Car Undercoating Soundproofing: Does It Reduce Noise?
We all spend a significant amount of time in our cars, such as traveling to and from work, among others. While many of us might not have too many complaints about our vehicle, there are a few that keep cropping up.
Perhaps the most notable of these is the noise that comes out of it. Typically, this is going to be because of a few reasons that are outside of our control. However, that doesn’t mean that you’ll have to put up with it.
Instead, you should be able to soundproof it. While you might assume that you’ll need to hire a professional to do so and will have to spend a small fortune, this isn’t the case. Instead, you’ll be able to soundproof your car quite significantly without putting too much effort into it.
Car undercoating is perhaps the most effective of the available options. While you might think that this will need a large amount of effort. This isn’t true, as you’ll just need to follow a few simple steps.
Before we jump into how you can soundproof a car undercoat, it’s worth pointing out that several products are much more effective than others. These are:
While these recommendations can be quite effective for car undercoating, many of us might not know much about the process. Many of us might not know how to undercoat a car to soundproof it, although this is much more straightforward than you might have imagined.
But first, it’s worth looking at the ins-and-outs of undercoating to determine whether it’s the right option for your needs.
What Is Car Undercoating?
The process of undercoating a car can best be described as putting a physical barrier between your vehicle and the road. This will usually be focused on the underbody of your car, with there being a variety of products that you can use to do so.
There is a large number of reasons why people choose to apply an undercoat. While soundproofing is one of the more notable, many drivers use it to prevent rust building up in their car’s underbody.
Rust can typically be created by the chemicals that are often on the debris that hits the underbody of your car. This is especially true for salt, grimes, and much more. These can be compounds that many of our vehicles will have to put up with without us knowing it.
These will then lead to corrosion. However, placing a car undercoating on your vehicle will prevent much of this from happening, which will offer a significant amount of protection for your car.
How Does Car Undercoating Soundproofing Work?
Undercoating is typically seen as an effective way of rustproofing your car, which has been the case for a significant amount of time. Over the past few years, however, product manufacturers have made them increasingly more soundproof.
You might wonder how this works, which is a natural question for many people who might not have heard about it before. Typically, this will be done by applying the undercoat to areas of the vehicle that comes into contact with debris while you’re driving.
While this might not completely soundproof the car, it will reduce the noise significantly. Alongside this, some products could reduce the number of scratches that you may find on the vehicle, although this varies from product to product.
Typically, the undercoat should be applied to the wheels and underbody of your vehicle, although you could be able to use it on the majority of your car’s body.
Steps To Follow Before Undercoating
While applying an undercoat spray to your vehicle is quite straightforward, there are a few things that many of us might overlook. This is especially true when it comes to preparing your car for the underlay, which is an essential part of the process.
When you’re doing so, you’ll also need to make sure that you’ve cleaned your car properly to ensure that the undercoat applies effectively. While you’ll mainly be getting rid of dirt, you should also look to get rid of any rust that may be on your vehicle’s exterior.
While you might want to get rid of a rust remover, this might not be needed. When you’re cleaning, you should typically only need warm water and soap to make sure that the car is clean.
Once you’ve cleaned the car, you should either leave it dry for a few hours or towel it down. Alongside this, you’ll want to make sure that your car’s handbrake is applied so that the vehicle doesn’t roll away while you’re trying to apply the undercoat.
How To Undercoat Car And Soundproof It?
Once you’ve done all of the above, you’ll be able to start applying the underlay. Despite what you might think, this will be quite easy to do, although you’ll need to take a great deal of care when you’re doing so.
Typically, you’ll simply need to spray the exterior of your car and let it dry. When you’re doing this, however, you should make sure that you don’t miss any areas. If you do, you could find that a significant amount of noise will still get through this area.
It’s recommended that you take it slow and make sure that you’ve applied an even amount of spray along the vehicle. Depending on the size of your car or truck, you might need to use several cans of spray to make sure that you get the protection that you want.
Given that undercoating products are quite affordable buying a few of the sprays shouldn’t be much of a problem. Typically, it’s recommended that you have more than you need, as this will avoid the need to buy more after getting through the first spray.
Once you’ve applied the underlay, you might need to wait a few days before it dries. However, this can vary significantly depending on which product you buy and what the climate is like where you live.
The Pros & Cons Of Undercoating
There can be a variety of benefits to using undercoating, with the soundproofing aspect being one of the more notable. However, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t a few additional advantages to capitalize on. In contrast, there are quite a few more than you might’ve thought.
One that you might find useful is that it helps prevent a build-up of rust, which is a prominent benefit. By being able to take advantage of this, you should be able to extend the lifespan of your vehicle while also protecting it against a large amount of wear and tear.
Coupled with this is the peace of mind that you should have when the noise has been dealt with. This is especially true if you have to make any long journeys or use your car quite regularly.
