The Garage - Volkswagen Soundproofing

The Garage: Volkswagen Sound Deadening Projects

Featured Build: Steampunk VW Build

1961 23 Window vw bus

West Coast Customs called us out to Burbank, CA to help with a rear engine heat issue in this one-of-a-kind, 23 window, steampunk VW bus. The owners of the bus wanted to travel across the country in their retirement and be able to comfortably sleep inside, even with the engine running. Second Skin materials allowed them to achieve that goal, plus some!

This van was soundproofed and insulated to the nines, so the build materials filled an entire pallet. When you have a 1000 horsepower engine, you have to bring in the heavy artillery to deal with the consequences! The following materials were used in this build: 200 sq ft of Damplifier Pro (everywhere), 144 sq ft of Luxury Liner Pro (floor/doors/walls), 24 sq ft of Mega Zorbe (ceiling), 16 sq ft of Mega Block (rear engine firewall), 4 cans of Second Skin spray adhesive, and a single, wooden hand roller.

All of the build materials can be purchased at a discount in the West Coast Customs Build Kit.

When we arrived, the 1961 VW Bus had just finished with the paint booth. We were the first to get to touch this beauty. Woah there, Nelly! We're here to help.

Team Second Skin on Inside West Coast Customs: Steampunk VW Build 2017

West Coast Customs VW Bus Soundproofing Damplifier Pro

The ghosted Damplifier Pro logo on matte black foil perfectly matched the VW paint job. #MadeToBeTogether

Team Second Skin member Eric laid down the first sheet of Damplifier Pro onto the driver seat area of the VW bus.

After skinning the Damplifier Pro, the high temperature Second Skin Spray Adhesive is used to install the Luxury Liner Pro mass loaded vinyl barrier. Look at that beautiful action shot!

After spraying both the foam and the top side of the foil, Eric applied Luxury Liner Pro to the driver seat area, making relief cuts on the curves to help the seams meet up.

West Coast Customs VW Bus Soundproofing MLV

Driver's seat complete! Time to step aside and let the rest of the West Coast Customs crew skin the rest of the Steampunk VW bus.

The final result is a masterpiece. #SteampunkVW

More VW Sound Deadening Projects

1966 rag top beetle

Type of Project: Floor & Doors

Products Used: 42 Sq Ft of Damplifier Pro Deadener (Floor/Doors)

42 Sq Ft of Luxury Liner Pro Sound Barrier Material (Floor/Doors)

12 Sq Ft of OverKill Closed Cell Foam (Door Panel)

Accessories: Spray Adhesive (2 cans), Wooden Roller

1978 beetle convertible

Type of Project: Floor, Doors & Cargo Area

Products Used: 60 Sq Ft of Damplifier Pro Deadener (Floor/Doors/Trunk)

48 Sq Ft of Luxury Liner Pro Mass Loaded Vinyl (Floor/Trunk)

12 Sq Ft of Mega Zorbe Melamine Foam (Doors)

Accessories: Spray Adhesive (1 can), Wooden Roller

craig's vanagon SYNCRo tank replacement

Craig used 24 sqft of Thermal Block to replace the factory heat shield in this Vanagon tank replacement video. Follow him on this journey of ups and downs working in the tight space of a Vanagon undercarriage. You can see even more content from Craig of @thebarefootforge on Instagram, on his website The Barefoot Forge, or here on his YouTube channel.

Craig dreams of Vanagon's as he works on these weekly, monthly, and yearly.

Replacing the fuel tank heat shield in a VW Vanagon Syncro

After the tough install of the tank, the heat shield looks good and is bonded very well.

2010 VW beetle

Type of Project: Floor & Cargo Area

Products Used: 45 Sq Ft of Damplifier Pro Deadener (Floor/Cargo Area)

45 Sq Ft of Luxury Liner Pro automotive MLV (Floor/Cargo Area)

Accessories: Spray Adhesive (2 cans), Wooden Roller

1965 VW bus

Type of Project: Floor, Back Firewall Wall, & Doors

Products Used: 95 Sq Ft of Damplifier Pro Deadener (Floor/Doors/Back Firewall Wall)

60 Sq Ft of Luxury Liner Pro Mass Loaded Vinyl (Floor/Back Wall Cabin Side)

35 Sq Ft of OverKIll Pro Closed Cell Foam (Doors/Slider Door)

25 Sq Ft of Spectrum Liquid Deadener (Under body Rear Near Engine)

Accessories: Spray Adhesive (3 cans), Wooden Roller, Spray Gun

Jared's VW Beetle Build

As a lot of people may know, vintage cars had basically nothing for sound deadening or insulation. I’ve been wanting to try some on this 63 VW beetle I’m building to see the difference. It’s an amazing how just the butyl mats take a car that sounds a ton can into a modern sounding “thump” when closing the doors. I’ll be getting more products soon to keep on this car. Thanks!

