Headliner question

[joecool]

I have a 98 with a brown headliner. Can you clean these successfully or just replace the fabric? where is a good place to get the fabric? Thanks

[piecesparts]

Yes you can replace, I have done several. Cleaning them with anything other than a damp cloth or a small vacuum is not conducive to the material staying on the molded form board. Usually it is so dried out, that it just pulls away and droops. The headliner material can be purchased at many fabric stores, as well as many upholstery shops.

[speedygonzales]

There are several things you can replace the original with. I got leather on the internet.

remember that you have to remove any traces of the old foam before putting anything back. If you use leather, the old backer board may not work as it comes from the factory. Mine was very porous. So it would not hold the leather with just glue.

[piecesparts]

Originally Posted by speedygonzales

There are several things you can replace the original with. I got leather on the internet.

remember that you have to remove any traces of the old foam before putting anything back. If you use leather, the old backer board may not work as it comes from the factory. Mine was very porous. So it would not hold the leather with just glue.

Clean the fiberglass backboard with a brush and strip the old foam off of it. Take a can of weld-wood contact cement and coat the fiberglass with a thin coat and let it dry. That will create a firm foundation to glue the new foam, leather or even carpet to for a new headliner. I have used a cheap paint gun from Harbor Freight with the tip backed way off to spray the contact cement to the material and the back board. It looks funny, but works really well and does not lay it on too heavy.