Author Topic: Headlining reupholstery complete  (Read 70540 times)

Offline scottishpedro

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Headlining reupholstery complete
« on: 14 April 2012, 21:23 »
For anyone thinking of doing this, or in fact thinking of replacing thier sagging headlining, this is definately worth a shot.  It was a much easier job than I expected and produced a very nice result, dare I say nicer than than the original headlining....

Tools:

Various screwdrivers
Scalpel
Long nosed pliers
Wheel nut wrench
Duct tape
Iron
A helper! (not essential but highly recommended)
Trimfix - 3 cans (£15 ebay)

Antracite coloured acoustic Carpet - 3m x 1.35m (£12 ebay) - I bought 3m but 2m would probably do



Total time taken:  3 hours

So the first job was to remove all the screws/fixings/bits of trim that hold the headliner in place
I wound the sunroof fully back for this

Sun visors

Rear view mirror - pull and twist firmly

Interior light - the light surrond should unclip and come away


Sunroof winder

Sunroof surround trim

Rivets above drivers door - use long nosed pliers

Handles x 3

Loosen and slide down pillar trim - remove seat belt with wheel nut wrench

Loosen front and back pillar trims also - the rear seatbalets need to be removed for this but the plastic trim does not need to be fully removed, it can be bent out of the way when removing the headlining


Plastic trim at boot

The final 4 rivets then need to be removed with pliers


Removing the headlining is the next step and this is the part where 2 people are required if possible, the healining is seriously brittle.  Mine came out with a few cracks (inevitable I think) but once out the car these can be repaired using duct tape or similar on the reverse side of the headlining.  In honesty the tape does not have to be super strong as once the new material is on, the headlining should be much stronger and better supported.

Pull the old material off carefully.  I then used a brush to gently remove the foam left behind which is essential to ensure the new material sticks well.  It is worth going over with a vacuum at this point to remove all loose debris



My material looked like this when removed from its packet

Easily ironed out
The acoustic carpet was a great choice, especially in anthracite, as it has enough stretch to work into the irregular shapes of the headliner backing, it looks great - very standard looking, and the bonus for me was I didn't need to recover the sunvisors, light surround or sunroof panel as the colours were a great match and compliment each other well.

Lay the material over the backing and fold half back on itself.  Spray the trimfix glue to both the material and the backing and wait 3 minutes or so its not wet to touch. 

Work the material into the shapes of the backing and then repeat for the other half

Which should leave it looking like this

Use the scalpel (or sharp scissors) to trim round the edges - it is worth leaving a few mm to be sure no backing will be exposed

Its important to leave about 1.5cm around the sunroof section to glue round the roof opening - I did not need to glue mine as the glue used to stick the original headlining was still present and stuck fine


As mentioned above the headlining is now much easier to move as it is reinforced by the material and is much less likely to be damaged.  To my surprise it was much easier refitting it.  To quote the haynes manual, "Refitting is the reverse sequence to removal"






This left me with a brand new looking headlining.  I'm very pleased with the result, and it's one of my few projects that turned out much better than expected!  Its a fiddly job but not too difficult; I would definitely recommend trying this before trying to source a good used one.



Thanks for reading

Pedro

Offline Loynes

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Re: Headlining reupholstery complete
« Reply #1 on: 14 April 2012, 23:20 »
That my friend looks great, I will put that on the list of jobs to do on mine!!

Offline Lukechamp83

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Re: Headlining reupholstery complete
« Reply #2 on: 15 April 2012, 15:30 »
Brilliant post mate! Nice looking car too :cool:

Offline Roverdose

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Re: Headlining reupholstery complete
« Reply #3 on: 15 April 2012, 17:11 »
one for the how too section methinks! nice job dude!

Offline mikemk4gti

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Offline scottishpedro

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Re: Headlining reupholstery complete
« Reply #5 on: 16 April 2012, 21:03 »
Definately going to be doing this, Great job!
Is this the stuff you got?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Anthracite-Acoustic-Box-Carpet-300cm-x-135cm-3m-x-1-35m-/270715259770?pt=UK_In_Car_Technology&hash=item3f07e30b7a

Yeah that's the stuff, perfect for the job as its easy to wek with, reinforces the headlining and looks great.  Post pics of how you get on and give me a shout  (pm or email H_dundee@hotmail.com) if you have any questions

Offline X4MGS

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Re: Headlining reupholstery complete
« Reply #6 on: 21 April 2012, 02:56 »
Great Write Up...

As you say you will never get one out in 1 piece - They always break around the sunroof winder & rear view mirror...

Also Note; Don't Do It On A Windy Day, Unless Your Are In A Garage - as they can snap in the wind as my son found out!!

An Expensive mistake - For Me!! :grin:

You say the sun visors & sunroof surround match - do you have a picture showing how close the match is? Just for a reference..

 :cool:

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Offline moby dick

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Re: Headlining reupholstery complete
« Reply #7 on: 21 April 2012, 06:42 »
Great post. Really helpful photos thanks.
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Offline scottishpedro

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Re: Headlining reupholstery complete
« Reply #8 on: 22 April 2012, 16:33 »
Great Write Up...

As you say you will never get one out in 1 piece - They always break around the sunroof winder & rear view mirror...

Also Note; Don't Do It On A Windy Day, Unless Your Are In A Garage - as they can snap in the wind as my son found out!!

An Expensive mistake - For Me!! :grin:

You say the sun visors & sunroof surround match - do you have a picture showing how close the match is? Just for a reference..

 :cool:




I think this pic is a good representation of the colours.  They are not a perfect match but complementt each other nicely.  Certainly close enough that it would never bother me.

Thanks

Pedro

Offline X4MGS

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Re: Headlining reupholstery complete
« Reply #9 on: 22 April 2012, 17:16 »
Great Write Up...

As you say you will never get one out in 1 piece - They always break around the sunroof winder & rear view mirror...

Also Note; Don't Do It On A Windy Day, Unless Your Are In A Garage - as they can snap in the wind as my son found out!!

An Expensive mistake - For Me!! :grin:

You say the sun visors & sunroof surround match - do you have a picture showing how close the match is? Just for a reference..

 :cool:




I think this pic is a good representation of the colours.  They are not a perfect match but complementt each other nicely.  Certainly close enough that it would never bother me.

Thanks

Pedro

Looks Good...

Think I would do the sunroof inner panel... as it looks like your's is coming loose anyway...

The other parts as you say look good...

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