Headliner Success

[Robert]

I hope no one minds if I pat myself on the back here.

My '84 did not have a headliner in it when I got it last week. I have done headliners in 2 other vehicles I have owned. You know....the foam "dies" and the material starts to sag onto your head?

Well, I asked a couple of shops and they said that an '84 had some kind of plastic headliner that was held in by velcro. The "hook" strips were still there. I just pulled them off and removed the glue. I figured that there had been cloth glued to a heavy carboard like material. One shop said they just glued new cloth right onto the fiberglass top.

I went to a local fabric shop and got black cloth with 3/8 foam on the back for $15.00 and got a can of contact cement ($5.00). I made several templates to make sure it would have just a little extra to tuck under the trim.

Then I brushed the cement onto both the foam side and the inside of the top. Once it dries, the contact cement will not stick to anything other than the opposite surface coated with dry glue. I put newspaper on the top, lined up the material and gently slipped the paper out and using a brush smoothed out the material.

For $15.00 and about an hour labor, I have a very nice looking black cloth headliner.


Sorry to be so braggy....

Robert

 

[Ken]

 

[Rocky Ak]

Thanks, I've been needing to do this for a while too.

 

[rrubel]

Just as an FYI, you can buy a special headliner cement called "Heads Up!" that sprays easily and won't sag in heat like some contact cements can. An advantage of the spray over a brush applicator is that sometimes the foam will compress or clump around the brush as you're spreading it. Don't ask me how I know this...

I did mine about 15 months ago and it still looks great.
[RICHR]

 

[Robert]

It just feels good to be able to do something that looks good and saves a bunch.


I had one guy tell me that he had a headliner all ready to install.....for a $180.00!!!!!