A freshly paved road is pleasantly quiet and smooth, but the reality is, we spend wayyyy more time on bumpy, rough surfaces than smooth pavement. It makes it nearly impossible to hear phone calls, music and each other!

Sound deadening your wheel wells is one of the most overlooked and underappreciated treatments in the industry, able to make your vehicle perceivably 20-30% quieter, and you never have to get inside the car!

Second Skin developed the Spectrum™ Wheel Well Sound Deadening Kit to reduce road noise and tire noise. Let's go through the install, shall we?

Tired of hearing the road noise from your wheels and missing out on your favorite tunes or podcasts? Say no more! Our Wheel Well Sound Deadening Kit has got you covered! This easy-to-install kit will turn your noisy ride into a peaceful oasis. Our liquid sound deadening material Spectrum is designed to reduce road noise and vibration, giving you a more comfortable and enjoyable driving experience.

• The Spectrum Wheel Well Soundproofing Kit is an external treatment that reduces cabin noise by 3-5 decibels with minimal investment and no need to access the vehicle interior.
• The kit consists of two gallons of our Spectrum liquid sound deadening solution, which is enough to do all four wheel wells with a total thickness of 3mm (3 layers) and can be applied with a brush, roller, or spray gun.
• Deaden vibrations at the wheel well for the easiest and most cost-effective treatment for your vehicle.

You’ll need to start by lifting the vehicle on either a mechanic’s lift or jack. Once at a comfortable height, remove the wheels and plastic wheel liners. Then, cover the surrounding frame and rotor with plastic or masking tape. Although you want to cover as much of the metal areas of your wheel wells as you can, you don’t want your wheel hubs gunked up with viscoelastic polymer.

Look into each wheel well and examine for signs of rust. If it’s a newer vehicle or has already been effectively undercoated, simply give the wheel well a quick cleaning with denatured alcohol and move on to the next step. If you see rust, you’ll need to scrub it off with a wire brush.

Spectrum is a sound deadening paint designed to adhere strongly to metal, wood, and most other surfaces besides plastic. If applying Spectrum to plastic or a high-gloss surface, you are going to need to use a primer and to scuff up the surface a bit. We recommend using POR-15.

Wheel Well Prepped for Spectrum™

Once your wheel wells are free from dirt and rust, they’re ready to go. Apply Spectrum throughout the entirety of the wheel well in our recommended (3) 1mm layers for 3mm of total thickness. If you’d like to apply Spectrum to your plastic wheel liners, you’ll need to first prep those with a primer.

When applying Spectrum to metal, make sure your first layer is no more than 1mm thick. Spectrum adheres best to itself, so you can be a little more aggressive if doing multiple layers after the first one dries. After you’re done applying Spectrum, you can re-attach the wheels as soon as Spectrum has cured. Wait 72 hours before driving.

We offer bundled Spectrum Wheel Well Kits that include everything you need to spray or brush on your Second Skin sound deadener. It includes a 10% discount too!

PROFESSIONAL TIPS

Spectrum™ does not require a gas mask, but you should work in a well ventilated area. If spraying Spectrum liquid deadener using our spray gun, use the short straw when spraying upside down and the longer straw when spraying right-side up. A thinner first layer is always better, because Spectrum adheres best to itself.

Now that you’ve reduced road noise by deadening your vehicle's exterior metal, support it with the Second Skin System of sound deadening and blocking on the interior. This works particularly well when the full wheel well is exposed like when soundproofing vans. Use Damplifier Pro or Spectrum™ as your deadener, and Luxury Liner Pro™ as your noise barrier.

Your deadener of choice should be applied first on the topside of the wheel wells inside the car. Next, apply Luxury Liner Pro™ to block out any residual sound. Luxury Liner Pro™ is a 2-in-1 noise barrier that combines a layer of high r-value, insulating closed cell foam with the mass loaded vinyl you need to really block the airborne sound waves from road noise.

The average surface area of a car’s interior floor is between 35-45 square feet, so you’ll likely need 2-3 gallons of Spectrum and 4-5 sheets of Luxury Liner Pro™. If you just cover the tops of the wheel wells, it will help some, but you’ll still have plenty of sound going around your barrier and into your vehicle. The key with a noise barrier is to cover 100%.

PROFESSIONAL TIPS

With Damplifier Pro™, be sure to use a hand roller for the best results.

For Spectrum™ we recommend an 80 PSI compressor and the Second Skin spray gun. Hold the spray gun 4 to 8 inches away from the surface and apply with a slow sweeping motion. Clean your gun and bottle within 20 minutes so that Spectrum does not set inside.