2021 golf gti

Type of Project: Doors & Rear Hatch Soundproofing

Products Used: 48 Sq Ft of Damplifier Pro Deadener (Inner & Outer Doors/Hatch)

32 Sq Ft of Mega Zorbe Melamine Foam (Outer Skin Doors/Hatch)

32 Sq Ft of Over Kill Closed Cell Foam (Inner Skin Doors/Hatch)

Accessories: Wooden Roller

2020 VW passat

Type of Project: Floor, Cargo Area, Doors, & Undercarriage

Products Used: 120 Sq Ft of Spectrum Liquid Sound Deadener (Floor/Cargo Area/Doors, Undercarraige/Wheel Wells)

45 Sq Ft of Luxury Liner Pro Sound Barrier Material (Floor/Cargo Floor)

22 Sq Ft of Mega Zorbe Melamine Foam (4 Doors)

Accessories: Double Sided Tape, Spray Gun Kit, (3) Spray Bottles

Jeremy V's 1972 VW Bus

1972 VW Bus with 14 sqft of Luxury Liner Pro mass loaded vinyl lined under the seats. (Always make sure to face the grey closed cell foam down to the floor!)

Luxury Liner Pro on the front floor area, 9 sqft covered it with holes cut out for the petals and shifter. (He did such a beautiful job, we had to share the photos. But the best results come from facing the grey spongy side down and the black vinyl side up.)

All ready to get on the road with a cooler floor and less road noise.

1988 VW vanagan

Type of Project: Full Vehicle

Products Used: 88 Sq Ft of Spectrum Liquid Deadener (Floor/Doors/Walls)

62 Sq Ft of Luxury Liner Pro Sound Barrier Material (Floor/Walls)

16 Sq Ft of Mega Zorbe Melamine Foam (Doors)

Accessories: Spray Adhesive (2 cans), Spray Gun + Bottle

2004 golf gti hatchback 2 dr

Type of Project: Floor, Doors, & Hatch

Products Used: 58 Sq Ft of Damplifier Pro Sound Deadening (Floor/Doors/Hatch)

36 Sq Ft of Luxury Liner Pro Sound Barrier Material (Floor)

22 Sq Ft of Mega Zorbe Melamine Foam (Doors/Hatch)

Accessories: Spray Adhesive (1 can), Wooden Roller

Blake's VW Bus firewall project

While these old school VW buses last a long time on the road, their insulation fails over time. We got you covered!

Out with the old and all stripped down to the bare metal. Cleaned with denatured alcohol for Firewall roll on preperation.

Firewall ceramic heat shield to the rescue. One gallon covers 20 sqft with 2-3 one mm coats. Brush, roll, or spray on the firewall of any project.

Now take a look at that! All covered with 3 coats of Firewall ceramic coating to stop the heat from traveling into the VW Bus.

1978 VW Bus

Type of Project: Roof Project

Products Used: 40 Sq Ft of Spectrum Liquid Deadener (Roof)

Accessories: Spray Gun + Bottle

1973 Puma GT by sleiveen

Type of Project: Floor and Undercarriage

Products Used: 60 Sq Ft of Spectrum Liquid Sound Deadening (Floor/Undercarriage)(3 Gallons)

Accessories: Spray Gun + Bottle, Wire Tape, Plastiwrap

2011 VW jetta les

Type of Project: Floor & Doors

Products Used: 52 Sq Ft of Damplifier Pro Deadener (Floor/Doors)

38 Sq Ft of Luxury Liner Pro Sound Barrier Material (Floor)

14 Sq Ft of Mega Zorbe Melamine Foam (Doors)

Accessories: Spray Adhesive (2 cans), Wooden Roller

2003 VW jetta gls

Type of Project: Floor, Doors, Hatch & Ceiling

Products Used: 75 Sq Ft of Damplifier Pro Deadening (Floor/Doors/Hatch/Ceiling)

36 Sq Ft of Luxury Liner Pro Sound Barrier Material (Floor)

34 Sq Ft of Mega Zorbe Melamine Foam (4 Doors/Hatch)

10 Sq Ft of Heat Wave Pro Thermal Insulation (Ceiling)

Accessories: Spray Adhesive (2 cans), Wooden Roller

Matt's 1968 VW beetle restoration

Matt used 55 sqft of Damplifier Pro on the floor, doors, wall, and firewall of his VW Beetle rebuild. He also built a noise barrier with 36 sqft of Luxury Liner Pro to the floor and trunk floor.

Matt's 1968 Beetle is coming along nicely. Even in the restoration process, she's a beauty.

As with all restorations, the first step is to strip it down to the metal.

Once the floor is stripped and cleaned with denatured alcohol, it's time to apply the American made butyl... Damplifier Pro.

Next up, Matt stripped the walls and doors. Goodbye decaying factory foam and goo.

And just like the floor before, those walls and doors were skinned with Damplifier Pro. Each door took about 8 sqft. Then the walls took about 10 sqft total to cover.