as some of you might know i installed a set of PG RSD's in my car exactly a month ago. i went back in to the doors cause i had a slight buzz in the plastic door skin at certain frequencies. while i was in there i noticed that the mdf baffles were getting slightly wet and swelling in certain areas.

so todays project was to make new baffles and to make sure that the same thing would not happen to these as well. so i cut new ones out, then i primed them, painted them very heavily, then clear coated them very heavily. then i installed them. i totally covered them in Edead V1SE after they were mounted as well. not a hair of these new ones will be exposed to the elements again.

here are a couple pics for everybody....

this is what the worst of the two looked like after only a month..


the new ones covered in primer, paint and lots of clear...



mounted and 100% covered in butyl mat...


and finally all finished up with the speakers back in place...



this should not happen again now. :-)

 

good job man, it must sound really clean.

 

thats not really the point of this thread, but thanks and yes it sounds excellent IMO.

 

I've noticed this as well on my tC. My theory is that the moisture comes in with the window.

 

That would have to be a lot of moisture to be able to do that in a month.

I would look into what caused the problem in the first place instead of applying a bandaid. The doors should be mostly sealed and that much water shouldn't get into the doors.

 

it is very common for that much water to get into the doors to do that damage. MDF is like a sponge it doesn't take long to degrade when wet.

 

sorry to sound like a noob but what does baffles do?

 

it must have come in through the windows. either that or the drainage holes on the bottom of the doors, but i don't see water going up into the door that far. but those are the only 2 places anything can get into my doors. they are completely sealed other than that.

my solution does not seem like a bandaid. it seems like a perfect fix. water will get into any car door through the windows especially if you roll them down when wet.

 

it spaces an aftermarket speaker out so it doesn't hit the window when rolled down. and some say it's better to have a speaker mounted to anything but a thin piece of sheet metal like an inner door panel.

 

i agree your solution is not a bandaid it is the correct way to fix the problem

 

thanks!

 

i use some birch plywood, i hope it last longer than your MDF

 

MDF is fine, i use GRIPPER its paint for bathrooms, it blocks out the moisture.

 

i have come across problems just painting the MDF... its seems to help... but only prolong the inevitable.... usually... when we do installs like this... we throw a quick layer of fiberglass resin on the baffle... the MDF soaks it up like a sponge... then it protected for many years to come... i have done this way... my baffles have made it through 2 chicago winters and are still perfectly fine

 

If you sand MDF with 200 grit sand paper, do at least 2 layers of primer, and 2 layers of paint..it should last a while.

I did my sub box that way and it is pretty gloss and doesn't hold moisture that I am aware of.

 

the reason he said its a band aid was because you only fixed the affected area but didnt find out where the water was coming from. correct me if im wrong but thats what i got from it

 

there is no problem there is always going to be water in the doors. That is why there is that plastic on the inside of the doors and the holes in the bottom to let out the water. There is no way to prevent the water from entering the door.

 

my point exactly.

i am a little bothered by people saying it's a bandaid to fix the problem. but the problem cannot be fixed. all doors will get wet inside, some more than others.

 

I just check my doors upon reading this thread and sure enough Ive got a problem on the passenger side door!!! Very frustrating, Im living at school so I can't easily make another set of baffles.

Just ordered a set from elemental designs. The price wasn't bad but they charge half the price of the baffles just to ship them to you. Oh well, once I have them I'll prime and paint them, then cover them in Raammat. Hopefully that will do the trick.

 

yea it sucks! good luck to ya.