Headliner repair

[JPerfect]

I finally got fed up with the sagging headliner yesterday, so I decided to do some surgery. I got in the car, ripped the headliner off the sunroof, since it was halfway off already... only to find there's nasty plastic foamy sticky stuff underneath it. So I took off the sun visors, popped off the overhead lights, disconnected all the wiring, switches, etc. and also popped off the other panels on the sides of the car and in the back corners.

I peeled back the headliner, and had to pry it off of the sunroof fitting. It easily came right out the hatch. I then pulled off the fabric and used a putty knife to scrape away some of the glue. I still have to go over the headliner with some sort of solvent to thoroughlly clean it, but it's almost set for some new cloth.

I found a kit online for like 50 bucks I'm going to get, I'm at work now so I don't have the link. I also took pictures of the job, and the mess.

One question that I have:

I see on the ceiling, there's a big plastic plate that's covering all of the sunroof's complexity. I want to be able to get the upholstered part off so that I can glue the cloth onto it. If i take off this plastic plate, is that going to disrupt anything? I noticed that it's connected to the sunroof drainage system, but that's not really a problem.

All in all, taking apart the headliner in one piece was not difficult. It took me all of an hour to take all the pieces off and remove the headliner with no instructions or anything. As long as the fabric goes on smoothly, it'll be an easy DIY fix.

Pictures to come. Maybe I'll start a new DIY thread for that.

Jeff

[Donovan]

Jperfect keep us updated. I too was tired of looking at my sagging headliner (on the pillar) so I ripped it out. You're thinking yeah sure now it probably looks awful but actually the material behind that headliner nicely blends in with the interior. You would have to look hard to see that something was done to it.

[stormos]

i'm thinking a dark red alacantara head lining for my car as the interior is black. maybe next spring.... can't be assed atm tbh.

[Nelly_318ti]

Anybody know of a place that they can recommend me to? the lining on my sunroof came off and it is half on and half off. I'm located in New York City area. So any place in the surrounding area whould be great!

Thanks for the help!

[TYL]

Originally Posted by bmwracerchick

Like when I got new tires they said I needed new brake pads...well we go over to look and half the pad was still there. Im like what are you trying to pull with me? It still has half left of it. I took to my mechanic and he said the same thing. I think I got over 15,000 miles more out of them before I changed them. But ya keep looking im sure you will find somewhere that wont over charge you.

If you have OEM pads a light will come on in the dashboard letting you know that they need replacement. I was surprised that my original factory pads lasted 60,000 miles.

[btschafer]

Well, I successfully removed my headliner today. It's an easy job. The only part that confuses me is the interior cover for the sunroof. Anyone know how to remove this?

[GpersChrist]

All that is nice......but suede Head liners is whats really hot now.....imagine black or gray, or even white suede leather on the celing.....or you can check this link............ http://www.a-lheadliners.com/products.html

[1uvaknd]

i alraedy did my headliner in black to ionclude the sunroof but you have to be very careful when re-installing the moon roof because there is a white plastic part that helps move the roof back and forth and if it strips when putting it back in your in for a hell of a time. i had to completely remove the moonroof motor and the cables then re-install them so they match up exactly. also if that happens you have to take your time or else you'll end up buying a new moonroof

[robcarync]

i got these cool little push pin/corkscrew type things at wal mart today. they are for a temporary fix of sagging head liners. i will eventually get mine professionally done, but for the time being...just twisting the pins into the ceiling to hold the fabric up so its not resting on my head and covering the interior lights, im happy.

[keefer]

i have the tan interior and its starting to sag, can they change the color too?

[drrty byl]

I realize this thread is old, but you can definitely do this yourself if you don't mind going through the hassle of dismantiling everything to get the headboard out. Go to a hardware store and look for a can of 3M "80" spray adhesive (unless you live in California, where spray adhesive is illegal and you'll have to order online and have it shipped). This is the stuff being used by trim shops and should only run you about $10/can.

[JPerfect]

Well, I did my sunroof a while back, when I last posted, and it looked spectacular. It looked better than it did when i got the car.

Apparently the adhesive doesn't like to hold... on the kit I bought... and it's now hanging off worse than ever.

TAKE MY ADVICE AND GET IT DONE PROFESSIONALLY THE FIRST TIME!

It took me like 5-6 hours total to take the headliner out, cut the fabric, glue the fabric, and put it back in. It is HELL putting the headliner back in.

I also don't know how to do the sunroof, but I can deal with that for now. It's black metal now, not all that noticeable in my black interior.

[drrty byl]

This stuff is some serious ****. I am a graphic designer and have been using 3M super 77 to mount comps to presentation boards for years -- that stuff is strong enough to adhere heavy objects to walls and this is the higher-grade stuff. There are many inferior grade "spray glues" out on the market, this is the only brand we have ever used.

[JPerfect]

i was going to ask if that was safe to use... like, is it going to bleed... then i read the text on the bottle.

where can I go about purchasing it?

[upstatenybimmer]

Apparently some moisture got underneath my sunroof headliner on the and binded up the fabric up. I have it temp. fixed but it looks like ****. My headliner is in beautiful condition (esp for a '95)... it might of even been replaced before.

EDIT: i just tore the cloth of the sunroof and used goo-gone and a dull edged putty knife to scrape the glue off without scratching the fiberglass. the black fiberglass looks damn good with my black interior.

How do i get the sunroof cover off so I can clean it better and give it a good coat of paint?