Seam sealer & Sound mat

[RPBurris]

Ok. I am getting close to finishing up welding in all of the floor patches and getting anxious. Just want to make sure that i go about this in the proper order. I am planning on first painting (just roll on black satin) on the whole floor to seal any bare metal, then seam seal, then sound mat. So I have a few questions: 1. Paint first right? 2. If I am doing a self adhesive sound mat do I still need seam sealer? 3. What is a good budget friendly sound mat you guys have used and like? I live close to the Alsip Eastwood store and they have some of their X-Mat on sale. Almost 35 sqft for $80. What are the thoughts here? Thanks in advance.

[sick472]

Did you weld your floor patch seams solid or just stitch/spot? No seam sealer needed for solid welds. A nice rolled on paint will seal a lot of minor crevices. Some sealers can go over paint, some prefer metal IIRC...check you brand of sealer. I concentrated the seal sealer on the underside, knowing that I was putting the tar matting down inside. I used a plastic hand roller to work the mat to the floor and a sharpie marker to get into the tight spots.

I have used the poor man's sound matting. It's the stuff from the hardware store that is a tar like layer with aluminum foil on one side (peal and seal duct insulation). Check into that. It works real well at a fraction of the cost. I do NOT use it on vertical surfaces, like inside doors, for fear that it will get hot and peel back off. I have used it on firewalls with great success because the carpet and firewall pads will keep it from getting loose and causing problems. You can imagine what it would do if it peeled off inside a door and gummed up the window works. I even used it on the inner roof of a Rustang knowing that the additional loose duct insulation (kinda like jute padding) and headliner rods would hold it up IF it decided to let loose. The difference with this stuff compared to true Dynamat-like products is that it is tar-like and not a rubber with a super adhesive to keep it in place. There's a lot of reading on it...just look up Dyno Mat alternatives or poor man's Dynamat.

[RPBurris]

Thanks. Most of my patches are fully welded. I basically only have the middle and below the seats that remained. I even replaced the area where the gas tank was when I replaced the rear cab support (without removing the cab). I am sure I did it the hard way. So pin holes should be fine after paint to go over with a mat to seal it up. I just dont want to go crazy with seam sealer if I dont have to.