Interior update - Sound deadening & Panel refinishing

[Keith-SMB]

Hi all. Recently completed another project on my '93 E250. This place has been a great resource so I thought I'd share this nice improvement.

I'm upgrading the stereo system which snowballed into a few different things. The plastic panels were in good shape but badly sun bleached into a weird yellow color. I had thought about a few different options of refinishing them but settled on painting them. Faster, cheaper, easy to touch up, etc. Process went as follows:

Wash with soap/water.
Acetone wipe
Alcohol wipe
Two coats SEM 39863 Plastic adhesion promoter
Three light coats SEM 15393 med gray color coat

Then as I was screwing plastic into plastic into sheet metal (thanks Ford), I thought "gosh, this is only going to rattle like crazy even more than it already does." So I decided I was going to line all six doors with sound deadening. I ordered the "Kilmat" self-adhesive 80 mil butyl & foil sound deadening sheets. This stuff:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0751CBXBT?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

Did all six doors with plenty leftover.

Results so far:
Very happy with the finish of the paint. Stood up well to the first outing and seems quite scratch resistant.
Even happier with the noise reduction from the sound deadening. Wish I had a better way of measuring it, but for me it's a very worthwhile investment. Cost was reasonable and the execution was quite easy.

Pics below of the process.
edit - well it rotated the photos for some reason but you get the idea. Gotta love tech.

 

[doublevan2]

I measured my "sound deadening" efforts by downloading the "dB sound detector" app to my iPhone - and tested before and after install - with windows up - and found about 20% - 30% positive reduction. If already installed on the Kilmat - too late for you -

 

[Keith-SMB]

I measured my "sound deadening" efforts by downloading the "dB sound detector" app to my iPhone - and tested before and after install - with windows up - and found about 20% - 30% positive reduction. If already installed on the Kilmat - too late for you -

That matches up with my ballpark estimation. Has me motivated to add more to the doghouse and other spots.

 

[Ace944gs]

My dog house has a lot of insulation already on the inside from factory (2014 e350 build).

So you just add more on top of what's there? It's in good shape and pretty thick...and I'm cautious about putting more stuff so close to engine...

Nice job on the panel painting OP!

 

[Keith-SMB]

My dog house has a lot of insulation already on the inside from factory (2014 e350 build).

So you just add more on top of what's there? It's in good shape and pretty thick...and I'm cautious about putting more stuff so close to engine...

Nice job on the panel painting OP!

I'm guessing my '93 isn't as robust, but only had it off once last year and don't recall. If I were to do it, I'd take off the factory insulation, line it with the Kilmat and then reinstall the factory insulation. Might just be something that needs some spot improvements. TBD on all that.

 

[coloradoup]

Nice work. I did my floors but not the walls and doors. Sounds like a good idea.

 

[The_Vermonster]

I did floors and walls/doors with Damplifier Pro, and stuffed the cavities with Thinsulate.
At 70mph It dropped the DB rating from 79 to 73. That doesn't sound like much but it's significant. It also significantly changed the pitch of the noises that can come through. So it's a much nicer ride.

The problem now is that I can tell the door seals need to be replaced. :/

 

[kbeefy]

On my short list. Thanks for sharing!

 

[doublevan2]

Although I also added doghouse sound deadening - I found thickness limited to "would the doghouse still attach" with the clips/mounting - or create a gap and not seal correctly - allowing both heat, exhaust, and noise to enter cab ? Had to add - then remove - until I found the right thickness - not sure if my V-10 versus a V-8 5.4 makes a diff in thickness ?

 

[geoffff]

I did floors and walls/doors with Damplifier Pro, and stuffed the cavities with Thinsulate.
At 70mph It dropped the DB rating from 79 to 73. That doesn't sound like much but it's significant. It also significantly changed the pitch of the noises that can come through. So it's a much nicer ride.

The problem now is that I can tell the door seals need to be replaced. :/

79 to 73 is a very significant difference!



I should get some Thinsulite...


-- Geoff

 

[geoffff]

I did end up insulating my driver and passenger doors, as well as the inside door steps (under the plastic covers).

I stuck butyl sound deadening (RAAMmat BXT) to the inside of the outer sheet metal, and then glued Thinsulate to the backsides of the door panels (using 3M Super 77 adhesive). Getting the door panels back onto the doors with that Thinsulate in there was tricky, but after *lots* of fiddling I finally successfully got them back in place. The trick is to get the bottom four clips attached before working on the other four.

I wasn't expecting much ... but wow! This actually noticeably reduced the highway road noise! I wish I had taken dB readings before and after, but I can now have a quiet conversation with my passenger, and I don't feel like reaching for my earplugs when driving alone anymore.

 

[geoffff]

Here's the inside step.