Headliner fabric

[bilge rat]

Okay, the headliner fabric has completely let go from the headliner.  The source of the problem was an easy fix- the decorative chrome strips on the roof leaked water, resealed them with sikaflex marine sealant.  Now, has anyone got an easy fix to re-attach the fabric to the headliner?  the fabric hangs down like grannies bloomers.  Thanks.

[cyclops231]

Pick up some Spray 76 or Spray 90, coat the back side of the headliner and the front side of the fiber board.
If it's sagging though the foam is most likely shot, most large fabric stores have headliner material. 

[AMC of Houston]

Well, the usual problem isn't the fabric letting go from the headliner board, but rather the fabric letting go from the foam fabric backing (or the foam backing rotting from old age).   Only real solution IMHO is to take out the whole headliner board and recover with new foam-backed headliner fabric (which you can get from the big chain fabric stores like Jo-Ann), or just mail-order it.

[TLC87Eagle]

Yeah, sounds like you should just replace the whole headliner. Pretty easy fix once you get it out of the car.
Go to a local fabric store and ask if they have car headliner material. It will have new foam backing on it and everything. The lady at my local fabric shop used to do a lot of auto upholstery work, so she had access to a lot of auto fabrics. Get about 2.5-3 yards of headliner material in the color that matches your interior. The only other thing you need is a can of headliner spray adhesive, which you can find in the adhesive section at any chain auto parts store. The best stuff I've found comes in an orange can made by permatex, even says headliner and carpet adhesive right on the can. Then you just have to carefully scrape any old material and glue from the headliner board, vacuum it lightly, then spray the whole board down with new glue. Use the whole can, cause there's no sense saving any, and lay out your new material down and press and roll it into place.
I used a small food roller similar to a bread roller to get it all pressed into place. Then when it's dry, cut the edges down with fabric shears and there you have it.

I've done 3 headliners now on my own for $40 or less in supplies. My local upholstery shop charges $100 to do a headliner, so that's quite a savings.

[AMC of Houston]

Yeah; I did the headliner this way in my daily-driver '85 Waggie back in 1999.   Its just now starting to fall down once again.   But it did sit outside in the Texas heat a lot over the years since I did it.   It's had a spot in the garage for the last 3 years now...............

[Billman]

I saw a post somewhere here in the past that suggested this. The headliner foam will dry out and start disintegrating and no spray glue will keep it from repeatedly coming apart, so it was suggested to mix standard white glue 1 to 3 with water and completely paint the foam and let it dry before putting the spray glue and fabric down. Personally I just took the foam out of the car and painted it black to match the interior of my sx/4.

[bilge rat]

Thanks for all your suggestions.  Tried the spray 90, it bled through the fabric.  I figured that replacing the fabric was the only decent option, but so far i havent been able to find the right colour.  And to be honest-  fabric stores scare the heck out me!

[vangremlin]

Thanks for all your suggestions.  Tried the spray 90, it bled through the fabric.  I figured that replacing the fabric was the only decent option, but so far i havent been able to find the right colour.  And to be honest-  fabric stores scare the heck out me!

What color do you need?  I needed the nutmeg color for mine, and ordered it online.  I can get you the name of the place I ordered it from if you want it.