Headliner how to.

[b.u.ti-ful]

I just did the new headliner job and it turned out good, so here are the steps I took:

1. Remove all mounted hardware.
2. Pop off post covers on front, middle and rear. The front covers come off completely - the middle and rear need only come off enough to get the headliner out.
3. Start pulling the board down from back to front being careful not to crack the cheap form too much.
4. Remove the board out the hatch (how people do this in a sedan, I can't imagine.)
5. Peel fabric layer off of board.
6. Go to fabric store and pick out something FABULOUS! I deliberately chose cloth with a noisy pattern because I know some of the spray glue might soak through and the pattern hides a lot of screw ups.
7. Stop off at Autozone and buy two cans of Loctite headliner adhesive spray.
8. Put the board on the garage floor and lay the fabric over it.
9. Fold one half of the fabric back and spray the back of that half of the fabric and half of the board. Let it get tacky and spray it again. Let it get tacky again and lay the fabric back over the sprayed half and rub it down.
10. Now, fold the other half back and repeat the process.
11. Trim the edges leaving 1/2 inch extra around the edges.
12. Fold the extra 1/2 inch onto the back of the board and use a hot glue gun to secure it to the back of the board.
13. Trim the holes for the fixtures.
14. Re-install the board.

[L84THSKY]

I guess with cloth interior, any headliner is good enough.

[b.u.ti-ful]

I considered buying grey vinyl, but I knew when it came time to fit it around the curves of the light and visors it would bunch up and crease badly. This fabric is very forgiving around the shapes and matches my cloth interior well.

[J!m]

It sounds easy!

I think 2-tone black and red suede would be nice with my interior.....

Sorry! Not factory, not in my car.

I have noticed my A-pillar cpovers starting to lift a bit, so I'll have to get some new ones soon...

As far as getting it out of a sedan, the seats are not in when the headliner goes in. Plenty of room!

[steelejared]

That looks pretty nice. Good work. How long did it take you and how much did it cost you? Did you also re-cover the A pillar. That seems to be the most prone to the headliner material losing its grip.

[b.u.ti-ful]

Thanks - you should allow the better part of a Saturday for the job. The cloth cost all of $8 and the two cans of spray was $20. I plan on gluing grey vinyl to the front post covers.

[b.u.ti-ful]

I just glued the first front post. I used something called Fabri-Tac which is a fast setting gel glue. I glued the vinyl on and trimmed it and popped the cover back on the car. Looks okay to me.

[mohaughn]

Did you recover the sunroof? If so, you should expect it to jam at some point.

[CirrusSR22]

b.u.ti-ful,
So you just used plain old fabric? I should try that. I do like the looks of that fabric. It sort of reminds me of something you'd see in a euro "Individual" car. I did this last summer with some real headliner fabric, but the only stuff I could find had rather thick foam (not sure the spec., but it was thicker than the stock fabric). It was too thick and didn't turn out very well. The fabric wasn't strechy enough to follow the contours of the forward section (sun visors, overhead lights).

I also used "Heads-Up" brand adhesive spray and it's sagging already Don't buy it!

[b.u.ti-ful]

Yes, just plain fabric. I tried to pick something thick but pliable. I left the old foam on the board, as that was not the part that came away. I think the Loctite spray glue is good, but I have not had the test of a hot summer. I gave it more than one coat of glue too. Don't be skimpy on the glue.

[L84THSKY]

This is what mine came out looking like, sueded grey cloth.

Originally Posted by steelejared

That looks pretty nice. Good work. How long did it take you and how much did it cost you? Did you also re-cover the A pillar. That seems to be the most prone to the headliner material losing its grip.

[Panzer_M]

I paid 150 to have mine done(200 if I wanted vinyl) I wouldn't have the patience to work with the glue.

[Panzer_M]

The A pillars and sunroof motor cover come pre-cover from BMW.

[Philly]

how difficult is it for DIY on the A-pillars..?? do they just pop off?
i accidently caught my smoke on it the first night i got it and there is a little burn it in

[b.u.ti-ful]

Pull the pillar cover from the top down. It snaps off. You have to pull pretty hard with the attitude that if you break it you can always get another one.