Cure for deafness...Dynamat or Silent Coat?

[Paul Y]

In my quest to make my PU more daily driver friendly I am looking at using sound deadening, the challenge is 'which one should I use?'

Looked at Dynamat but bloody hell it is expensive! Started doing a little research and came across Silent Coat which is about a 1/3rd of the price. My question is, has anybody used the competitor?

Used a Bitumen based product in a previous vehicle that I ended up taking out as it stank, don't want to make the same mistake again, so would be interested if anybody has any other suggestions.

P.

[colnerov]

HI, Bitumen as you say smells but it also goes hard over time and so is less effective. you need stuff that is Butyl based as it's odour free.

Colin

[omega]

years ago I used carpet underlay in the doors and floor of a escort seamed to make a diffrence

[Deleted]

I'm in the same boat, Dynamat is really effective but obviously expensive. I found some of the bitumen stuff in the shed and as mentioned it stinks when it gets hot.

I've kept it away from anywhere hot (trans tunnel, bulkhead etc) and it seems to be doing alright so far - decent noise reduction and no smell. Although I'd like to try something like Silent Coat in case it's like Dynamat without the price tag.

[bazzateer]

Silent coat gets good reviews on Amazon. Seems a good alternative to Dynamat.

[ProjectBobcat]

I have used silent coat in mine, it works just as well as dynamat in my opinion. I'd recommend it

[Paul Y]

Thanks for the replys Gents, apologies but I lost my own thread when it got moved...

Mr Bobcat, did you go for the squares or the sheets? With the PU cab I feel that the squares might be more manageable as there is not a lot of room. Thoughts?

P.

[mk2cossie]

I got a couple of rolls of a product called Brown Bread, from somewhere like Maplins I think.
Works bloody well at keeping the bass in my boot and was about half the price of Dynamat

Although I have a suspicion that the company was bought out by Dynamat.
Car Audio Direct usually has good deals on sound deadening stuff tho

[ProjectBobcat]

I went for the bulk pack, the sheets were rectangular, longest dimension being just over a foot from memory, it was pretty easy to apply, i did use a heat gun to help things though.

[sonus]

www.sounddeadenershowdown.com/

The site started out as a test site for different products, but has ended up supplying its own products.
Plenty to learn from the site though.

[SmokeEm]

I always use Evo-Stik Flashband. I work for a builders merchant so get it dirt cheap. Goes on like Dynamat, works like Dynamat - No smell whatsoever.

I pay about £10 for a 9" x 10m roll but that is half what most would pay - Still miles cheaper than Dynamat though.

[ChasR]

I have tried 3 or products over the years including

• Dynamat
• Flashing Tape (Butyl Based
• SecondSkin Damplifier Pro
• Bodyline (put in most other cheap deadening materials here

Over the years I have been in other cars with other deadening materials.

From my experience Dynamat is OK, but not amazing. Dynamat Xtreme (DX) is very good (and IMO the only one of the range worth buying) but it is expensive.

Flashing tape is relatively effective but it has its issues. It is a royal pain to apply ; I had to have it almost too hot to the touch in order to make the stuff stick onto the Stag (and yes I did clean the surfaces very thoroughly with degreasers etc.) and in order to get the performance half decent you have to apply alot of it, taking time. To get it as good as SecondSkin DP or DX you have to apply a good few layers, leaving you with potential adhesion issues (the weight of 4+ layers together) and refitting parts .

SecondSkin Damplifier Pro IMO is the bee's knees! Without minimal prep it goes it, it tends never to fall off and it is not a royal pain to remove if necessary ; it is the only product that will stick in some areas of my RST near the engine bay (I used it to stop some metal things rubbing through and to reduce a couple of rattles where there are metal tanks to metal in the bay ; with the bling there is plenty...!). It also makes quite a difference inside even with one layer ; something drivers of my Focus commented on, confirming the 'quietness' was far from a placebo to justify getting it .

With that in mind I would do the following:

1)If you want the best stuff and have little time on your hands (I struggle to find time to keep one car going these days!) SecondSkin DP, DX and the better Silent Coat products you should be fine. I have not tried the latter but I have heard good things.

2) If cash is tight and you need something Flashing tape will be better than nothing, but be prepared to put in the time ; a hairdryer (or heatgun) with a strong roller (preferably a purpose made one , the paint ones will fall apart with the pressure required!) will be required alongside a perfectly clean panel IME.

However, Butyl matting will not help in quietening things alone. It takes a combination of factores.

Because the Escort is missing the underlay from a few places I plan to use the SecondSkin DP on parts of the car where resonance occurs, thus sparingly. On the floors I beleive you can buy fibre underlay material which works very well. I have tried carpet underlay before with some success but it seems to hate damp inside a car and crumble badly :/.

[sonus]

www.raamaudio.com/

That's what I ended up putting in my MGB