Applying the underlay is also much easier than you may have believed, which makes the process an easy way to protect your vehicle. With how affordable the majority of products are, they’re quite a cost-effective way of getting this protection.
However, there are also a few negatives to car undercoating that you’ll need to be aware of. This is especially true if you have a used vehicle or one that already has a large amount of rust in it. The main reason for this is that they’re protective sprays rather than rust solutions.
This means that they’re ineffective against damage that’s already been done. As such, you may end up needing to repair your car before you apply the underlay, which could cost a significant amount of money.
The Best Car Undercoating Sprays For Soundproofing
There are quite a large number of options for car undercoating sprays on the market. As a result, many of us might struggle to choose between them. As difficult as this might be, there are a few sprays that stand out from the rest.
When you’re choosing between many options, there’s quite a large number of things that you’ll need to consider. While the majority will be easy to apply, some will take longer to dry than others, which you should pay attention to.
Alongside this, many offer much more sound absorption than other products, which should be one of the first things you look at. While this will have a large impact on the price, this should provide you with value for money.
If you’re looking for a high-quality spray that doesn’t break the bank, then you should consider:
- 3M 03584 6 Pack 16 oz. Professional Grade Rubberized Undercoating; The 3M Spray offers quite a significant amount of sound absorption and is one of the more popular choices on the market. This is because it’s versatile enough to be used in the majority of vehicles while still being effective. However, you might need to use a significant amount of it to see results.
- CRC Industries, Inc. 05347 Rubberized Undercoating 16Oz; The CRC spray is a recommended option because of how simple it is to use while still being effective. With the formula that’s used in this, you shouldn’t have to wait too long before it dries, which could be a significant advantage. There’s also quite a large amount of sound absorption on offer with this.
- PlastiKote 272 Rubberized Undercoating; The PlastiKote sprays offers a decent amount of sound absorption, although it does much more than that. In contrast to many other products, you should be able to take advantage of dust and dirt protection, as well as a certain amount of corrosion-resistance. However, this takes much longer to dry than others, so you’ll need to spend a significant amount of time making sure that it’s applied properly.
Each of the above should be able to help you reduce the level of noise that you hear in your car. However, it’s recommended that you compare each of them to make sure that they’re right for your needs.
This is because you might find that you need more sound absorption than some sprays might offer. Knowing how much protection you need will be vital in making this choice, so it’s worth spending time comparing each product.
Given how affordable the majority of products are, you could buy a few of them to make sure that your car undercoating is as soundproof as possible.
Alternatives To Car Undercoating
There are quite a few other options that you could take advantage of to soundproof your car. While undercoating will be the easiest to apply, if you’re looking for more effective option, then you could consider some alternatives.
However, we should note that these could be somewhat more expensive to buy. Despite this, they could offer much more sound protection than you might see with car undercoating. Some of the most notable of these are:
- Using mass loaded vinyl;
- Replacing the rubber panel seals;
- Using Dynamat or another soundproof product, and;
- Sealing the panel seams.
Alongside this, you should make sure that you have regular maintenance and repairs performed on your vehicle. Typically, cars will get noisier the older they get, which makes this process increasingly more vital.
This will make sure that any mechanical issues that are causing a significant amount of noise will be dealt with early on. As a result, you should be able to make sure that you don’t have to deal with any other issues in the future.
While each of these could mean that you’ll have to spend more money than you might have expected, this shouldn’t be too large. As a result, they should each be cost-effective solutions to dealing with any noise in your vehicle.
It’s recommended that you use some of the above together, as this will make sure that the noise is reduced as much as possible. Though this will take time and effort, they’ll reap a large number of dividends in the long-term.
Conclusion
Car undercoating can make a significant difference on how much noise you hear when driving your car. This should make it quite a wise investment for the majority of drivers. When you’re looking for an underlay, however, it’s vital that you spend a certain amount of time comparing products.
While much of this will be driven by your personal preferences, you’ll still need to make sure that you choose one that’s right for you. Once you have, following the steps outlined above when applying will be crucial.
This will make sure that you see each of the benefits that the soundproof car undercoating can offer. While there are some drawbacks to the process, the pros drastically outweigh them. Coupled with this is how affordable they are, so there shouldn’t be any reasons to not take advantage of them.
However, it’s worth pointing out that you’ll need to apply the undercoat regularly to make sure that you keep seeing the benefits. This can vary drastically from product to product and even vehicle to vehicle.
As a result, you should spend a certain amount of time figuring out what the longer-lasting products are. Though this is an important aspect, you shouldn’t overlook how effective it will be during this timeframe.
As such, you may need to balance longevity with effectiveness. Despite this, they should prove to be a cost-effective way of soundproofing your car over the long-term.