It's strongly recommended to avoid undercoating sprays. They are messy, some of them never fully cure, and when you finally decide to put real deadening it will be the biggest hassle ever. I spent $60 worth of the stuff. I only got minimal results, and a very bad smelling car (for a week or two). $60 spent on real products will give you a better result than $60 spent on the undercoating sprays.

I recommend Second Skin products. They stick great and do not have asphalt in them, so no smell. I have used FatMat before and no longer recommend it. It will unpeel on hot days when mounted upside down. Plus it is a lot thinner, so you have to put about 3 layers to get the same effect. Which means you will be spending a lot of time. Sure its cheap to just get 100 square feet, but it will take many hours to install that much. Plus it is asphalt based and will smell for a few days.

Okay so now you need to decide what you want to do. If you just want to stop rattles, then just stick some deadening mat wherever there are rattles. However, if you also want less road noise in your car, you will need more than a deadener. You need something to absorb the noise. Ensolite foam works great for this.

So if you want to reduce road noise, here is what to do:

1. Remove your door panels. Remove the plastic vapor barrier and throw it away.
2. Clean the inside of the door skin where you will mount your mat.
3. Mount a layer or two of mat on the outside layer of the inside of the door. I know that the support beams get in the way, but try and cover as much as you can.
4. Glue on a layer of Ensolite foam. Use spray adhesive. Again, try and cover as much of the outside skin as you can. One layer of foam is plenty.
5. Start covering the inside layer of the door. Use one layer of mat, and cover all of the holes in the door. You want to try and cover everything. I made little cutouts for certain bolts, but otherwise try and get it on everything within the rubber seal for the vapor barrier.
6. Take the door panel, and glue on layer of foam to the back of it.
7. Cut out the areas for the door handle and window crank (if you have manual windows). Put the door panel back on, close the door, and enjoy that satisfying thud you now get. Compare it to your other non dampened doors, they will all sound tinny compared to the one you just did.
8. Repeat for the rest of the doors, except do not cover the speaker holes on any doors that have them.
9. Now time for the floor. Take out everything you need to get the carpet out.
10. Put one layer of mat on the floor, being careful not to cover any bolt holes you will need.
11. Knock on the floor with your hands, and put another layer of mat wherever it still sounds resonant (noisy).
12. Put a layer of the foam over the floor and glue it into place. I’d recommend two layer of foam for best results. Bolt everything back together and you are almost done.
13. If you have a hatchback or station wagon: Repeat the same process as the floor for the back area. Take off the plastic side panels and do that area as well.
14. If you have a sedan: Put a layer of mat over the trunk floor and sides of the trunk (taking off the plastic panels first of course). Then take off the rear shelf cover from the inside of the car (you know, where the back speakers are mounted). Do two layers of mat on this area, and one layer of foam. Cover all of the holes if you don’t need any trunk ventilation (I don’t), but if you do then leave the farthest back holes (nearest to the rear window) open. Dong this area knocks out most of the trunk noise, which is why we don’t need to be as thorough with the trunk.
15. Put everything back together.
16. Take it out on the highway, and notice just how much quieter it is. The foam really makes it that much quieter.

The mat can be purchased from secondskinaudio.com. If you want to save some money, get their b-stock products. I did and I cant tell a difference between it and the regular stuff. The foam can be purchased from raamaudio.com. 6 yards is plenty to do my four doors as I wrote, and enough for two layers on the floor.

Also see

• Ford Escort & ZX2 section for the entire index of all Ford Escort and ZX2 related articles.