So this might seem like a very unJeep thing to do, but I needed my hard top to be quieter than it was. It was already better than the soft top, but I still had problems hearing phone calls and getting loud echos and seeing as as I already have damaged hearing from too many loud concerts (wear ear plugs!) I thought I'd give it a shot.
This mod turned out a lot better than I thought it would and has been on for about a year now and was well worth it, every passenger I have had in my Jeep since then has said it is quieter now than when it was just the standard Hard Top.
Materials Needed:
1 Gallon Second Skin Spectrum Acoustic Sound Deadening (This is a liquid, you could potentially use another brand or not use liquid at all and instead use the dampener pads but I wanted to do liquid...plus I really like Second Skin as a company, great product and service so that is my plug for them, you will also have some left over so you can do more coats than I did or do your door panels or something else)
Spectrum Link
2 Cans Self Etching Primer (you can get it at NAPA or Sherwin Williams...this stuff was hard for me to find locally, I eventually did get it at NAPA)
To sum up supplies needed.
Supplies I had to buy:
Second Skin Spectrum (1) Gallon- $54.98
Self etching primer (2) cans- $24
3M Hi-Strength Spray Adhesive 90 (1) 24 oz Can- $20
Outdoor Carpet (Home Depot) I got about 6 feet cut- $15
Total= about $120
Supplies I had laying around (you can calculate cost):
Lots of old newspaper
Blue Painter's Tape
Paint Roller and Pan
Utility Knife and Razor Blades
Blanket
Duct Tape
Xylene
Total Time to do Install: about 7-8 hours with lots of waiting between.
Instructions:
Get a friend or 2 to help you take off the top and flip it over. The way I did it is have a friend on one side, me on another and then another friend on the end/underneath. We took the top off, slowly and carefully turned it over while the third man made sure we didn't drop it. Make sure to put some Duct Tape across the rear opening window because when you flip the top the window will open. We used the duct tape to hold it in place, you will also need the duct tape to stay there when the top is laying down or the window will stay open.
Next, tape everything off that you don't want to get Spectrum on. I decided to just do the main rectangular area of the top along the ridges as this was easiest. If you look at your top there are ridges that outline a nice rectangle on the top, this will provide a very nice guide for cutting the excess carpet once that is installed.
After everything is taped, clean the surface with some Xylene make sure you are well ventilated, this stuff is potent and can be dangerous if not properly ventilated and is highly flammable. You can also use another cleaner, but just make sure you get all the grease and stains off the top.
Once done cleaning the top, now you can spray your self-etching primer on. I did a couple of coats until the bottles were completely used up, just follow the directions on the spray can of how long to wait between coats for drying.
Now you get to put the Spectrum on. Your goal is to get 1-3mm thickness of Spectrum on your top after several coats. For this part make sure you mix the spectrum up really well, there are directions on it, and all you basically need to do is follow them. I poured some of the spectrum into a paint roller pan and then rolled it on (much easier than painting it on with a brush). Let your first coat dry, I waited an hour between coats to make sure it was fully dry, Spectrum instructions say it takes a half hour but I found under my conditions it took about an hour. Do about 5 coats of Spectrum and you should be golden.
Once your last coat of Spectrum is dry and you like the results you can go ahead and remove all your newspaper and painters tape. Now is time to install the carpeting. For this I just cut two pieces out of my one large piece. I cut them to overfit the areas that I was carpeting.
Use your can of 3M high strength adhesive and spray about 1/4th of one of the ends of your carpeting and your hardtop and start placing it onto the hard top. It is easier not to spray the entire hard top and entire area of carpet and instead you should spray smaller areas and work your way forward as you lay the carpeting down.
Once your carpet is on all you need to do is trim the excess. Grab your utility knife and run it along the ridges of your hard top and you will get a nice clean install of the carpet/headliner.
Grab your buddies again, put your hard top on and you are ready to roll!
Finished pictures...first one is blurry was having trouble with camera.
This mod turned out a lot better than I thought it would and has been on for about a year now and was well worth it, every passenger I have had in my Jeep since then has said it is quieter now than when it was just the standard Hard Top.
Materials Needed:
1 Gallon Second Skin Spectrum Acoustic Sound Deadening (This is a liquid, you could potentially use another brand or not use liquid at all and instead use the dampener pads but I wanted to do liquid...plus I really like Second Skin as a company, great product and service so that is my plug for them, you will also have some left over so you can do more coats than I did or do your door panels or something else)
Spectrum Link
2 Cans Self Etching Primer (you can get it at NAPA or Sherwin Williams...this stuff was hard for me to find locally, I eventually did get it at NAPA)
To sum up supplies needed.
Supplies I had to buy:
Second Skin Spectrum (1) Gallon- $54.98
Self etching primer (2) cans- $24
3M Hi-Strength Spray Adhesive 90 (1) 24 oz Can- $20
Outdoor Carpet (Home Depot) I got about 6 feet cut- $15
Total= about $120
Supplies I had laying around (you can calculate cost):
Lots of old newspaper
Blue Painter's Tape
Paint Roller and Pan
Utility Knife and Razor Blades
Blanket
Duct Tape
Xylene
Total Time to do Install: about 7-8 hours with lots of waiting between.
Instructions:
Get a friend or 2 to help you take off the top and flip it over. The way I did it is have a friend on one side, me on another and then another friend on the end/underneath. We took the top off, slowly and carefully turned it over while the third man made sure we didn't drop it. Make sure to put some Duct Tape across the rear opening window because when you flip the top the window will open. We used the duct tape to hold it in place, you will also need the duct tape to stay there when the top is laying down or the window will stay open.
Next, tape everything off that you don't want to get Spectrum on. I decided to just do the main rectangular area of the top along the ridges as this was easiest. If you look at your top there are ridges that outline a nice rectangle on the top, this will provide a very nice guide for cutting the excess carpet once that is installed.
After everything is taped, clean the surface with some Xylene make sure you are well ventilated, this stuff is potent and can be dangerous if not properly ventilated and is highly flammable. You can also use another cleaner, but just make sure you get all the grease and stains off the top.
Once done cleaning the top, now you can spray your self-etching primer on. I did a couple of coats until the bottles were completely used up, just follow the directions on the spray can of how long to wait between coats for drying.
Now you get to put the Spectrum on. Your goal is to get 1-3mm thickness of Spectrum on your top after several coats. For this part make sure you mix the spectrum up really well, there are directions on it, and all you basically need to do is follow them. I poured some of the spectrum into a paint roller pan and then rolled it on (much easier than painting it on with a brush). Let your first coat dry, I waited an hour between coats to make sure it was fully dry, Spectrum instructions say it takes a half hour but I found under my conditions it took about an hour. Do about 5 coats of Spectrum and you should be golden.
Once your last coat of Spectrum is dry and you like the results you can go ahead and remove all your newspaper and painters tape. Now is time to install the carpeting. For this I just cut two pieces out of my one large piece. I cut them to overfit the areas that I was carpeting.
Use your can of 3M high strength adhesive and spray about 1/4th of one of the ends of your carpeting and your hardtop and start placing it onto the hard top. It is easier not to spray the entire hard top and entire area of carpet and instead you should spray smaller areas and work your way forward as you lay the carpeting down.
Once your carpet is on all you need to do is trim the excess. Grab your utility knife and run it along the ridges of your hard top and you will get a nice clean install of the carpet/headliner.
Grab your buddies again, put your hard top on and you are ready to roll!
Finished pictures...first one is blurry was having trouble with camera.