Re-Conditioning OEM Headliners

[sdg3205]

This week I decided to tackle something thats been bothering me for a while - my headliners. I didn't want to buy new ones and I figured there had to be a way to make the OEM ones work. Everyone i talked to said it wouldn't work. They may still be right, but thus far all is well.

The 2 in the doors are actually quite good, but the other 2 were sagging, dropping foam dust and very dirty.

Here's what I did:

1. I removed them

2. Peel off the grey fabric

3. use a shop vac to remove the last of the old foam from the panel boards

4. Soak the grey fabric and continuously wash with good detergent to clean and remove bit of old foam and adhesive

5. Purchase 16 sq ft of 1/4 headliner foam ($11.50)

6. Cut the foam to approx shape

7. Purchase 3M headliner glue ($25) - this is NOT suitable for the fabric, just the foam to back boards - it looks like snot.

8. Glue the foam to the boards & trim excess

9. Fit clean fabric and gently stretch to fit

10. Glue fabric to foam in sections, stretching to fit.

Once it has cured I'll get it back in the car and take a few more shots. I was really worried about how the glue would work with the fabric - would the glue seep through? I kept it just a mist and used a craft glue suitable for fabric. So far so good.

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[wrkey]

That looks pretty sweet. Can I send you my T-Board for you to refinish! My T-Board is the only one that is sagging right now but it's really irritating and makes the car look cheap (IMHO). I will be watching to see how your technique works out. What 'craft glue' did you use in step 10? I am worried that if I attempt I'd pick the wrong glue and have 'wet spots' on the roof. (That would be a fun one to explain.)

[QUOTE=sdg3205;130848].... 9. Fit clean fabric and gently stretch to fit

10. Glue fabric to foam in sections, stretching to fit.

Once it has cured I'll get it back in the car and take a few more shots. I was really worried about how the glue would work with the fabric - would the glue seep through? I kept it just a mist and used a craft glue suitable for fabric. So far so good.

/QUOTE]

[sdg3205]

The re-install is complete. The one thing i noticed is that the fabric must have shrunk slightly after the 3 washes i gave it. I only ever hung them to dry, but so be it. It just meant i had less fabric to work with for reinstallation.

Everything looks great. MUCH better to say the least. My total cost for this project was $35.00. Not bad.

I've taken a picture of the glues I used. The 3M sprays like a a stream of snot and is only suitable for gluing the foam to the back board. The Elmer's is craft oriented, and suitable for fabrics. A fine mist is used.

The key I believe is to allow the glue to get tacky, so you need to wait a minute or two before making the adhesion or laying out the fabric.

Just to reiterate, these are the original headliner boards and the original fabric. I bought 16 square feet of 1/4 inch foam locally.

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[GS450-Junkie]

I see some stains in original headliner....did you address that issue first??

[sdg3205]

I see some stains in original headliner....did you address that issue first??

95% of the stains came out in the wash. I soaked the fabric for 24 hrs in multiple fresh soaks. The water turned brown the first two soaks.

I took time to agitate and scrub the fabric too.

There is still some minor stains that are probably there for life.

[GS450-Junkie]

I was referring to what caused the water leaking in in the first place.

[Michael]

Nice job! I like the fact that you used the original fabric.

[DMCMW Dave]

Man - that's certainly the hard way to do it. I'm surprised that the original material held up to the cleaning process.

Just wondering why you didn't buy new foam-back headliner material. It probably wouldn't have cost much more than the foam you used. Impressive job, but are you sure the craft glue(?) will take typical automotive interior temperatures?

The typical objection to re-using the original paper forms is that they warp (especially just in front of the back window), but they can be reinforced. Yours must have been pretty straight to start with.

[sdg3205]

My car does have a slight leak at the passenger side a-pillar if I shoot a hose at it for a long time, but not in the rain. Other than that the roof has never leaked (knock on wood).

Dave - I liked the idea of keeping the original fabric in place. Will the glue hold? Perhaps not, but it was worth a shot! There was some distortion in the boards but I used some double sides tape to keep them straight at the back window.

[rddmc]

Man - that's certainly the hard way to do it. I'm surprised that the original material held up to the cleaning process.

