How to recover a headliner

[sewlow]

Apologies for the delayed responses, guys! Haven't checked in on this thread for a while!

Nice write up! I don't have a headliner right now its just bare metal and need to get one it. Anywhere know where I can get the foam and how to put it up to the metal roof? Can I use a similar spray?

If you just have bare metal, easiest way to get a headliner in there is with the panel. Grab one from a wrecker. I usually buy the ugliest one in the yard, just as long as the panel itself is good. Ripping all the old stuff of anyways! The last one I bought, think it was $10.00. The girl @ the counter said "ewww"!
What cab size is your truck?

this is awesome, great write up

If you plan another one like this, I would love to see something on sun visors.

I need to recover mine

Kinda go hand-in-hand don't they? Lol! Good idea! I'll be working on my '98's interior over the winter. I'll try to take lots of pix. Visors will be included in that.
Guess I should add that to this post, too.

Great Writeup! Makes the daunting task a little easier to handle.
Has anybody done a headliner on an ecsb (or any) with a sunroof? Ive been wanting to replace mine, but Im not sure how much more work the sunroof makes it.

Depending on the manufacturing styles between S/R makers, they should all have some type of gasket &/or frame that goes around the inside of the roof panel where hole was cut. That should be removed.
You could probably work the edges of the roof panel out & from under that trim without removing it, but kinda of a ham-****** approach. Good chance of trashing the panel.
Once that trim is out, the re-cover would be the same as usual. Cut the hole when you do the others from the backside.
BUT...DO NOT CUT IT the same size as the old one was! Make the hole smaller. About 2" in from the edge of the S/R opening in the panel. This extra can be trimmed to size, AFTER the panel is installed.
Start the cut more than the 2" or so of extra material you want to leave. Work out to the 2" extra when cutting.
Pinch the material & cut the pinch to get going.
Don't just stab the scissors in there! The glue holding the new material is still not set-up yet.
I've seen things get seriously messed up by stabbing scissors into materials.
Like the guy's head on the inside holding the headliner up. They thought it was a better idea to cut the S/R hole after the install! (NOT my shop! I was the new guy. Not my place to say anything. Gotta good chuckle, though!)
He was lucky! Couple of stitches. Good thing he wasn't looking up! And I found out what kinda crew I was working with!
Anyways...that extra material.
The S/R was more than likely installed with the H/L in the vehicle. The hole in the H/L was cut at the same time as the metal roof panels. (there's 2)
Now, you can take that extra material and wrap it over the edge of the inner roof panel. That'll give the H/L a ton more support.
To get the corners in, cut into the material on a 45* into the corner, just almost up to the edge of the metal. but not quite. 1/8"? Now one on either side of that so it looks like some pieces of pie coming outa the corner. Spray some glue up in between the 2 metal panels. The 3M '76' & '90's adjustable tips are real handy when doing this. Start from the edge of the opening & roll the material in there. Not too tight, just a bit of a push.
With the trim around the S/R re-installed, that puppy aint ever gonna sag!
Watch the edges. They'll be sharp!

 

[MSCustoms]

The sunvisors on mine were pretty easy but dont know how it changes over the years. The material was glued to poster board that folded together over the metal hanger and was sewn together along the outside edge.

 

[Chevy1500]

Thanks for the help Sewlow.
When I do it I will be sure to include it in my build thread (when I finally make mine)

 

[cool_as_crap]

Done!
It came out good except for one small spot where the h/l fabric stuck to itself making a creased bump.
But oh well, it adds character
No more magnets holding up the falling fabric, hurray!

 

[Sampuppy1]

What if I want Camo? I don't think I can get the pattern I want with the foam.

sent from a likely flagged smartphone.

 

[drewcrew]

