried VC. I guess a year with 150w, LP @ 50hz with no ss filter can do that, oh well best $100 woofers that Ive ever used.


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## Soundsaround

Very clever!
Question on the aluminum - It looks thicker than the flashing material I bought from Home Depot, what department is it in? On the label, is the .020 referring to .020" thickness?


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## circa40

Soundsaround said:


> Very clever!
> Question on the aluminum - It looks thicker than the flashing material I bought from Home Depot, what department is it in? On the label, is the .020 referring to .020" thickness?


I'm not sure about the thickness, buts slightly thicker then a soda can...maybe a bit thicker then 1/64"? I'm not totally sure but I think I got mine from Lowes


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## dogstar

.020 will be 0.020" or 20 thou.
Pretty thin, soda cans are around 10-18 thou.

Nicely done, I was lucky in that my factory adaptors/speakers had rain guards already.


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## ItalynStylion

Interesting. Any idea how well it works? I would imagine that the flow patters for water entering the door differ for every car so results are likely to vary. When I get my next car I'll give this a shot. 

Before I do it though I plan to remove the door panel and shut the door with the window up. Then have a friend (or helpful girlfriend) spray the hose on the window to see where the water actually comes down from. That would probably tell you if you even need to do this at all.


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## captainobvious

They have different thickness flashing at most hardware stores like lowes and THD.
Nice idea. Maybe put a small piece or two of raammat on the inside edge to combat any vibration you may get in that aluminum shield.
Good job.


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## circa40

captainobvious said:


> They have different thickness flashing at most hardware stores like lowes and THD.
> Nice idea. Maybe put a small piece or two of raammat on the inside edge to combat any vibration you may get in that aluminum shield.
> Good job.


 There is one layer on both sides. I would have added more but since it was such a tight fit, the MB wouldn't have fit properly...I know, I messed up on the other side:blush:


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## captainobvious

ahhh, I didnt see that line above the picture. Good stuff. (not edead, the idea  )


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## ogahyellow

I did something similar to that using flexible cutting mats (http://www.amazon.com/Flexible-Cutting-Mat-18-24/dp/B0000VLJAY) that I got free, and some hot glue + CA glue. All in all my solution cost me less than 1 dollar! They have the thin mats at the dollar store near me too, so the most one might have to spend is considerably less. My baffles are HDPE so I was able to get some stickage between the 2 plastics. 

The one aspect I'm not so sure of is how the aluminum/steel combination will work for oxidation. My "research" leads me to believe that the aluminum will oxidize first because it is a stronger reducing agent. If it even matters at all...which I would love input on. But I was worried, so I went with all plastic. Hooray for recycling dead dinosaurs!


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## sebberry

Thanks for the tip! I was always wondering what people did to keep water out of expensive speakers.


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## maxxis

Might be a silly question but wont the aluminum cause resonance inside the door?

Great advice. Thanks for sharing?


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## ItalynStylion

He deadened the Aluminum. Even one sheet of deadener on an aluminum surface that is less than 1mm thick is not going to resonate at all.


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## HCCA

Why not just use plastic Bass Boomers, and just cut the rear of them out? No real work to make them fit. Just cut out the back, and mount them in the door. You could deaden them, too, if you were worried about resonance. And, they can't corrode.


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## armed

i should try this


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## emperorjj1

looks nice man. lol on your broken woofer it looks like the motor shifted too... was that after you blew it?


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## jimp

just need to get a sub now don't I. lol...


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## andrewmoore13

i like the plastic idea. more metal to rust and corrode...?


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## IBcivic

just go dig through your wife's [or mom's] tupperware stash.... find a bowl of the right diameter and depth and cut it in half ...voila...2 rust proof drip sheilds.
just add a layer of dampening material to make em quiet. make sure to seal off the edge[inside the door] well or the water will find it's way to your speaker baffle.


