Spectrum™ is a water based under coating designed to reduce sheet metal resonance and structure borne noise. It is a true visceolastic sound deadener that can make any vehicle quiet as a luxury car.
Spectrum can be applied as an interior coating on the sheet metal behind the upholstery, or as an acoustical undercoating on the outside of the floor pan to create tomb like silence and provide mechanical protection from rust.
When applied to the interior and exterior floor pan, Spectrum can reduce 300% more road, engine and exhaust noise than traditional OEM dampers and tar boards, all at half the weight.
Whether you are looking to quiet down your hot rod, or make your daily driver comfortable as a luxury car, Spectrum has proven to be the easiest most efficient coating on the market.
Here is a Quick lesson:
The majority of reducible noise in any car is structure borne, meaning it comes from vibrations, like a wind chime. Unlike wind chimes however, our cars are not tuned to any specific musical frequency, so what we end up hearing is the road noise, engine rumble and exhaust drone.
Stopping the vibrations on your cars metal panels is much like stopping a noisy wind chime with your hand. Once the vibrations stop, the noise stops.
Traditional noise mats are mostly inefficient mass loaders; heavy & foul smelling tar boards that work by adding weight to the car to quiet it down.
Spectrum is not a mass loader. It is an elastomeric polymer that works by converting the vibrations in to barely detectable heat. This conversion of energy makes Spectrum 300% more efficient than mass loaders while weighing half as much, and once cured is odorless and self extinguishing.
Because Spectrum™ is a curing polymer, it won't chip or crack under extreme temperatures or abuse, making it perfect for use as an interior coating or as an undercoating. It can be sprayed with our Second Skin Spray Gun or applied with a paint brush or roller.
Coverage: 1 gallon = 40 sq ft @ 40 mils (12.192 meters @ 1mm thick)
Mass/Area .047 lbs/Sq.Ft. @ 1mm thick (.213kg/m²)
If you have an aftermarket, sound system, then you know that a lot of the musical energy is spent, and even wasted by vibrating and flexing the your cars metal panels. Not only are these vibrations loud, and obnoxious, but they also limit the potential of your stereo.
Spectrum will help improve your audio system in several ways.
Since it is a vibration damper it will obviously reduce the panel vibration caused from your speakers allowing your music to sound clearer. It also strengthens the cars panels.
With stronger, non flexing panels, the energy is no longer being wasted and stays inside the car, making your music louder, clearer and less obnoxious to those around you.
Another way Spectrum improves your audio system is by reducing ambient sound like road noise, engine noise & exhaust drone. When you can quiet down the rest of the car, the stereo has less sonic real estate to fight for, and the perceived volume increases.
Even if you are using one of our vibration mats, Damplifier or Damplifier Pro, you can still stand to gain from a gallon or 2 of Spectrum. Adding as little as 1 gallon to to the areas of the car you are unable to reach with your damping mats, can help in increase surface coverage by as much as 15%.
Coverage: 1 gallon = 40 sq ft @ 40 mils (12.192 meters @ 1mm thick)
Mass/Area .047 lbs/Sq.Ft. @ 1mm thick (.213kg/m²)
Anything you place in front of the heat source will help reduce or slow down the heat. Spectrum will help reduce heat to a small degree but is not specifically designed to do so. Any heat reduction noticed from Spectrum is purely a side benefit, not an intended result.
For a ceramic coating designed to reduce heat and insulate from extreme automotive temperatures, check out Firewall.
What is the difference between Spectrum, Sludge and Firewall?
Spectrum is our flag ship vibration coating. It is designed to specifically reduce resonance in automobile sheet metal. It does an amazing job at reducing noise in passenger cars, and anything else that is metal and vibrating. It will help reduce heat somewhat, but is not nearly as effective as our water based ceramic coating Firewall. Spectrum can be applied with a brush, roller or one of the spray guns we sell on our web site. It has the consistency of chocolate syrup. If you are looking for a coating that will take care of structure borne noise and vibrations, Spectrum is the product for you.
Sludge is basically the same product as Spectrum, with one main difference. When you order Sludge, you get a gallon of regular Spectrum, plus small bottle of our proprietary thickening agent that we call Sludge Activator. Once you mix the activator in to the Spectrum, the viscosity goes from the consistency of chocolate syrup to peanut butter. It can be applied in much thicker coats, but can not be sprayed and will take longer to fully cure.
Firewall is our water based ceramic coating. It is specifically designed to lower the temperature in passenger vehicles. It can be applied on any metal surface with a roller, brush our sprayed with the Second Skin undercoating gun. Firewall is loaded with ceramic spheres which not only reduce heat, but are also very small vacuum sealed chambers that reflect and resist the transmission of airborne sound waves making it an awesome top coating for Damplifier or Damplifier Pro. Firewall is also much lighter than Spectrum and Sludge. Because of its high ceramic content there is much less vibration absorbing resin in it. If you want to reduce heat and airborne noise, go with Firewall.
How thick does Spectrum need to be applied to reduce noise?
Spectrum will start working at a minimum thickness of 1 mm. However, the thicker you apply it, the better it will work. 2mm is better, but 3mm is ideal.
More than 3 mm thick is wasteful.
How long does Spectrum take to cure?
Spectrum is a water based product so it will take 30 full days to cure but will be dry to the touch in 30-60 minutes depending on the ambient temperature and humidity.
Can I do anything to speed up the curing process?
Yes, using a space heater while you work, and increasing the amount of air flow over the surface of the coating will help speed up the curing time. For best results, leave your cars windows open for a few days to insure proper air circulation and moisture evaporation.
When can I put my upholstery back in place?
We suggest that you allow a minimum of 4 days for Sludge to dry before reinstalling your upholstery.
If I use Spectrum and Damplifier Pro together, which should go first?
We suggest you apply the Damplifier Pro first. This is due to the fact that Spectrum takes 30 days to cure. If you want to use Spectrum first, you can, just be sure you wait the full 30 days before you apply the Damplifier Pro, or any other sound deadening material on top of it, otherwise you will trap water in the Spectrum, and will prevent it from properly curing.
What is better, Spectrum or Damplifier?
Both products are designed to do the same basic function. Reduce noise through the visceolastic conversion of resonance to heat. Both have their place, and both excel at specific frequency ranges. This is why we suggest using a combination of Damping mat and coating.
We suggest using Damplifier or Damplifier Pro as your base foundation inside the car, on all the panels hidden by upholstery, then use Spectrum in the hard to reach spots. (A single gallon can increase surface coverage by as much as 15% in a moderate size car which can mean a large reduction in
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