MGB: Sound & heat proofing my car questions

I've finally gotten a few actual free days to do this job I've been wanting to do for a long time.

1. Removed seats to refoam and re-cover them.

2. Took out original carpet (autumn leaf) and washed it in the washing machine (Don't tell my wife). It came out looking great and is still in very good shape. I'm not really sure I need new carpet.

3. I had a new carpet set from Moss in heavier weight (sound proofing, after all) with moulded center tunnel I bought a year ago on sale. So, I guess I'd better install it.

4. Wire brushed all surface rust on floor, heat gunned and scraped off some tar material the DPO put on (Try that on a 95 degree day!). I used Eastwood's 'Rust Encapsulator' on all metal areas which had had surface rust. Now the floors are flat black.

5. Started installing foil-covered insulation (Second Skin 'Damplifier,' same as Dynamat, but half the price) all over the interior for better heat and sound proofing.

Now for the questions:

1. Is 'Rust Encapsulator' enough? Should I have used POR-15 or some other product? It was pretty minor surface rust. I haven't covered the floors with the Damplifier yet so I have time to think this over.

2. Is Damplifier enough to get real benefits -- or do I need to top it with some kind of liquid heat/sound proofing? I'm not too excited about painting over everything with some 'goop'. Might make me a DPO.

3. What carpet pieces should be glued (I assume all vertical pieces) and which left loose? Will double-sided tape work as well as glue?

4. What glue is best? 3M spray glue, I assume.

5. I'm not looking forward to putting the seats back in. I did that once. PITA to get the bolts lined up and back in. Anyone know what size front seat bolt it would require to screw up from the bottom to align the seats and get the rear bolts started?

I'd use the POR15, but that's just me. I love that stuff. I'm sort of the POR15 ambassador here though.

If you don't wanna do it again, use the por15.

I bought a rust mitigation product a few months before I really decided to do a complete restoration. I had a couple of fenders from another roadster in my garage. This product was supposed to remove and STOP rust from ever coming back. These fenders then sat for a year or so IN MY GARAGE, away from any moisture.

When I came back to them The rust "stopper" was starting to crack, and I managed to peel it all off. All of the rust was still under there, just as good.

USE the POR15. Start with the Metal Ready, you can physically watch the rust disentegrate in front of your eyes. Then coat with POR15. You'll never have another problem.

Plus, it helps with the noise and heat too.

I haven't finished my resto yet and some BARE METAL pieces that I sprayed with Metal ready a few years ago are still sitting in my garage, I haven't painted them or even coated them with POR yet, just from the metal reay sitting on them, they've stayed rust free. The stuff is MARVELOUS!

But, it's up to you. To do the whole inside will cost around $50 or so. A bottle of Metal Ready and a quart of POR. I buy the metal ready in gallons and keep a spray bottle around.

B

Drew,

I put Damplifier in my car... what a difference it makes from a heat and sound perspective! Quick tip, take off the door panels and put a chunk on the inside of the doors. It really helps quiet the car down and make door closure less noisy.

Steve

I agree with Brian - another POR-15 fan here. I did the same to my floorboards that you did to yours, except I used the POR-15. The stuff is hard as a rock when cured. The PO had used rust encapsulator on mine and it was slowing working it's way back.

Carpet in the washing machine cracked me up. Used to put wire hubcaps in my mom's dishwasher when I was a kid. Your wife is gonna kill you!

read the Eastwood information. they suggest a top coat on the encapsulator. I've used Rustoleum as a topcoat.

My objection to POR-products is their "distributor" network...same as my distaste for Amzoil. If you have a good product you don't need a Micky mouse distribution set up.

Use a 3M spray glue made for automotive use. Most of the 3M spray adhesives sold at the home improvement stores are NOT for auto use except maybe Super 90. The reason is that 1) most don't have the bonding strength, and 2) most don't have resistance to high temperatures. Even if you are doing interior work, consider that in summer, the temps inside can get up to the 150s and these other adhesives will simply give way. Nothing like having your headliner (if you have a GT) come loose and hang from the ceiling of your car.

Also, when installing the sound and heat protection materials, be sure to also line the underside of the horizontal section of the firewall and also the vertical section above it. From the floor to the underside of the cowl is all firewall and all subject to heat and noise. You won't gain as much if you only use the material up to the top of the carpet; you will be missing a very large surface area that can radiate a fair amount of heat and noise into the car. And to do so also is a good thing if you are contemplating putting in A/C into your car. It will help keep your car a bit cooler and put less load on your A/C, making it more effective.

