Headliner Repair
- Thread starter joburnet
- Start date
joshcaro
New member
I was going to tackle on the operation myself, but decided to see how much an upholstery shop would charge. They only charged me 40 and i thought by the time i bought all the stuff I needed it would come up to about half that so i thought i might as well have a pro do it. Its actually easy I think. But I recommend a shop to do it that way you know its done right and if he starts drooping again you can take it back.
Buy a replacement kit. Take out the old headliner, remove the fabric, sand the headliner down to make it smooth and apply new head liner fabric, being careful that you smooth the fabric out evenly. Reinstall into vehicle.
Easier with two people working on it and be prepared to remove some interior trim to allow the headliner to be removed. Results can be OK to good. These kits are available at some carecare vendors.
If you really want an oem quality finish, look at buying a new headliner from the dealership.
Easier with two people working on it and be prepared to remove some interior trim to allow the headliner to be removed. Results can be OK to good. These kits are available at some carecare vendors.
If you really want an oem quality finish, look at buying a new headliner from the dealership.
$40 is dirt cheap. Most charg $100 - $150 for a job that takes and hour and $20 in materials.
If you find that cost is an issue replacing a fallen headliner is one of the easiest do it yourself jobs in the interior. I've done hundreds as I used to work in a trim shop.
Remove the headliner. Be carefull not to break it but if you do put duct tape on both sides and that will hold it together. You can get material off EBay (search headliner material). Get some 3M (8080, 8081, 8090 all are good) spray adhesive. Remove the old material. Take a wire brush and remove the foam left over. Spray both the material and the headliner and let sit until tacky (5 minutes or so). If you have a friend to help you lay the material on the headliner. If not lay the headliner on the material. Smooth with you hand. With the headline upside down spray some glue around the edges. Fold the material over and trim. Trim for the visor holes from the backside. Put back in the vehicle. Use an icepick to find the screw holes.
If you have a light in the headliner and it needs to be removed to get the headliner out and has push on fasteners, a little secret. They unscrew so you don't have to try and get the pushon retainer on and off.
If you find that cost is an issue replacing a fallen headliner is one of the easiest do it yourself jobs in the interior. I've done hundreds as I used to work in a trim shop.
Remove the headliner. Be carefull not to break it but if you do put duct tape on both sides and that will hold it together. You can get material off EBay (search headliner material). Get some 3M (8080, 8081, 8090 all are good) spray adhesive. Remove the old material. Take a wire brush and remove the foam left over. Spray both the material and the headliner and let sit until tacky (5 minutes or so). If you have a friend to help you lay the material on the headliner. If not lay the headliner on the material. Smooth with you hand. With the headline upside down spray some glue around the edges. Fold the material over and trim. Trim for the visor holes from the backside. Put back in the vehicle. Use an icepick to find the screw holes.
If you have a light in the headliner and it needs to be removed to get the headliner out and has push on fasteners, a little secret. They unscrew so you don't have to try and get the pushon retainer on and off.