Headliner trim or not to trim?

[texjake]

I hope this is not a dumb question. I have been thinking of installing a headliner in my '68 truck. Mine did not originally come with a headliner & I have seen the other year model trucks that did come from the factory with one & they have the small clip holes in the cab roof to hold the trim in place. Can I install mine without the trim and will it still look ok? I know I can use the 3M spray adhesive to hold it up there forever - I hope. But I just want to make sure it will look alright without the trim because I really don't want to cut holes in my cab roof if I don't have to. And if anyone has any pics of their headliners without the trim please post them so I can get an idea of how it will look without the trim.

[Grumpy old man]

3m spray can adhesive won't work it will fall down the first time it gets hot from the sun , if you want to mount it and not have it fall use windshield setting urethane in a caulking gun and brace it over night it will stay there forever and you can always go back and peel the urethane back off but you would destroy the headliner in the process .

[RexDodge]

I used a 3M product on mine. It was the heavy fabric type (spray) and I remember it said headliners on the can. Worked great. Sprayed on both surfaces, let it glaze, apply another light coat, position, stick, pulled back slightly (let it flash) and stick down. I used a counter top (sheet vinyl) roller to finish it off. No problems. I am still looking for my trim ring...a year later

[ZOOKEENEY]

Hope this helps you....

[texjake]

Originally Posted by ZOOKEENEY

Hope this helps you....

Thanks for the pic Eric, but my neck is hurting trying to look at it, at a 90 degree angle.... But it still looks great without the trim.

[atm70chevy]

Originally Posted by ZOOKEENEY

Hope this helps you....

I really like your door panels. I have been looking for something like that. Are those custom made or did you buy them somewhere?

[ZOOKEENEY]

Thanks, they are Marquez Design.

[JMC1965]

Great look. How did you get the headline to stick?

[special-K]

Originally Posted by ZOOKEENEY

Hope this helps you....

Originally Posted by JMC1965

Great look. How did you get the headline to stick?

I agree, truck looks great. It does help for showing what a headliner looks w/o trim, but no help at all on how it is fastened, glued, whatever.

I have done this on trucks and I squiggled 3M weatherstrip adhesive on which held it just fine. Never had one come loose.

[JMC1965]

I'm sort of thinking about trying the magnet approach. I might have to do my own science fair project and see what happens.

[Geos 72]

I was thinking of putting one in but didn't want the trim either. I was thinking of trying some heavy duty Velcro. Wonder how that would work.

[JMC1965]

I think the Velcro would work (never tried it but searched the forum and other people have used Velcro for holding stuff)

I like the concept of the magnets just to simplify removal. I think my fall project might be to play around with this...

off the cuff I'm thinking that a headliner, magnets, adhesive (to hold magnets to headliner), and possibly some insulating material to reduce vibration might do the trick

we'll see....got to finish the big mods right now.

decent reading on magnets

http://www.magnetsource.com

who knows...I might be overthinking this and velcro is the way to go

[Geos 72]

I guess the only thing to do is to try both ways and see which one works the best. I'd like to try the velcro but not sure if that would be this year.

[Coley]

I put a headliner (no trim) in my other truck years ago....looked great and looked exactly like it belonged there.
I can't remember what I used to glue it to the inner roof....but it held and again, it looked great.
At the time I had no interest in trying to drill a bunch of holes, some of them square I think...in the inner roof....nope.

All good
Coley

[dflarsen77]

You can get a 2' by 8' roll of flexible magnetic sheeting for $30 or so. I've used it for other stuff. I haven't tried to cut it, but it's only .030 thick. Stick your headliner over the sheet, cut to size, then glue it. But why not just glue it directly to the cab anyways? Everything else seems like one or more steps? Is the idea so you can remove it if the mood strikes you? I'm planning to do a headliner with no trim, thanks for the tip Grumpy and that pic is a great reference Zookeeney!

[JMC1965]

I also want the headliner without the trim...plus...I don't want to drill into the metal either....so it's both of those for me.

In my case I thought why not just make it where I don't have to clean up the glue if I really want to change the look later on

[Geos 72]

Soon as I get the chance to get the headliner I think i'm going to try the velcro. I think three or four heavy duty strips 4" wide and the length of the headliner might work, then you will be able to remove it.

[CharlieBrown]

I did the Velcro on mine....no trim...its been on for 6 months or so all is well

[JMC1965]

do you have any pics?

[notsolo]

Follow up with some photo's when you get yours done. I am also going to put headliner back up, adhesive failed and all the trim clips broke on mine taking them off. Faded plastic chrome doesn't look all that great anyway.

[JMC1965]

will do...got to get the big stuff done right now (EFI, new OD trans, gas tank relo)...should be able to get to this in the fall

[Geos 72]

CharlieBrown, thanks for the info, it was good to know.

[CharlieBrown]

no pictures with me....but I bought a roll a at Lowes...it was 21/2 wide and I used all of it.

I have new trim but my cab doesn't have the square holes either...but I am thinking about cutting the clips off the back of the trim and putting it up with the trim screws around the center section.

many trucks I have seen with the factory headliners sag ...so I think the Velcro would be the thing to do even with the factory holes.

[StingRay]

Sometimes the adhesive on the Velcro doesn't hold in higher temps. If it does the vibration of driving will weave the Velcro together to the point you almost can't take the Velcro joint back apart.

[Geos 72]

I guess all we can do is try different ways to see what works the best.