Hard Top Sound Dampener

[kevman65]

Okay, contemplating pulling the factory headliner off and installing some Kilmat and then putting the headliner back up.

As I have never done this process on fiberglass, and what little info is out there isn't specific. What grit sandpaper would one use to give the fiberglass some tooth? It is recommended to sand it, but again no grit given and I sure don't think 40 grit is the way to go.

I know I will have to clean and degrease after sanding and before installation.

Anyone played with this on the Freedom tops?

 

[jeeeep]

a light scuffing is all that's needed, can't recall the grit that came with the hothead headliner but I think it was 400 grit.

Also, the areas where the sound strips (same as Kilmat) were placed did not require scuffing but the surface requires cleaning with acetone.

 

[OverlanderJK]

I would be surprised if that needed any prep to stick. I never did anything on on my two door and that stuff if super sticky.

 

[Aceisback]

Not sure if this is allowed here or not, I’ll take the after action beating if not, but if you search for diy headliner for dummies there is a very good tutorial with pics and all over at the glady forum.

 

[kevman65]

a light scuffing is all that's needed, can't recall the grit that came with the hothead headliner but I think it was 400 grit.

Also, the areas where the sound strips (same as Kilmat) were placed did not require scuffing but the surface requires cleaning with acetone.

I watched the HotHeads vids, on the old one they scuffed, on the newer one they just wiped down with acetone.

 

[kevman65]

I would be surprised if that needed any prep to stick. I never did anything on on my two door and that stuff if super sticky.

Kilmat recommends sanding and then degreasing on fiberglass. Just want to get best possible results. Our temp swings here go from below 0 in winter to near triple digits in summer. So a good bond is needed.

 

[JT@623]

I’ve used a bunch of killmatt and all I’ve done is clean the surface it’s super sticky.

 

[Aceisback]

I’ve used a bunch of killmatt and all I’ve done is clean the surface it’s super sticky.

That’s not going to have a problem adhering. It’s the adhesive on the Velcro strips that fails with heat and/or time.

 

[TigerInFl]

did that earlier this year. in fact i added not only a product like Kilmat, but I added in a layer of sound deadener on top of the Kilmat as well. then i add in the Cover King headliner product. It gets hotter than a hoochie coochie here in Florida and never had an issue. i did not sand anything.

the one thing I will say is that you may lose your satellite/gps antenna because of the foil backing used on the Kilmat product. I am now in the process of moving my antenna to the cowl right below the windshield for better reception. YMMV

IMO the CoverKing is a much better product than the Hot Heads or the Mopar headliner because it covers so much more space than either of those two products and it looks better and it works! I've noticed it's much cooler this summer because of doing all the work. i use my JT for work and I am on the phone all the time. i can now hear the other person on the phone much better and my wife says she can hear me better as well.

 

[Lunentucker]

I want to got a different route and get the Lizard Skin ceramic spray coating done.

 

[SeaSharp]

How much does this stuff really dampen the sound on a JT?

 

[BruceyZ06]

I did the top with kill mat and kill mat under neath the carpet and to helped a lot!