I have an ongoing outdoor experiment going with rust encapsulator plus ordinary rustoleum paint over that. Minimum prep (deliberately poor, in fact), barely swiped off half the rust and dirt on some outdoor iron chairs and table, swabbed lots of encapsulator over that, then did an average rattle can spray paint job. Sitting in those chairs this afternoon, I have to say, I would use the encapsulator again, any time. I am pleasantly surprised.

Nothing against POR, but that's a different coating altogether, a rock-hard outer shell, that covers up... whatever is there, rusty junk or nice. If you don't take care of the rusty stuff first, POR is just as temporary as anything else. But it will look better in the meantime, and cost you more too!

When I put my seats back in I just had a feeling that finding those holes was going to be no fun. Simple solution is to lay the carpet in place, locate the holes and then cut a 1 1/2" circular hole in the carpet at all 4 locations. Come time to install the seats, you've got a target to aim at and no carpet getting in the way. I've had mine in and out several times with minimum fuss. This is even easier if you've used Dynamat or some other shiney material. It is easily visible when surrounded by black carpet.

what's wrong with their distributor set-up???

I can walk into the auto parts store by my house and buy it! Ace Auto Parts!

Of course, they cater to the Hot Rod / Racer / Classic Car group.

It would be hard to sell either one of those products in mass. They're a specialized product that is high quality, that the regular old Joe isn't gonna use on his Yugo!

So there's no incentive for the big retailers to sell it. You totally get, what I call, "boardroom Fu--ed" whenever you deal with the big box stores. All they care about is numbers. How many units and how cheap can I get it. When are you gonna get it here, and I need a 50% mark-up and I need to sell it at THIS price, and I'm only gonna pay THIS much. They're terrible!

Both Amsoil and POR15 are kind of like a Lotus or Porsche, Low volume, higher quality products. There's a sense of exclusivity with them, a certain quality!

With POR15, you don't have to use a dealer, just buy straight from the factory in New Jersey or wherever it is. It gets to you in a few days.

You'd also be surprised at how many Auto Parts stores actually do carry it now. A lot more than you'd think. Far more than a few years ago.

Drew, You'll be doing yourself a great service if you use the POR15, it's a good $50 spent! Try and find a store near you that sells it - then no shipping!

B

Drew,
Glad you are finally getting around to this work. I used the rust encapsulator (some old stuff Bill Peet gave me) with rattle can rustoluem (a color close to the body paint) over that on my floors. Last time I had the seats out and carpet up (those Jack-in-the-Box drink holders aren't MGB-cornering proof), the floors were immaculate.

I'll be glad to peel the carpet up and show you some time.

Thanks for all the good advice.

I've got some little half-pints of POR-15 I got about a year ago. Kind of their 'sample pack' with some grey, some black, etc. Also, Metal Ready. But, the thing is I used the Eastwood Rust Encapsulator already (It was sitting right there on the shelf!), and in the directions on the POR-15 can, it says to use Metal Ready and POR-15 on top of a rough surface of rust, not on a prepped surface with another rust proofer. So, do I paint the POR-15 over the Rust Inhibitor? Are they warning me so I don't a competitor's product? That's the question now. I'm inclined to just paint it on. What's the worst that can happen -- it won't be happy? It is just magic paint, right?

I will put the Damplifier all the way up the firewall, assuming my aging body can contort itself into the footwells far enough! I really want to stop heat inflow from the engine. I can feel the heat blowing in as I drive. And in the doors. I'd already planned to do that for that Cadillac door sound. I might even do the trunk if I go completely nuts. It's just big stick-on aluminized slabs. Kinda fun, actually.

As for the seat bolt issue, I will cut holes in the carpet (and the Damplifier), but I'd still like to know which size bolts can screw up from the bottom in order to locate the seats in the car. It's actually the rear bolts (not the front, as I said before) that you can screw up from the bottom to help get the seat tracks aligned. I've put seats back in before, and it's one giant PITA unless you get lucky and find everything 'just right'. No chance of that.

Should have the seats done in a day or two and finish the Damplifier just before then. Hope it makes the car quieter and cooler. That's the idea, anyway.