AghhhhH!! I screwed up the headliner install - need tips

[Mattchu60]

Well I tried re-doing my headliner tonight. I had cleaned up the foam and was ready to install the fabric. I laid it out and folded about 6 inches back to start gluing. I sprayed the adhesive and then waited a few min.

Wouldnt you know I barely got anywhere and the freaking fabric stuck together in a spot? Then while trying to fix that another section stuck to the foam in the wrong area. It snowballed from there and ended up with a mess. The foam is alright, but the fabric is wrecked, all stuck together in many places now.

I'm going to try again, but I dont want to mess this up a 2nd time! Where is a good spot to start gluing this on? Its freaking hard!

 

[chengny]

The job of laying the fabric on the headliner shell is critical.

As you found out, all the prep work that was done can go flying out the window if the fabric snags in the wrong place.

It really requires a helper (2 is better).

If you can only get one assistant do it like this:

Work side to side rather than front to back.

Start with the helper kneeling down and holding one side (say the drivers side) and you standing up with the passengers side in your hands. The fabric should be almost vertical.

Have the assistant apply the fabric to the shell at the far edge. He should then start to smooth the fabric from the middle out (towards the front and back of the shell). Just gently for now - don't press it down.

If he f*cks up and makes a wrinkle, you can lift up and away from the bad area and let him try again.

If he does it one more time - tell him he's fired. Switch places and you take over the initial lay down.

When it's all done and has no wrinkles, take your clean soft paint roller and roll the fabric firmly into the adhesive.

With 2 helpers it's even easier.

Have one helper on either side holding the fabric just a couple of inches over the shell.

You kneel at the mid-point and smooth it out. Start in the middle and brush the fabric out towards each side. Again, as above, do the initial lay down gently. That way, if you get a wrinkle, the assistant on the affected side can lift up and away. You get another chance to lay it smooth.

If it looks good roll it down firmly.

 

[heffalump]

On the way to work this morning the headliner in my blazer decided to all but fall out..gonna try an replace it this weekend.. whenever I do it I'll post a thread..

 

[chengny]

This works good:

Once you have a usable headboard shell in hand, here is how to make it look like it just came from the factory:

1. The molded backing board/shell (don't quote me on nomenclature) is the key to this whole repair. It is just as well that you have to get one because it cannot be in the vehicle to do this properly.

2. Peel the old headliner fabric carefully away from the shell. If any pieces of the shell start to come off with the fabric separate them with a butter knife and set them aside. If you can't locate a perfect shell at the junkyard or don't want to pay for a new one you can glue them back into the original with adhesive cement.

3. Step back and see what you have to work with. If you are lucky the fabric will have cleanly separated from the fiberglass shell. If not that is why you so carefully saved those little chunks.

4.Get a shop-vac and a brand new toilet brush (toilet brush - not a wire brush). Get down on your hands and knees and start firmly but gently (can I say that?) removing all of the failed adhesive. Rather like when your wife gets her face exfoliated. Don't worry if some of the shell carries away - it is actually better to get down to a new surface. After you are done scrubbing use the soft brush attachment for the vacuum and get all that old glue off. Then get your toilet brush back in hand and do it all over again, and again until you have a new surface to work with.

5. Go to the Home Depot and get a couple of cans of spray-on polyurethane and 4 cans of 3M heavy duty adhesive. (Oh yeah and a paint roller with a nice fluffy cartridge)

6. Spray the newly cleaned shell with the poly and let it dry overnight. In the AM you should find that you have a nice hard/firm/sturdy shell to work with.

7. I forgot to tell you that on the way home from Home Depot you should have gone to JoAnn Fabrics and asked one of the nice ladies there to direct you to the headliner material - they'll know exactly what you mean. You also should have measured your shell or brought your old headliner fabric with you in a plastic bag. They at JA Fabrics will set you up a beautiful piece of foam backed headliner that is thick enough to hide any gouges you may have made during the cleaning process.

8. Back down on your hands and knees and lay the new material out over the shell trim away to fit (leaving about two inches over on all sides.

9. You can guess the rest - read the instructions on the 3M can. I believe it will say to spray both surfaces and wait 30 minutes before joining. Use all 4 cans - trust me! It will look like a winter wonderland, but that's correct.

10. Have an assistant help you lay the fabric back down on the shell and get that new paint roller that I forgot to mention earlier. Get back down on your H&K's again and while gently tugging where needed, start rolling the fabric onto the shell.

11. Let it dry, do the final trimming of excess fabric and get ready to hang up in the truck.

One note; depending on the contours of your shell it may be prudent to place some folded up towels under certain areas of the shell so that when you roll the glue into the interface you can press down firmly.

This will work and you will not be able to take your eyes off of the wonderful job you did ( and keep showing people till they are sick of hearing about it). It will last for 20 years.


To hang a headliner in a truck - even one that has never had one is not a big deal.

But a word to the wise; don't even start until you have all the trim/support pieces on hand. Paint and straighten them before assembly.

1. Front and rear & L/R side mouldings
2. L/R front & rear pillar mouldings
3. Hinge/mounting bracket assemblies for the sunvisors.

The holes in the H/L (for the visors and the dome light) will match up even on a non-H/L truck. Use these as locating points. Have a helper hold the H/L up in place and get a couple of screws in the side trim first. After you are pleased with how it fits, do the front and rear trim.

 

[Mattchu60]

I'm going to try it again tonight. Thanks for the help so far!

 

[89Suburban]

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