Does anyone know a cheap fix for headliner delamination? One friend used wooden slats as if it were boat canvas, and it looked pretty good, but there were still sags between the slats. My headliner is "bubbling", not a total delam yet, but the biggest bubble is over my seat and rubs on my bald head - kinda annoying unless you wear a hat!
There's a few d-i-y solutions but the only way to get it done correctly is to take it into auto upholstery shops or even glass shops (often they rebuild headliners). I have seen safety pins used as temp solutions, the best d-i-y bet is to remove the headliner from your jeep, pull back the corner and stick the loose cover back on with 3M spray adhesive.
Snow...
Dana Rohleder did pass the time by typing:
I've used the following.
- screw in headliner holders (like big plastic headed screws)
- push pins
- large chunk of heavy paper/pressboard
Spray on glue and squirt in glue simply does not work. It's like trying to glue cloth to sand and all you wind up with a heavier lump that sags more.
The only real solution is to replace the headliner. It is something you can do yourself in the garage. Several examples out there on the web but it ammounts to removing the headliner, taking the old cloth and foam backing off, applying contact cement for headliners, then carefully putting on a new liner.
Having done this a few times before, I'd pay someone else to do the job.
i have used those screw in headliner fixes and they look like stars in the sky. hehehe buy them at pep boys or auto zone for 3.00 for 6 or 8. workpretty well. old john
2000 xj classic 1988 xj lotsa mods 56 cj5 lots and lots of mods 64 fc150 jeep 289 ford v8,c5 auto tranny, lottsa others 1989 ford bronco stock with 32 x 11.5 tires 1963 j200 jeep pickup ready to modify 1999 tahoe great traveller big insurance and gas bill\ considerate lady.
Try
I'll bet you're tempted to take the straw off a can of WD-40, plug it into a can of spray adhesive and try poking it up into the bubbles, right? I tried that. It won't work.
This is something I wrote here a while back, right after regluing my `89 Cherokee's headliner:
The headliner: You can repair it yourself. Start with the dome lights, pop out the lense, the lamp (it gets hot!) twist out the press-on spring-steel nuts with pliers and unplug the dome light assembly. Then start at the back. Remove the trim at the edge of the liner over the rear hatch, then the side pieces (don't bother seperate them, just take out the screws and pull the metal pieces away from the plastic over the door.)
Each metal side piece has a white plastic spacer captured by a screw, it will fall out at you when you pull it out. Pry the caps off the over-door grab handles (not too hard, they're anchored at the outer edge of the base), remove two Torx scews from each, let the trim flop out of the way.
The trim over the driver's door has a moulded-in barbed fastener, just pull it away from the roof. Pry out the caps over the screws in the trim on each windshield pillar, remove the screws and let the trim flop around.
Remove the visors, if you have the vanity mirror you'll have to unplug the wires behind the right pillar trim.
The headliner is a fabric piece backed with foam rubber and glued to a formed fiberglass shell. The foam rots and lets the fabric droop. The fiberglass shell is attached at the front by two heavy-duty velcro"-type strips. Give it a good pull, either the velcro will part or it will pull away from the fiberglass. If it does just glue it back on. The shell is supported along the sides by a couple of U-channel clips, nothing fancy.
Release it all the way around and pull it out through the rear hatch.
Lay the liner fabric side up and release the edges (they don't rot -- go figure), work your way to the center so you can fold the fabric over itself. Don't pull it all the way off, you'll never get it lined up again, just go to the center line. Brush away any remaining rotted foam. _All_ of it, otherwise you'll be gluing your headliner to rotten foam and it will fall again, and you'll be unhappy.
Using 3M Spray Trim Adhesive (the kind that says on the label "Not for repairing headliners" --seriously) spray an 8" strip lengthwise on the shell and the back of the fabric. Pull the fabric over, smooth it out, repeat on another 8" swath until you get to the edge. Don't try to glue the entire half in one go because you'll never get the fabric to lay flat without sticking in the wrong place or to itself. Now release the other half and repeat. Let the solvents boil off for a couple of days
-- you don't want to be in a closed car with this stuff.
Reinstall the way it came out. Line up the rear edge and press up to make the velcro grab, replace all the trim parts from the front to the back.
Enjoy!
You can buy several colors of the headliner material from JC Whitney. I have repaired several for friends and my self. The best thing is to remove the headliner completely, remove all material from the liner. The foam backing comes off pretty easily just by rubbing with a green kitchen pad. Once clean and free of the old stuff, spray the liner with contact adhesive and the back of the new material. Let dry to the touch, place some newspapers on the liner they will not stick. Carefully place the new material on top of the newspaper. Fold one side of the new material back remove 1/2 of the newspaper. Slowly from the center to the edge start mating the material with the liner. It takes one-person holding the material and the other to mate the material, do the same with the other side . Roll about 1 inch over the edges to finish.
How cheap do you want? A local shop replaced mine with a new one labor and all for 90 bucks. KH
little trim screws spaced evenly apart does not look too bad....total cost $3.00 and about 20 minutes of time. use a box or whatever pattern you like to space out the screws this will hold me until I decide to do something more permanent. ;-)
dave AKA vwdoc1 did pass the time by typing:
If you want to make that look a little better try this trick.
Get some thin pressboard, metal, or very heavy non-corrugated cardboard and wrap it with a cloth of your choice, securing with spray adhesive. Use this strip with those screws to hold the headliner in place. Now you have something that looks like a custom headliner.
and not in california old john
cool! the group is evolving...this is smacks of 'designer guys' for Jeeps. :-)
Keep the creative ideas coming.
Jo
Hey, Bill.
Yup we're still together...always will be. :-) Mostly I just lurk, as I'm really too busy with my business to get involved in discussions, but every now and then for some reason I just can't resist...hehe
As for Mike, he most certainly is off in the sticks. For about 6 more days, I believe.
Jo
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