Found a complete headliner, need some help

[zac]

On spring break I found a complete headliner, got it for $40. Bad news was it was 2000 miles from my house, cost $126 to ship it in the huge 54 pound crate I made to protect it. For 4 pieces of 40 year-old cardboard.

I had never even paid attention to what was left of the crappy headliner in my '70. We busted up those old plastic chrome retainer strips during removal, they were just so brittle. Got home and realized the strips are still installed and intact in my truck. But how do I get them off without screwing them up? The only idea I have is to remove those metal end caps and just pull enough of the strip off the metal bow to get at the screw on each end. Take out the bow with the strip still attached. Then I can slide the "new"sections of headliner in and slip the bow back in place and resecure the screws. But one of the strips will have to come off to get the last section of headliner in. I just have no idea how to make it happen without breaking it. If you have any tips or ideas I'm all ears.

I'm wondering if that typical warping and bowing these headliner do is because of moisture. Should I paint the back of the sections to try and reduce the interaction with moisture? This headliner came from a climate that gets less than 20" of moisture annually. Here in KY we had more than 60" last year.

Need to make some minor repairs to some dings on the new headliner. Its not exactly a space age material, would white glue do the trick? Anybody tried something else that worked?

Also, that rear metal strip holding the rear section of headliner (right above the back doors) really gave us fits during removal. We pretty well hacked up the one on the donor truck. Obviously I don't want to do that on my truck, so if you have any tips on dealing with it, let me know.

Any other pointers appreciated.

[vectorit]

Those plastic strips are usually petrified, and are stuck in that curved position. I tried getting them off the bow, but ended up breaking the plastic.
What I tried doing was using the bows they were stuck on, but then I snapped off edges here and there trying to get the headliner in.

I saw these pictures, and my arms and shoulders immediately started to ache. Since when I did mine I was all alone, and wrestling those boards up was a huge PITA especially in the heat of summer.

I also have seen the metal gutters that the board sits in along outside edge, be in different positions so it seems to me that each burb headliner was a bit different. So, when you are fitting the boards and they don't want to go in as easy as you thought; well that's why.

Though measure 5 times, fit 5 times then cut/trim 1 time.
I went through a lot of material because I cut to much off, and you'd be surprised how much 1/8th or less can ruin your day.

[rsavage]

When I did mine with an original brittle headliner, I found that the only way I could get the plastic strips off the metal bows was by heating with a hair dryer and slowly prying them off with a putty knife inch by inch. None-the-less, I broke several pieces off the edges. I recommend at least another set of hands. It is very difficult to slide the panels in between the plastic covers and the metal bows. With enough hands/help you might be able to do so using putty knives to assist. Not a fun job. I painted the panels before I installed them and then recoated large areas after getting a million fingerprints and marks on them during install. In the end, it was worth it to me, as my Burb never came with a headliner. By the way, because I didn't have a large rear panel that was usable, I had to add an extra bow.

[zac]

I would say it was worth the trouble, it obviously came out very nice.

Yes, I would say "petrified" is the best way to describe the strips. Me, my dad and my oldest son were squatting in the back of this truck determined to get at least one of them off intact and failed completely.

I like the hair dryer idea, maybe put a little PB or WD40 on to help. Of course that won't help with the little pieces that break off the edge. I'm no chemical engineer, but I'm pretty sure there is no way to restore the flexiblility to the plastic. Maybe soak them in Oil of Olay for 6 weeks to reverse the aging process.

I know what I'll spend most of my summer doing now.

[bntmotorcycles]

I just did mine. Don't even think of trying to remove the plastic it will break!!!!! Just leave it on the bow an slide each piece under the plastic. Use 2 people or more and just take your time. A credit card or something close works great to work it under. If you break some of the plastic just splice another piece on and butt it up. Slide the piece on from the end though. It's not perfect but it's better than a cracked piece. go slow and it will come out great. GOOD LUCK!!