First, why sound deadeners rock!

Sound deadeners come in different styles and compositions, and they're designed to deaden metal. The way a deadener is made and the way it's installed will determine how good it is at doing it's primary job. Adding quality sound deadening to your car - especially in conjunction with quality car insulation - will improve the overall sound inside, so you can enjoy a quieter, sturdier drive.

Proper sound deadening quiets vibrations to make your music and conversation clearer. It also makes it easier to hear traffic sounds and car trouble, making you safer behind the wheel. One of the craziest stories we ever heard was about a customer who completely totaled his vehicle and was told that all that extra Second Skin sound deadening likely saved his life by preventing the cabin from crushing him. We can't guarantee those types of results, but we figured that was a check mark in the "safer" category.

But that's not all you need to know.

Cheap Sound deadener is made...cheaply

It’s a well-known fact that asphalt-based sound deadeners can create really unpleasant odors. And they’re not great for your health, because asphalt outgases chemicals when it gets hot and has been established as a Group 2B carcinogen by the WHO. If you don’t live in a warm climate, it may not be as big a deal, but why take the risk? We wouldn’t. Cheap sound deadeners also contains lots of cheap fillers, allowing them to be made for less. Guess what? The results reflect that.

Lastly, the thing that is all too often overlooked is the constraint layer. Without a rigid enough constraint layer, a sound deadening mat simply cannot perform well enough.

Your best bet is to go with a sound deadening product made with butyl rubber. Butyl doesn’t have a nasty odor, it has excellent heat resistance, and it’s great at deadening noise. We recommend checking out Damplifier™ and Damplifier Pro™ sound deadening mats.

#1: When the cheap stuff doesn’t work, you’ll spend more money on new materials and have to go through the installation process all over again. Which can be a huge mess. We’ll explain more about the mess in a minute. But for now, imagine scraping goopy gobs of adhesive for hours and hours and hours. Not a fun way to spend a Saturday.

#2: Some of the cheaper sound deadening materials are made with asphalt. Take a minute to think about how it smells when you drive by a DOT crew paving the road. Now imagine that INSIDE your car. Gross.

You don’t need to be an auto pro to apply sound deadeners to your vehicle. Sure, it might take a few hours to do a DIY job. But if you love cars like we do, an afternoon taking care of your baby is time well spent. Ready for some SIY? Soundproofing It Yourself. Then keep reading to find out why you shouldn’t waste your time with cheap sound deadening material.

Step 1: skip the Heat Gun

Any time you put something in your vehicle, there's some level of risk to have an issue. That risk is much greater if what you're adding is cheap or low quality. With sound deadening, the cheaper asphalt products sometimes have consistency issues where they literally melt and become a huge mess of tar. Sometimes the melting is due to heat, but sometimes these cheap materials will just dissolve in front of your eyes. You'll be stunned, and then when you call to ask they'll tell you it was a bad batch. OH REALLY?!

We decided to write this guide after getting this picture from a customer. He wanted some advice on how to remove the cheap deadener that had become one of those tarry messes. The poor guy was in the middle of trying melt the cheap soundproofing material with a heat gun so that he could scrape it off. Save yourself the hassle and don't try to do it this way. You'll do a lot of work and still end up with a big stinking pile of asphalt. Not pretty.

Step 2: Use Dry Ice and Alcohol

The way to get off that cheap deadener is with dry ice and alcohol, not heat. This science experiment hardens the old sound deadening material and makes it easy to break up and remove. It's by far the fastest method, and all you need is a couple dozen pounds of dry ice, some isopropyl alcohol to mix, and then tools to crush the dry ice and to break the deadener off the metal after you've frozen it. If you're having trouble with vertical surfaces, try putting the dry ice in a garbage bag.

When you're left with the last bit of asphalt guck, use WD-40 to break down the asphalt base. This allows you to scrape it off and really clean the panel.

How to Remove Cheap Sound Deadening with Dry Ice

Batdog Garage - How to Remove Remaining Asphalt (19 minute mark, ~10 mins long)

Step 3: Use Quality Deadener

We get it. You don’t want to go overboard on your car upgrades. The good news is that you can actually get more bang for your buck when you buy quality sound deadening products if you follow these tips. Psst...it’s all about using good materials and starting with a smart application strategy. Check out our guide on car soundproofing cost for more information on the topic.

Take our quiz to find out exactly what product you need.

Save yourself the trouble of having to remove cheap sound deadeners later down the road. Shop smart from the get-go and make sure you’re buying the best (and safest) materials for the results you want.

Remember, time is money. So, read the application instructions carefully and take it slow. Make sure you’ve identified your key problem areas and focus on the 25-50% of the cabin that will have the biggest noise reduction impact.

When you’re ready to buy a high quality sound deadening mat or liquid sound deadener that fits into your budget, see what Second Skin Audio has to offer. And if you’ve already installed cheap sound deadeners, we’ll help you get unstuck.

Call us at 1.800.679.8511