Just wondering why you didn't buy new foam-back headliner material. It probably wouldn't have cost much more than the foam you used. Impressive job, but are you sure the craft glue(?) will take typical automotive interior temperatures?

The typical objection to re-using the original paper forms is that they warp (especially just in front of the back window), but they can be reinforced. Yours must have been pretty straight to start with.


I had the same thoughts. I would have never believed that the old fabric could be reused but it turned out looking great.

My experience was with new headliner from Jo-Ann fabrics and the job was not as tough as I thought it would be. The 3M headliner glue is not forgiving, once you let the two surfaces touch each other that is where they stay. I found the two sections in the door to be the most challenging since the recess is deeper there.

Nice job.

Rod
10921

[Delorean02378]

Here's a couple pictures of the "Foam-back headliner material" from Jo-Ann's that Dave and Rod are referring to. Forgot to get the price per yard, Jo-Ann's has coupons in the paper every week so I wasn't looking to purchase until I had one.

[sdg3205]

That's nice looking stuff. Fabric almost an exact match

[Delorean02378]

The color is pretty darn close Dave. They have it in black also. Not sure if you've got a Jo Ann's in Canada. If not, I'd be glad to bring some to DCS if you're coming. Kyle and I may be doing the same process with an extra set of headliners we've got so we'll post the process and pictures the way you did.

[sdg3205]

Thanks so much for the offer!

I'm doubtful ill make it to DCS at this point. Ill just have to see how time pans out.

[sdg3205]

The color is pretty darn close Dave. They have it in black also. Not sure if you've got a Jo Ann's in Canada. If not, I'd be glad to bring some to DCS if you're coming. Kyle and I may be doing the same process with an extra set of headliners we've got so we'll post the process and pictures the way you did.

I'm working on 3922 and I'd like to order the correct headliner fabric from Jo Ann's. I can order it online, but was wondering if you had a product number? 3922 is a Sept '81 build with a black interior. I don't notice too much difference in the headliner colour between my 3205 grey and his, but 3205 is under a bunch of tarps in the next township while 3922 is in the garage so I can't really compare!

Thanks guys!

EDIT - I'm open to suggestions from other places. The only headliner fabric i can find at Jo Ann's is tan.

[mluder]

Dave.

I tried to match my original grey with fabric from a local store. Could not find an exact match in either texture or color but it could be mine is just discolored and worn over time. I did find something that was really close called "Oxford Grey" ($21.00 (USD) a yard) at a local fabric store called Mill End. They have a board with more than a dozen color and texture options but the catch is they have to order from the supplier and it takes 3-4 days to get it. I wimped out and decided to hold off ordering at the time but still need to.

If you want I can order some extra and ship it up to you. It would sort of force me to do mine too. Let me know. Did you say it was black interior?
Also - It will probably be a few days until I can get there. It's been snowing for 3 days here - the most we've seen in 5-6 years I think.

Cheers
Steve

[sdg3205]

Dave.

I tried to match my original grey with fabric from a local store. Could not find an exact match in either texture or color but it could be mine is just discolored and worn over time. I did find something that was really close called "Oxford Grey" ($21.00 (USD) a yard) at a local fabric store called Mill End. They have a board with more than a dozen color and texture options but the catch is they have to order from the supplier and it takes 3-4 days to get it. I wimped out and decided to hold off ordering at the time but still need to.

If you want I can order some extra and ship it up to you. It would sort of force me to do mine too. Let me know. Did you say it was black interior?
Also - It will probably be a few days until I can get there. It's been snowing for 3 days here - the most we've seen in 5-6 years I think.

Cheers
Steve

Hey Steve,

Check this out on ebay (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Auto-Headliner-Upholstery-Fabric-With-Foam-Backing-120-x-60-Charcoal-Gray-/281015451791)

It's "Charcoal Grey" and looks about the right colour.

I don't think Jo - Ann's stocks headliner foam any more. I found another thread with a URL that no longer exists.

Thanks for your generous offer! If I can't find what I'm looking for we can figure something out!

