My little helper decided to vacuum the headliner during last Saturday's detail while I was waxing and not paying attention. Well, now it is sagging. Any recommendations on which brand of adhesive I should use? I am in Texas and it gets really hot during the summer here. Auto Zone has 3M and Permatex.

 

Try 3M 90.Its in a green and black can.While I have used this on fabric in the past I think the headliner has a foam backing to it,dont know how it would work.

 

Hey the Woodlands!! One of my best friends lives there!

It was my experience that I had to replace the entire headliner when mine began to sag. It has a stiff (somewhat brittle) foam backing underneath what we know as the liner that is all removable. You will reuse the foam backing when replacing the headliner. I believe there is a guy here on the forum who sells pre-cut liners for about $25 or $30 dollars. I have never done any sort of interior work and mine turned out really well when I was finished doing it myself.

I removed the top and turned it upside down on my kitcnen table with an old blanket in between the table and the top for padding.

The next part will make sense once you have dove head first into this little project. I gently pulled the liner itself off of the top and threw it in the trash. Then I used a stiff putty knife and gently worked my way around the edges of the foam backing, pulling it up slowly. After it was off, I clean both sides of the foam using a vacuum and I lightly washed the bare inside of the top and let it dry. I put the top aside for a bit.

I bought some 3M adhesive in a spray can from Autozone for mearly a few dollars. I layed out the liner on top of the old blanket with the good side facing down. I then prayed the entire "top" of the foam backing (the side that you attach the liner to) with the 3M stuff and quickly but gently laid it down on top of the liner and smoothed it out. You then will have to cut/trim and curl the ends of the liner over the rounded edges of the foam backing. It was much easier than I thought it would be and it didn't have to be perfect because when you are all done, you won't be able to see the edges anyhow.

Almost done. After that, I brought the top back onto the table and laid it face down again on the blanket. I tested the old foam backing with the new liner and it was going to be snug (which is a good thing). Then I sprayed a small amount of the 3M stuff onto the "bottom" of the foam backing and started working into onto the top itself. It turned out really well and looks brand new just as it should. I comapred it to a friends car and it looked excatly the same as his even though he had an interior shop do his. All of this took a little over an hour while taking my time.

 

I used 3M in the past. Didn't last. This time, I'm using Permatex. So, that's what I'd recommend.

Consider removing the fiberglass pad underneath and tossing. I'll be hard to make ready for new material. Ecklers sells precut replacements but their not cheap. Not reinstalling it will give you more headroom. (That's what I did). Just glue the new material directly to the roof. BTW: the old pad pulls right out and leaves little to clean up.

Buy headliner material at JoAnn's or other fabric store. Precut material to rough shape (allow 6 inches extra all around). Mask the top to prep. Spray top and material 2-3 times as instructed. Place new fabric under roof. Start in middle and brush outward to bond. Once glued, run your finger around outside edge a couple of times to get the material "formed" into place. Use a single edge razor blade to cut the excess. Use your middle finger as a spacer between the bottom and the blade. This will create the correct amount of excess needed to tuck under the frame. (Better to leave too much vs. too little)!

Round off a putty knife (with a grinder/file). Use it to slide the (excess) edges under the frame. You're done!

 

The secret from what I've read/experienced is in the prep and adhesive. As long as you get the excess foam backing off the fiber board and use a quality adhesive made for headliners you should have success. I bought my material from Joann's Fabric. About $11/yd. I bought two to be safe, but didn't need the extra.

Gregg, I thought about just applying it to the roof. Do you notice any sound difference? Louder without the fiber board in place? I could use the extra head room.

 

Unfortunately, I can't personally comment on that yet. I redid the headliner the night AFTER my car went to the bodyshop. That's where it is now.

I doubt it will make a difference. There's material on it and most roof noise would be reflection from the ground up. Because of it's shape wind noise is pretty minimal on a vette.

Someone in FL did this and recommended it. They didn't say anything negative about the conversion (including heat/sound).

gp

 

I tried Nashua, that worked for a year. I removed all the loose old glue and reused the headliner material.


I just finished putting it back on using the permatex stuff, and spraying a whole lot more on there. The key is to get the edges glued well so it doesn't start falling there.

I used an old credit card to wedge the fabric back under the roof frame.

 

I went with the Permatex. I took the top off and l,ayed it out on the tailgate or my truck(on towels of course). I removed the old fabric and cleaned the "foam" off of the backer board using my shop vac and a stiff brush. I did not remove the backer board because it was also glued to the top and did not appear it would survive removal. After spraying it with the adhesive and letting it get tacky it hit it again with another coat of adhesive just for good measure. Once tacky, I spread the new material and carefully tucked it in and under the edges of the backer board. I let it sit in the garage over night, upside down on the truck to dry. So far so good. Now I just need to wait and see how it holds up in the heat. Over all it looks just as good as it did before.

 

Hey ZBrink, if you make down this way to visit your friend sometime maybe take the rides up to Hooters there at 45.