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Mass Loaded Vinyl

Once you've applied CLD Tiles, turn your attention to blocking noise. Controlling panel resonance is an essential step to prevent transmission of noise, but you need to block noise at the point of entry to achieve the kind of quiet ride we all want.

Many of us have tried following the old way of sound deadening a car - piling on layer after layer of vibration damper. The doors close with a satisfying "thunk" and the car sounds completely dead when you tap on its panels, but most of us have been disappointed to take our masterpiece out for a ride, only to discover that traffic, road, engine and exhaust noise are only slightly diminished. This is yet another case of needing to use the right tool for the job. Using a separate barrier to block sound is the right way to deal with the problem. The result will be much better, cost less and take a lot less work.

Barriers work best when they form an unbroken shield between the noise sources and your ears. CLD Tiles are designed to work best with just 25% coverage. That isn't true for a barrier. For best results, you will want to completely line the floor, doors, quarter panels and trunk or cargo area for a hatchback, station wagon or van. If you are willing to compromise you can cover the firewall to the front edge of the front seats, doors and rear wheel wells and still get very good results.

Barrier performance is significantly enhanced by adding a foam decoupler or "air spring" between it and the vehicle. This works by isolating the barrier from any residual resonance that may still exist in the underlying panels after treatment with a vibration damper. It also creates a more complicated series of boundaries for noise to negotiate. Finally, adding a layer of closed cell foam will absorb and block some high frequency sound. Our Vinyl/Nitrile Closed Cell Foam is ideal for this purpose.

If you have been shopping around, you have probably noticed that Sound Deadener Showdown MLV is sold alone – not as an MLV/foam composite. This is by design and there are several reasons to do it this way.

First, while using foam between the vehicle and MLV improves performance, there are applications where there just isn't enough room to use both. In this case, using a barrier alone is much more effective than using foam alone. Maybe you have room for a 1/8 inch decoupler but not for 1/4 inch. Just use our 1/8 inch CCF and you are all set.

Seaming sections of MLV together is a lot easier if the foam isn't attached.

Although MLV is quite flexible, you will often find yourself needing to cut and assemble pieces to create a contiguous barrier to cover irregular shapes. The best way to connect these pieces is to overlap them slightly and bond them together. This is very difficult to do with a composite. On the other hand, using HH-66 Vinyl Cement, you can create a seam that is air tight and actually stronger than the vinyl itself.

There's no question that MLV/foam composites are very convenient for covering large, flat areas, but I’d rather offer a flexible approach that lets you design the exact solution you need. I also want you to be able to use what I consider the best closed cell foam for every application. Preassemble composites don't give you those options.

While MLV is a very good material for building barriers, there's nothing magical about the product sold by Sound Deadener Showdown. Lead sheeting is slightly more effective but it is also much more expensive and has toxicity issues that need to be considered if you are going to work with it. MLV is the answer to the question: "How inexpensively can we create a substitute for lead sheeting that will accomplish the same thing"? Sound Deadener Showdown MLV is good quality and very easy to work with, but by its very nature it is heavy and expensive to ship. We offer it so you can have a reliable source for the relatively small quantities needed for most vehicle installations, but if you can find a local source that will sell it to you in reasonable quantities or can split a large order with some friends, you will definitely be able to save some money. Alternatively, if you have a local and inexpensive source for a thin and flexible material that weighs 1 lb/ft² or more, you may want to go for it. Noise doesn’t care where you purchase your barrier material.