The problem is usually not with the headliner panel board, but with the material itself.
It's a common prob. The material is a combination of a very light fabric bonded to 1/8" poly foam. It's the foam that dies due to the roof being subject to temp. extremes. Turns into a powder which then no longer holds the fabric.
The hardest part of this job is getting the headliner panel out.
Take pix of the trim before you start.
If you've never done this kinda stuff, the more pix taken, the easier the assembly process.
Mark the visors as to 'pass.' & 'driver side' with some black board chalk. (It can be blown off later.)
Anything larger than a standard cab, & I'd recommend a second pair of hands to help.
Bribe 'em with beer!
IIRC, 'Headliner Fabric' is 60" wide. It does have some stretch to it.
This stuff is cheap. $15.00-$20.00/yd.
Buy more than what you will need. Easier to make material smaller rather than larger! If you're doing a color change, figure in the amount for the visors.
You're gonna need some glue. I recommend 3M '90'. 3M '76' works too. Hardware store.
It's an aerosol, & has an adjustable tip. L/M/H, plus the tip can be rotated to change the direction of the fan pattern. Ain't cheap by the can, but whatya gonna do? $20.00-$30.00 per.
'Elmer's Spray Glue' will work in a pinch, but I don't know how long that'll last in that environment.
Avoid 'Featherspray'. (yellow can) CRAP!
Start by removing all of the plastic trim around the outside of the H/L., working from front to back. (The factory assembled the interior from back to front.)
Leave the visors in, along with overhead lights & O/H console.
They will help to hold up the H/L as you work on the trim parts.
Once that's done, next part to be removed will be the O/H console &/or the interior lights.
The H/L will want to fall down at this point.
Tell your helper to quit drinking all the damn beer & get in here to help hold it up while you remove these last parts.
Remove the visors.
There is some Velcro under the leading edge at the windshield.
Carefully (!) get that to separate.
If the Velcro does not separate, & the panel side of that stays stuck to the roof side of the Velcro, don't get too upset.
Once the H/L has been removed, the Velcro can be reglued to the panel with some 'Trim Adhesive'.
Comes in a tube. Also by 3M. 2 colors. Black or yellow.
For some reason, the black is more expensive, yet it's the same formulation. I don't know why!
O.K., now that the H/L trim & all the other stuff has been removed, you're gonna be wearing this thing. It'll want to come down by itself.
Tell you're helper to quit bitchin' about the blood rushing outa their arms. It's almost out!
If it's not a standard cab, fold your seats all the way back into the full recline position.
Extended cab & standard cab H/L's go out the passenger door.
CC's can go out any door than is easiest for you, except not the driver's door. (Steering wheel in the way.)
Be careful with the H/L panel at this point. It CAN be bent somewhat, but not so much that it gets folded or creased.
One person on the inside to work the panel, the other on the outside to slowly, carefully hold & help to get it out the door.
The panel will come out easier by going out in front of & over top of the door frame.
It's out!!! Throw the panel in the box! (carefully!)
Crack a cold one! Shake your arms to get the blood flowing!
Put the panel on a bench or the floor if you don't have one big enough, fabric side down.
Peel all the fabric up where it's wrapped around the panel.
Flip it over & pull that fabric off. The foam may or not come off with it. No biggie.
Now that the fabric is off, the foam left on the panel can be removed with some 80 grit sandpaper, or a wire brush. This is the messy part!
No need to apply a great amount of pressure.
Try not to damage the panel itself.
Blow or wipe off the crud that the foam becomes as it's removed.
With the panel facing up, (Looking at the side to be covered.) give the panel a light coat of the glue. The whole thing.
Let it dry, 5-10 minutes.
Lay the material over top of the panel, foam side to the panel.
Roll it back so that 1/2 is exposed.
Try not to fold the material. You want a nice roll.
A fold will appear as a crease in the fabric when the job is done.
Spray a light coat on the foam. A LIGHT coat!
What you're doing at this point is creating a skin of glue so that the next coat does not soak into the foam.
Let that dry.
Glue's dry? Now you can give that another coat of the glue, along with the exposed 1/2 of the H/L panel.
Let dry for just a bit. It should be slightly tacky.
Roll the fabric down onto the panel, working from the center out to edges, smooth it down to conform to the H/L shape with your hands.
Don't push down too hard. That glue is still tacky & if you push it down too hard, the foam will collapse & stick to itself, leaving divots & fingerprints.
The hardest part is right where the visors are mounted.
Hold the material away from the panel with one hand while smoothing it down in that area.
You can pull slightly on a 45 to the corner as you smooth it down, which will help reduce the wrinkles.
The idea is not to have any! The visors will hide the smaller ones in the corners.
Don't push the material down next to where the material has been rolled back.
Now that one side is down, roll back the other side.
If you did the first side properly, you will be able to see the glue on both pieces at the point where the second side has been rolled back.
This will prevent a crease in the material from being seen when the job is done.
Now repeat the previous process.
After the material is on the panel, flip it over.
You should have a couple of inches or more hanging off the panel all the way around. Spray some glue on the material & the panel.
Wrap that excess fabric around the edges. Trim the material back as required leaving that 2+" for wrapping.
Any folds or wrinkles on the backside can be just cut off with some scissors.
Now you can take a razor knife & cut open the holes from the backside of the panel for visors, lights, O/H console, & whatever else that needs a hole cut.
Reverse the removal process for the install. Being very careful not to rip, fold, crease, or damage that headliner that you just put so much work into!
Finished? Crack a brewski! Admire your fine work!
Toast yourself & your helper for a job well done! Fire up the Barbie, & kick back!
I can do one of these in about 4 hours. Inexperienced rookie? Double that!
I think that I covered all the bases to do this.
Got some 'Q's? Post 'em up. I'll try to help as best I can!
Oh yea...Cheers!

The headliner WAS going to be my next project. Since I have no patience and less experience doing this I might pay a pro.

 

[Sampuppy1]

The headliner WAS going to be my next project. Since I have no patience and less experience doing this I might pay a pro.

That's the route I'm going. If I'm gonna do it I want the biggest most obvious part to be done properly. I don't think I would have a problem but if I did manage to screw up I'd kick myself for messing up and having to get it done by a pro the second try instead of the first time.

sent from a likely flagged smartphone.

 

[7echo]

Thanks for the detailed write up, much appreciated!


I want to insulate the roof when I remove the panel to re-cover. Can anyone post the dimension between the liner and the roof? I would like to figure out what thickness of insulation I can use .

Thanks guys.

 

[sewlow]

I just used normal everyday average 'Fat-Mat'.
3 strips, about 8" wide, front to back evenly spaced followed by a full layer of the Fat-Mat over top of that.
I marked out the outer edges of the headliner with a piece of chalk before I removed it so that I would know how far to take the insulator. I kept that about an inch to the inside of that line.
The strips cancel out any resonance.
The headliner fits as it normally would.
I did the 'A' pillars, too.

 

[7echo]

I just used normal everyday average 'Fat-Mat'.
3 strips, about 8" wide, front to back evenly spaced followed by a full layer of the Fat-Mat over top of that.
I marked out the outer edges of the headliner with a piece of chalk before I removed it so that I would know how far to take the insulator. I kept that about an inch to the inside of that line.
The strips cancel out any resonance.
The headliner fits as it normally would.
I did the 'A' pillars, too.

With the deadener is there room for 1/4" closed cell foam? I am doing the deadener on the back wall, pillars, and where I can under the carpet behind the seat currently. Not ready to do the headliner quite yet.