Hi everyone,

This is where I want to post any questions that come up in the process of deadening/sealing my doors for optimum sound. First off some terminology:

door trim panel: the plastic piece you remove to get to the inner and outer metal door panels
inner door panel: the metal door panel that has the woofer cutout
outer door panel: the metal door panel that's on the other side of the rolled down window when viewed from the cabin.

OK, so I've removed the door trim panel. Now I'm faced with a plastic sheet that's held in place with large amounts of soft white adhesive. Can I just remove the sheet and clean off the adhesive? I figure, since I'm trying to seal the doors, I won't need to put the sheet back.

Thanks.

 

the sheet is only to keep water out from the plastic door panel. the water will run down the window and into the door. I don' tknow if you can get away without having it or not because water could get on the power window switch and stuff.

 

yes. remove it. you dont need that once you seal it up.

make sure the places you deaden are clean enough to eat off of. i like to use acetone and/or rubbing alcohol.

 

Will do, MR_ASDF, hopefully this weekend. Some questions, though:

I've had problems in the trunk with rubbing alchohol and would expect the same problems on the inner door panel. Rubbing alchohol dissolves the topcoat Honda puts on the interior metal panels. (Not sure why they topcoat these panels in the first place) It doesn't seem to attack the primer coat; just the topcoat. Didn't you notice this? I've read on sounddomain that a multi-pupose degreaser will also work and not attack any paint. What is your opinion?

What about the big gap in the lower corner of the inner door panel (lower right on passenger side; lower left on driver side)? The plastic sheet has an insert in the gap. After removing the sheet, did you just dynamat over the gap as much as possible? What about first attaching a piece of MDF or plywood (shaped roughly to cover the gap without obstructing wiring or the door handle and lock rods) and then dynamatting?

Since I'm removing the sheet with the insert, I'm assuming I'll also remove the spacer (labelled "protector) that's mounted on the door trim panel. Please confirm.

The door handle and lock rods: I'm sure you noticed they extend from the outer to the inner door panels. How do you dynamat without interfering with them? Any suggestions here? Same question goes for all the wiring harnesses and other doo-dads mounted on the face of the inner door panel.


Thanks for your patience, MR_ASDF. Anyone else with knowledge of these details, please feel free to chime in as well.

 

Not to hijack this thread, but what are the pro's to dynamatting the entire door?

 

I was hoping to make this more of a "how to" thread.

There is another thread where MR_ASDF makes his case for why you would seal and deaden the doors. Have a look at:

https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=308170

and fire away there with any questions you have about the value of doing this.

I have some doubts myself but I'm going to give it a try, though probably not to the extreme that MR_ASDF went to.

 

no i have not. when i do it, i take a towel and make it damp with rubbing alcohol. i never soak it. degreaser will work, but why pay several dollars when you can use something you most likely already have at home.


take everything off the door. so basically you are left with metal and wiring. then cover up all the holes except for the holes that are used for the clips and screws to go back in.

deaden the door first, then attach the MDF baffle. once you have the baffle attached, then use more deadener around the baffle to seal it up.

for the metal rods and locks, you have to rip the deadener then stick the it on and have the rod go through it. then you need to take some type of material and put it around the area where the rod goes through. this way, the lock rods can still slide back and forth.

i hope i dont sound mean when i ask you this and dont take it the wrong way, but do you have a creative side? this should be something that should not need to be explained.

once you go out there and do it, you will experience the problems yourself and then your creative side will think of a way to solve the problems.

 

Thanks for your patience, MR_ASDF. My creative side is working, just very slowly.

I usually get only a few hours a week for this project, which is my first encounter with the inner workings of a car. For this reason I depend as much as possible on more experienced people like yourself. Be assured I have solved many problems along the way so there are many questions I haven't needed to ask. Finally, since other inexperienced people might be using this thread to work on their cars, I figure the more detail the better.

So just dynamat for that big gap between the inner and outer door panels (just beneath the lock and handle rods)? It's a big area and the dynamat has nothing to stick to. I also wonder about that spacer attached to the door trim panel. It has to come out because of the dynamat. I just wonder what its purpose was.

Thanks again.