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## elnava

doesnt the outer aluminum cause more vibrations? or did you use more screws or some bad-ass adhesive?


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## Crusadis

Nice work on the plate. Thanks for sharing.


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## fight4life28

Great idea. I will do this when I get my component speakers in.


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## ClarkDV

I bought a set of speaker baffles for my 6.5" comp set just for the water protection. But I read on here somewhere that another poster said speaker baffles killed his bass, so he cut the backs of them out.

Should I do that on mine?

Are speaker baffles not suited to block rain? 

Wouldn't they have been an easier, cheaper, and equally effective to block rain as these custom made aluminum shields?

Enlighten me, gents!


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## IBcivic

if you use foam speaker baffles....cut the bottom half out to let the woofer breath.

I used 4" x 12" rubber strip from a cheap welcome mat, in my current installation and it keeps the rain off my mids, doesn't resonate, and flexes out of the way, when my window is rolled down.


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## ClarkDV

amitaF said:


> if you use foam speaker baffles....cut the bottom half out to let the woofer breath.
> 
> I used 4" x 12" rubber strip from a cheap welcome mat, in my current installation and it keeps the rain off my mids, doesn't resonate, and flexes out of the way, when my window is rolled down.


Do you mean the entire bottom of the baffle or say 180 degrees of the 360 of the bottom, leaving one half of the magnet exposed (the bottom half)?

Thanks!


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## prettysweetsounds

I did the exact same thing in my car. folded over the dynamat and even cut out a piece of tin to make a MB 'shelter'.

Easy to do, cheap, and pretty effective.

use some antiseize on your wire connections and you're good to go.

stick to MB's without paper cones too and you'll be good


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## IBcivic

ClarkDV said:


> Do you mean the entire bottom of the baffle or say 180 degrees of the 360 of the bottom, leaving one half of the magnet exposed (the bottom half)?
> 
> Thanks!


Yup... you are just creating an umbrella.....there is no secret formula to it


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## 9mmmac

^^^ Yes, I think that's the idea- leave the bottom horizontal half open. I'll be trying this, or the tupperware bowl method someday.


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## emperorjj1

ClarkDV said:


> I bought a set of speaker baffles for my 6.5" comp set just for the water protection. But I read on here somewhere that another poster said speaker baffles killed his bass, so he cut the backs of them out.
> 
> Should I do that on mine?
> 
> Are speaker baffles not suited to block rain?
> 
> Wouldn't they have been an easier, cheaper, and equally effective to block rain as these custom made aluminum shields?
> 
> Enlighten me, gents!


most baffles make the speaker sound like ass cheese.


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## Blorton

Thanks for the idea! I need to do something like this for my pending door install.


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## fcarpio

I used the stuff in the link below, just cut it with scissors. Easier to install and its held for a couple of years now and still feels like it did when new. My car is a G37 with the frameless window and the doors leak a little, right on top of my L8's. The L8's are now gone (rusted to death) but the new speakers are covered and stay dry with this contraption. Mine is cut in half (I only need to cover the top) with the back removed. This is soft water proof foam that can be very easily cut with scissors alone. Particularly good for people like me with very few tools at home.

Amazon.com: XTC 12" Round Foam Baffle Pair: Car Electronics


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## upgrayedd

Off topic. Is that an 8 in an accord door by chance?


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## supramkivtt2jz

I did this myself last week. Thanks for the idea!


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## rich20730

Thanks! I'm going to try this.


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## monty9991

I really liked this DIY and used this to protect my MB.

Also later then I developed this in proper plastic WaterGurad. Inspired by circa40's design and the credit goes to him only. I just used his basic idea and made it hassle free for the people who don't like DIYs.

check out the design at WaterGuard


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## BrianSomething

Bump the old thread.... Interested to see this, but all the pics look dead. Anyone got a pic or two left from this to give me ideas? I'm assuming these are formed half umbrellas sealed to the inner door skin covering the MB?


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