Idea for an easy way to replace headliner

[macker123]

I have an idea to easily replace my headliner. Would it not work fine just to remove my old headliner and paste the new headliner material on top of the old? It won't make a difference thickness wise and it will allow me to re-use the vacuum formed headliner that is stock.

What do you think? Sound alright?

I am thinking of doing this with some black vinyl material. Do you think a fabric store would sell this?

 

[jimbo74]

sounds fine.... i think the 3m type spray adhesive should work fine for that stuff

 

[macker123]

What about vinyl fabric. Do you think it would be easy to find at a fabric store? Do you think a black vinyl headliner would look good?

 

[Garth]

I think the black vinyl would get very hot and start to bubble. Try something that is breathable.

 

[macker123]

That is a good point I never thought of it getting to hot. But in all reality I have never seen a vinly headliner bubble. But I believe they also have breather holes.

Any other opions?

 

[Mbrooks420]

When my friend bought his Nova he didn't notice it didn't have a headliner. He just used adhesive spray and glued solid(no holes) vinyl. It looked good and held up with no problems for almost 2 years. He sold it, but I bet it still looks ok today. Almost any fabric store will carry black vinyl.

 

[Garth]

We(me and my dad) both had 80's mustangs with the vinyl headliner and they would always fall off. Mine was black and his was red. He tried all kinds of glue to keep it up there.

 

[AlaskanJack]

I had some vinyl cheetah print that I used for a headliner in a 66 ford f100. It bubbled an fell all the time. It looked real sweet as long as it stayed up. I used to have spray it maybe twice a year in the sections that fell down. I also used the 3M adhesive spray. I don't think I would use vinyl as a headliner again.

 

[macker123]

The explorer is a little different though. It is all of those plastic things that hold it up in the middle. It would only be able to fall down a little.

I think I will try it, doesn't get too hot here anyways.

 

[ExplorerMike]

I saw a truck in mini truckin last month that fiberglassed over his headliner and door panels to achieve the smooth look on the inside. He lived in Georgia where it gets hot. It looked cool though.

 

[Robb]

paste the new headliner material on top of the old?

Do you mean the new material on top of the old material? That isn't a good idea. The old adhesive is already 6 years old and the old material won't allow for very good adhesive contact. Pull out the whole board, pull off the old material, and scrape the old adhesive off with a stiif nylon brissle brush. Then attach the new material with the best adhesive you can get your hands on. The 3M stuff is pretty good, but if you can get your hands on some Landau Top adhesive from an upolstery shop or supplier, that would be a much better choice.

Don't use vinyl.......too heavy and can't breathe. As far as finding headliner material, try the fabric stores, but their color supply will probably be very limited. You may have to find an upolstery supplier to find the perfect color match.

It is definately a DIY project if you take your time and have a little patience.

Robb