[mluder]

Hey Steve,

Check this out on ebay (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Auto-Headliner-Upholstery-Fabric-With-Foam-Backing-120-x-60-Charcoal-Gray-/281015451791)

It's "Charcoal Grey" and looks about the right colour.


Wow... Thanks for the link. That's a really good price. Not sure about the color. I think grey interior cars might have a lighter color headliner than that but I see they have 60 colors available so I may have to do some browsing.

Now if I could just find some vinyl that matches original in color and texture.

Cheers
Steve

[sdg3205]

Wow... Thanks for the link. That's a really good price. Not sure about the color. I think grey interior cars might have a lighter color headliner than that but I see they have 60 colors available so I may have to do some browsing.

Now if I could just find some vinyl that matches original in color and texture.

Cheers
Steve

Yeah, they have a lot of light greys too.

EDIT - I ordered the MEDIUM DARK GREY for 3922.

I'll let you know how it goes.

[john 05141]

That is a very clever move. An example for those of us that want to bring a car back to original.

I bought a roll of headliner at DMC EU and it really was not that hard to renew and looks very good and the same as the original one. Took me a few hours to complete.
However, I am realy fond of the Alcantara material, that looks very chique, when the first stain would apprear......

Jan

[gulwng3]

My car does have a slight leak at the passenger side a-pillar if I shoot a hose at it for a long time, but not in the rain. Other than that the roof has never leaked (knock on wood).

Mine too. If you ever figure out what is causing this leak, please let me know. I have no cracks, everything sealed, new windshield, good door seals, etc.

It does take a fair amount of water pressure from the hose, but once it starts leaking, there is probably 1 cup of water that collects in the headliner above the sun visor, which drips down on the carpet and seats - UGH!

Andy

[sdg3205]

Mine too. If you ever figure out what is causing this leak, please let me know. I have no cracks, everything sealed, new windshield, good door seals, etc.

It does take a fair amount of water pressure from the hose, but once it starts leaking, there is probably 1 cup of water that collects in the headliner above the sun visor, which drips down on the carpet and seats - UGH!

Andy

Andy,

I think it's where the weather seal meets the underside of the door. I'm not sure its 100% water tight on a lot of cars, so when driving, there's not enough water pressures to get over the seam, but a hose will provide enough water to do so. Not a big concern of mine though. If that's the worst my car can throw at me at the moment, I'll take it.

[gulwng3]

Andy,

I think it's where the weather seal meets the underside of the door. I'm not sure its 100% water tight on a lot of cars, so when driving, there's not enough water pressures to get over the seam, but a hose will provide enough water to do so. Not a big concern of mine though. If that's the worst my car can throw at me at the moment, I'll take it.

Thanks. Never thought of that... With new seat skins and new carpet, it's a major concern for me. But, it's only a problem when I wash the car so I guess I'll have to give that up...:hihi2:

Andy

[Delorean02378]

I'm working on 3922 and I'd like to order the correct headliner fabric from Jo Ann's. I can order it online, but was wondering if you had a product number? 3922 is a Sept '81 build with a black interior. I don't notice too much difference in the headliner colour between my 3205 grey and his, but 3205 is under a bunch of tarps in the next township while 3922 is in the garage so I can't really compare!

Thanks guys!

EDIT - I'm open to suggestions from other places. The only headliner fabric i can find at Jo Ann's is tan.

Sorry Dave, I'm just now seeing this. I'll drop by there soon and get the product number for future reference.

[sdg3205]

Very kind of you. I've ordered some fabric off eBay that looks about right. Should be here next week.

[Delorean02378]

I finally went to purchase the headliner material today from Jo-Ann's. Their name for it is "BRND HEADLINER GREY" and it's $14.99 a yard. I purchased 2.5 yards. With my 40% off coupon you can print through their web-site, the total price was $24.57.

I'll try to post pictures after we're done.

[TTait]

You can also purchase Heads-Up Headliner kits from amazon, pep boys, or auto zone. Light and dark grey are reasonable matches to light and dark grey in the D, and they also offer black, faux suede, etc.

Search Heads-Up Headliner on Amazon - or Pep Boys often has the greys in stock.