Refurbing floor, insulation, boarding out etc

[Wannabay]

I know this has probably been asked many times before but I've just stripped out the back of my 1971 RHD Danbury and this is what it looks like

As far as I can see there's no holes in the floor and it's mainly surface rust in the corners, while the side panels look virtually factory fresh - not bad for 37 yrs of UK weather! My plan is to go over the floor with a wire brush & Frosts stripping disc; treat with a rust converter, paint the whole floor; insulate and board back over; and also put some insulation into the side panels and some sound deadening material over the top of the engine bay.

I've used por 15 on some fairly small items in the past - is this still highly rated?
And what do people recommend for insulating the floor and side panels and sound deadening material for the engine bay?

Thanks in advance

Gerry

 

[vdub wannabe]

Hi Gerry

I'm just about to do this too in my bay.

On the large body panels, where they will bea lot of resoncance due to their sound, I will be putting a layer of dynomat pro:

http://www.dynamat.com/products_automotive_introduction.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Which you can get from most car audio websites, some people use Wickes roof felt but I have heard that you can get 'read through' on the paint A surface paint.
If you tap the panels they will give you a high pitch ring - once the dynomat is fitted its more of a thud. I would out it on the floor aswell, above the engine bay, doors and roof, but then when you peel back the carpet/bed you'll see a silver surface......some people like to see factory paint.

The dynomat pro needs to be put in the centre of the panel, but the more over the panel the better.

Thats what I would use for the first layer. Second layer I am going to use a sound deadening felt....like this:

http://www.woolies-trim.co.uk/c-126-felt.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Woolies do a variety of sound deadening - expensive to the cheaper stuff, engine bay to interior - good people on the phone too.
Again this comes with a self adhesive backing or you can buy the thicker stuff then get a tub of high temp adhesive (which really stinks!).

I've done all this in my cabrio beetle and the difference is amazing. This is the link to Volkstourge thread with pictures (including my mates Ford focus - a bit over the top):
http://www.volkstorque.co.uk/vt/mech-tech-questions-answers/47044-soundproofing.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Need to get my bay painted first then its on with the sound deadening.

Funnily enough I'm doing some NVH design at work today.

Hope it helps? :wink:

Greg

 

[Wannabay]

Greg

That's really useful, thanks

I saw the Dynamat stuff on the JK site and thought it quite expensive - where did you get yours from to do the beetle? There are alternatives, eg woolies do a 1.6mil thick sound deadening mat, but are they as good as dynamat? any idea?

Not sure about using unadulterated felt in a van because of condensation, water ingress, 'spillages' etc. Most people seem to go for foil backed (and hopefully water tight) insulation, although this is probably less good at sound deadening.

Are you intending to put ply down as well? Am thinking that with the dynamat at 1.5mil; then say 10mils of felt, plus 4-6mils of ply, it may raise floor level a weeny bit - does this matter?

As for your mate's ford focus, must've been whisper quiet with all that dynamat in it!

cheers

gerry

 

[ProfessorWheeto]

Flashband from focus diy. Same job as dynamat but at a fraction of the price. :wink:

With the floor you can use multiple layers of the foam used under laminate flooring, doesn't hold water and again is fairly cheap. With putting anything extra down on the floor you will find it will raise the floor level slightly.

I used the bubblewrap/foil type insulation in my single, again got some cheap stuff from focus called thermawrap.

Works alright for me!

 

[ianscooby]

between the panels (not door) try using a rigid type insulation which you should get from wickes anyone with a foil backed is the best

 

[vdub wannabe]

I saw the Dynamat stuff on the JK site and thought it quite expensive - where did you get yours from to do the beetle? There are alternatives, eg woolies do a 1.6mil thick sound deadening mat, but are they as good as dynamat? any idea?

I got some small samples from work, but most of the large sheets for the Beetle floor came from the left overs from the Ford Focus!
There are the alternatives to the Dynamat stuff on ebay:
http://shop.ebay.co.uk/items/_W0QQ_nkwZsoundQ20deadeningQQ_armrsZ1QQ_fromZR40QQ_mdoZ" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
If the above link does'nt work type "sound deadening" into the Ebay search.

The thicker the sound deadener the better, however some is better than none.

Are you intending to put ply down as well? Am thinking that with the dynamat at 1.5mil; then say 10mils of felt, plus 4-6mils of ply, it may raise floor level a weeny bit - does this matter?

I am going to do roughly the same as you here but maybe a thicker exterior ply, as for raising the floor, I'm sure you can an edge beading from B&Q (similar to that used to do edging for laminate floor) that will hide the layers.

As for your mate's ford focus, must've been whisper quiet with all that dynamat in it!

He used on top of that the grey sponge/nenoprene and the felt. He even painted the rear door cards in a paintable sound proofing compound...eDead(?). He still moans about road noise :shock:
Be careful when applying the dynomat as he got some adhesive on his hands, and now has a nice hand print on the bonnet that even T-cut can't remove.

When are you planning to do yours? I'm hoping to get the van painting soon, but trying to sell my Karmann Beetle Cabrio to fund the bay project.

 

[slammedresto]

heres how i did my old westy

edead, then polystyrene panels over that

bubble insulation in the roof

 

[matt-me]

For those above that have already done this, slammed, prof and all, how successful has this been? Sound wise and heat wise? I am really interested to know as have been planning to do this.

Also have any of you experienced any condensation problems/surface rust issues inside, this is my one main concern, to find problems at a later date. I know it is impossible to totally avoid cold bridges but if you have any feedback, it would be much appreciated to everyone i am sure

Ta Al

 

[ProfessorWheeto]

I'm fairly happy with the way its turned out, van seems to hold the heat well but it does help as its black as well!

As for noise reduction the main thing I can hear is the exhaust but its aftermarket so to be expected. The noise difference when the windows are down is massive though. Doors shut with a nice solid clunk as well. To reduce noise further I would give the arches the flashband treatment and buy the stock rubber mats as I don't have any currently.

Haven't noticed any problems with rust or condensation, but I was sure to give the doors a good coat of primer and topcoat when I sprayed them and checked if the drainholes were clear. The windows do steam up of a cold morning but they are clear when I get in so I think its from me being in there! Clears soon enough anyway. Have put the plastic sheets back on the cab doors which apparently helps to keep the condensation out.

 

[matt-me]

Thank you Prof, an informed response, with results, is what i was after. Much appreciated.

One question, did you have to use the primer with the flashband to help it stick or was it OK on its own warmed up a little?

Al

 

[ProfessorWheeto]

Well it all had a gloss painted surface to stick to, I just degreased the surface and applyed it to that. The first lot of flashband I stuck on during a sunny day. Peeled the backing off and let it warm up on the back of the van in the sunshine.
The second lot I did I had to warm it up slightly with a blow torch. Seems to have stuck alright so far!