You can glue just about any material you want that is pre shrunk. What it comes down to is the right glue, which must be a higher temp rated. Lot of heat going on up there. 3M has a few that fit the bill, as well as DapWeldwood. 3m Hi-Tack 76 is rated at 230 degrees, used by most shops around here, only place around here that carries it is automotive paint supplier. DapWeldwood contact cement found at your local hardware stores is rated at 150 degrees, I used this for my latest headliner which I used a cotton fabric with the pattern I was wanting. My test with the fabric had bleed through with the 3m spray, Weldwood brushed on didn't bleed through. It was done at least 5 years ago and holds strong. If using a foam backed traditional headliner material I would go the 3m 76 spray can route, does not bleed through traditional fabric I used it on in the past.

Your local JoAnns fabric store has traditional foam backed headliner material right on the shelf. Probably the easiest type to glue. Online will get you more color choices though. Boat upholsterers usually have a good selection of colors too.

 

Really the best adhesive you can use comes from automotive upholster supply houses.
The thing is you will need a compressor, and a spray gun. I bought my spray gun from Harbor Freight for twenty dollars, and did not really care if it was ruined by the time I was done with my interior.
HAHA The funny thing is, as long as I clean it out it keeps working fine for the contact cement. So I still have mine.
Just make sure if you buy one it has at least a 1.8 tip.
This is the glue that pro shops use.




In my build thread there is a great video on youtube on doing headliners.

 

I like to try and do my own work. Save a couple bucks, bragging rights, etc. I paid to have mine done. $125 with me taking it out. I used the go to guy in the area that everybody uses for their classic car upholstery needs. He is in the same town as me. I probably could have saved a couple bucks going a couple towns over. Thing is was not 100% sure that I would have done a good job. I guessing between fabric and good 3M glue I would have been looking at about $60. If I had done all that work, spent that money, and ended up doing a so so job it would have just pissed me off. Some things, in my case, are just better off left to the pros.

 

 

Not trying to persuade you not to do it yourself. And I have seen some folks on here quote some crazy prices they got to have it professionally done. But for me to pay $65 to maybe $80 more was a no brainer. I am pretty aware of what I can and can not do. LOL.

 

It's astonishling easy, I've done several. It's kind of a fun project, like an easy wood-working project. Easy to do, the results can be very satisfying. I've tried several approaches over the years. Here's what I do these days:

1) Use a sheet of 4x8' plywood or OSB on a *sturdy* pr of saw horses as a work bench. This is import b/c the headliner backing is delicate and needs to be supported carefully so it won't flop over or move around as you work.

2) Lay the old headliner on the plywood and support the corners that lift up either with 2x4's or rolled up towels, whatever. You want to support the edges so it won't become damaged from stressing as you work around. Plus, you have to work somewhat precisely, if the headliner backing is moving as you go, it's VERY easy to screw up. So you want it to be well supported. Then, take a couple wood screws and screw the headliner right to the plywood somewhere near the edges so it won't move. You'll remove them later. Use screws with big heads or washers ...don't screw them in so far that you damage it.

3) To remove the fabric, just pull it off. To remove the foam, I use a wire brush on a drill. Get a larger diameter wire brush preferrably 3 or 4 inches ..not too course. I have all sorts of air tools, but I like the gentle and slow action of using the drill and brush. Don't use a fast drill. Work from one side to the other. It might seem like it's going to take a while ...but take breaks and it goes faster than you think. Always make sure when you get to the edge the bristles are spining *away* from the edge so you don't damage the headliner backing material. If you need to, you can also brush with a regular wire brush to clean up areas you need to. When you're done, vacuum up with a shop vac.

The surface has to be exactly flat or any bumps will telegraph through the new material. If there is damage to the corners, you can fix them with cloth and elmers glue ...or whatever glue you want. Do that before putting on the fabric.

4) To put new material down, start at one end and work to the other. Or, you can also start in the center and work outwards. This is helpful b/c it prevents alignment problems that can sometimes occur on a long headliner. I always have used 3M spray adhesive. In 20 years I've never had a headliner let loose. Read the can, a certain type works with headliners, another 3M type is too aggressive and will dissolve the foam. Spray across the headliner base, maybe 12-14" ...then the headliner material. Allow a minute or two to become 'tacky' then carefully unroll and smooth it with your hand. There really isn't any re-do ..when it adheres, it's adhered, so work precisely and carefully. DO NOT try to lift it if you screw up. The key is DON'T SCREW UP! It's a one-shot deal. If you DO try to lift the adhered headliner, it'll most likely damage or pull the foam and you'll forever see a blemish where you 'tried' to fix (and it didn't work). So again, work carefully and don't screw up as you lay the fabric. Go carefull when you get to the corners and just push it into place, the foam will stretch to the contours. Remove the hold-down screws before you cover over the area (obviously).

If you DO mistakenly screw up and damage the new headliner material during installation (and it CAN easily happen), my advice would be to stop right there, scrap the headliner piece, get new and start all over. I've installed a headliner where I had a small but very noticeable blemish in one of my own classic cars ...and forever you look at the blemish ..and see ..and remember the goof up, and you'll wish you would have redone it before finishing and reinstalling. Goof-ups happen. Better to spend a few more bucks and get it right .

5) When you're done, trim edges carefully with a razor knife. If possible, save some material or the visors. Handle with the utmost care during re-installation (it can still get screwed up if it 'kinks' when trying to install it). You can buy material online from sources which have a lot more coloor options than your local fabric store.

If you are in fear you might screw it up, maybe taking the backing and fabric and paying an upholsterer to do it is a worthwhile expense. If you have the backing out and cleaned up, you've done 75% of the hard work. The only problem is, you've left the riskiest part to them, so I would expect them to charge a little extra to accomadate the potential risk of screwing it up. On a normal job, it's easier to burry the cost of replacement fabric in an entire removal/replacement job where there's labor costs involved. To expect an upholsterer to NEVER make a mistake would be naive. This is the kind of job where on a headliner that large, the potential for a mistake if somewhat high. But overall, I've only had a couple that didn't turn out 100%. So it's not THAT difficult either.

Good luck!!

 

I did my 2000 4 months ago it was really easy hardest part was removing everything.I bought the fabric with foam backing on it just for headliner from Joann's and used 2 cans of 3m Hi-strength 90 spray or maybe it was 3M 38808.

 

That is funny. Getting the headliner out of my '00 was the easy part. As matter of fact I have had it in and out few times and think I can do one in under 20 minutes. I had no confidence in myself to do a good job on the headliner though.

 

 

Haha, I think he meant removing the old foamy headliner backing!

 

a few tips

* the condition of the "biscuit" foam backing is critical, and its surface preparation, for a good job
* if it is hot or you have dark car, foam backed fabric will fail, and you need high temp glue
* if your biscuit is too bad to repair in situ, a backing can be glued to it, then fabric over the top
headlining felt will do both jobs, is cheap, and looks ok

(or swap entire good biscuit and headliner from a wreck)

time is money, so a pro guy should charge a bit less if you have prepared and cleaned the area, removed the trim, made any repairs to damaged biscuit etc..so that he just has to glue the new fabric in

 

LOL. That makes much more sense.

 

Nope.. the old foamy headliner since the cloth was basically already unglued the foam backing was so rotted I just used my hand and brushed it off. My issue was removing/installing the plastic molding. For some reason plastic molding does not like me and never has..lol