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Headliner Restore

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SpankyStokes

Proven Member
120
75
Oct 15, 2019
San Antonio, Texas
Ok I’m in the process of freshening up my headliner. I scraped off all the old foam from it down to the fiberglass sheet section and now is extremely flimsy to apply the new foam with fabric.
Anyone know what I can use to strengthen it so it can hold its form while it lays out to put the new fabric?
 
Is the fabric foam backed? Confused by your wording. I put mine up on a bench and very carefully test fitted the fabric cut it out with about 6" of extra fabric on the sides then used 3M spray adhesive and some nitrile gloves and a squeegee and very carefully worked out all the airbubbles with squeegee and my hands.

I used tacks to hold fabric to some of the weird shapes like the sun visor area to make sure it didn't lift while the glue set.
 
@Widgmaster , your expertise is needed here please and thank you..
Our interior guru should give you some advice here.
Thanks L..:thumb:
 
Yeah I was thinking about him too beat me to the punch haha

That's as far as my expertise goes my headliner kept shape save one of the corners in the rear. But that mistake is now covered by a rubber weather seal so noone will ever know
 
I’m assuming you didn’t remove the old foam when you did yours?
I didn’t expect the headliner to be that paper thin without the original hardened foam.
If I hold it upright it holds it’s shape. I’m thinking about hanging it and putting a layer of epoxy or something I can spread and dry to give it some rigidity.
 
I scraped the orange crusty stuff off the fiberglass shell. I assume that was the old headliner fabric backing foam. I get now that we were talking about different foams... So now I really can't help and I will delegate this to the interiors expert
 
Thank you for the responses. I’m thinking about gluing cardboard on the side that sees the roof for rigidity. You did remove the orange foam. I’m assuming now because mine is sunroofless I’m having a different issue than most. Maybe yours is just more solid from the factory.
 
In all my years of doing headliners I have never heard of the liner being to thin after material removal .Headliner material is always foam back 1/8 - 1/4 or 1/2 foam ... But if it is to thin I just use paper ... Get some 3M spray foam ... old newspaper will work.. on the backside of the liner .. not the material side.. spray the liner and the paper and start applying . This should stiffen it up enough .Cut small pieces so you can work with it easier ... I have added a video of a guy doing a headliner ( ignore the part where he rubs the liner with a towel and you don`t need the weight either ) Get one of those disposable drop sheets at your local paint store . . Lay your material out just like he does in the video.. NOW..... use the drop sheet and cover two thirds of the headliner to protect from over spray .. fold the material back 1/3rd and it should lay out on the plastic ... spray both the material and the liner board.. wait a bit and then very carefully apply the foam backed material with soft gentle strokes .. when that`s done move the drop sheet to cover what you just did and spray another third of the liner and board... wait a bit then apply that 1/3rd . ( remember gentle strokes ) move the plastic to cover the completed part and the spray the remaining material and board and wait a bit and then apply the last 1/3rd.. Finnish it off just like he does. folding it over the edge... I can`t stress enough .. do this in a well ventilated area . unless you want to kill off brain cells so you can be as smart as your teenager ...ROFLROFLROFL
 
I wonder if our Boss... Captain ....Leader . you know @Ludachris could put a title under my name to direct interior questions to me .. Like " Interior Specialist " He don't have to mention how good looking
I am or any thing like that .....:tease::tease::tease:ROFL
 
I don’t really know what the headline is constructed of, since it was completely missing from my car at purchase. There is a company that produces carbon fiber replacement panel, which is what I ended up getting. Despite the cool Woven appearance, I had it covered with oem-look foam/fabric by the person who recovered my factory leather seats. Install was a little tricky, but it turned out pretty good, and if I can do it.....
 
Yeah I had similarly thought about buying one of those carbon fiber headliners and wrapping it in fabric because of how flimsy/thin the oem material is. I would assume the carbon fiber one would be better for wind noise and heat insulation at a nominal weight increase if any.
 
I`m looking at the carbon fiber headliner mentioned here and it seems pretty pricey and to cover it with material would be a shame ...The one I seen runs $380 bucks .. You should be able to have a professional upholsterer do your original headliner for less than that... They also have one for a headliner with a sunroof ..

https://special-carbonfiber.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=74
 
Yes, that's the one I have in my car. At the time I was looking, I wasn't so keyed into the DSM classifieds, and the oem ones on ebay cost about as much (and still needed reupholstered). The shipping is high due to oversized, too. I like the carbon fiber look on some things, but wanted the stock look for my ride. I think it's my distaste for the Fast & Furious neon and carbon over the top thing that was all the rage with these cars for a time. A sure sign that I'm past my prime, of course. The carbon one is definitely not flimsy; in fact, it's stiff enough to cause a few mounting headaches. Plus you have to make all the fastener perforations yourself, which can be a little tricky. My entire interior required major reconstruction to get to where it now looks normal. Still some squeaks to work through, but I'm pretty pleased with it. Spent probably $3~4K, and that's aside from all the mechanical/ electrical fixing. Still, that would be just the carpet in a Porsche!
 
My car's headliner is sagging too. Generally, is new headliner applied to the car's roof, or to an intermediate surface that's removed from the car first, which is then reinstalled to the roof? I can't imagine doing it properly directly to the roof, with gravity doing its thing.
 
Thanks. That's what I was hoping. Every time I look at it I get this sense of dread about restoring it. Sounds a bit easier than I feared, if not actually "easy". (Hint: nothing really is.)
 
I found this video a while back. Dude blasts some crack, but it should be 90% of the process if you need to see it. Removing the actual headliner from the car is not included.

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The headliner is held in mostly by christmasstree clips (Im not making this up...). And of course the visor mounts, and fore and aft trim strips. The rear one has some funky steel-tooth retainers and the FSM is not great at explaining really how to remove it all. The cabin light housing also must be removed: Two screws are revealed once the cover is unsnapped. After that the whole panel should fall on your head, with bits of foam dust in your eyes for good measure.
Good luck!
 
Probably won't be able to get to it till spring, but it's never a bad idea to know in advance. The one in there now isn't terrible, especially up front where it most matters, but it's sagging in the back, which is bad for the rare passenger and worse for rearview visibility.
 
Heh. In the 2 back seats. You never realized your DSM has them?

Seriously, my nephews. They're still pretty young and short and might even like the cozy feeling back there. The oldest one's taller than me and rides shotgun, though. He's getting his learner's permit next month and I might teach him stick on the Talon once he passes his driving test.
 
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