Has anyone recovered their headliner? I have a tan headliner I am thinking about recovering myself, but I am curious how hard it will be. I've thought about using microfiber, but I am not sure how it will look. Maybe I will just dye it black and hope it never rubs off or fades.

 

i did mine in suede. It is really not that diffucult as long as your careful to work out all the wrinkles. What color did u want to go with? I work at an upholstery shop, so i might be able to help out with the materials if you know what u want to go with.

-Austin

 

I'd like to use a black microfiber material, but I might stay with vinyl. Do you have any pictures of your headliner? What adhesive do you recommend?

 

just re-did mine in seude actually too. im a n00b so it has a few tiny tiny wrinkles were it meets up with the sunroof. the thing about suede is it tends to have 2 colors too it, when its rubbed one one or the other. so it hides a lot of imperfections. that and I dont have a dome light so..

 

I will be at the shop tomorrow for a little while, so i will snap some pics. Ill check what spray glue we use when im there too. I used polymicro suede for mine. Its inexpensive and has great run to it. Unless you put it right next to alcantara, you wouldnt know the difference. Where you going to do ur pillars too, or just the headliner?

-Austin

 

I'm currently in the process of recovering my headliner, converting from tan to black. I chose marine vinyl. If it is good enough for boats, it couldn't hurt in a car. I tried using the spray-on adhesive but you'll need a smooth flat surface to get a good seal. With all of the form underneath, I used a hot glue gun. So far, I recovered the sunroof panel and it looks great.

 

Mine is starting to fade as well, but I only want to go high class on the upholstery. About what would a red Alcantara headliner (with sunroof) cost?

 

Alcantara is about 50-60 bucks a yard most the time. You need 2 yards to do a headliner and sunroof panel. Alcantara is harder to come by in bright colors like Red. Part of the reason why i went with polymicro suede.

-Austin

 

Does the poly-micro suede have a similar look? You said you can't tell the difference, does the poly-micro handle weather (temperature, humidity) better than the real stuff?

 

Polymicro suede is a slightly lighter black color. Other than that it looks the same. It has great run and doesnt fade in the sun.

-Austin

 

I still haven't decided what material I would like to go with. What did you guys do to reattach the metal strips that holds the sunroof welt? It looks like it might be crimped on?

 

U can bend them with ur fingers. I just seperated them enough to slide them off, then put them back into place and smashed em with my fingers once i was done. I will have pics shortly...

 

my headliner is meh. it was flawless, then I got 1 small crease and fucked it all up trying to fix it... idk how much a place would charge to do it. but.. idk. my headliner is all bent up and stuff... might buy a new one?

 

I did mine with 2 yards of suede from joann fabrics for $20 black too

 

yup! it was half off, i think i paid 18

 

Suede from Joann fabrics will fade over time....Alcantara is considered the best because it has great color and run, but also does not fade. A lot of other types of suede will fade, especially the inexpensive stuff...

 

^ That looks awesome! I think I will be going with black poly micro suede. Any recommendations on adhesive? I am worried that it will start falling down in a year or so.

 

Polymicro suede seems to be a great option right now. It is inexpensive, but has great run and so far, we havnt seen any issues with it fading. U wouldnt think fade would be an issue with headliners, but the heat inside the car in the summer alone will cause it to lose color. Really the only difference between polymicro and alcantara is that alcantara has a deeper color to it.

we use a spray gun contact adhesive from a company called DAP. With rattle can glue, it will most likely not hold, especially when it gets hot. I guess just try to find a good contact adhesive. The stuff we buy is in 5 gallon drums, otherwise i would tell u to get that...

-Austin

 

any idea what a shop would charge to do this?

 

if you went with polymirco... we would charge about 150 probably.

-Austin

 

plu the cost of materials? or is that included (sorry if thats a dumb question, but i have noo idea)

 

including material. $175 on the high side. The shop i work at charges $55 an hour labor. It probably books at 2 hours, plus $40 or so for materials.

-Austin

 

^^ Your liner looks awsome. Did you remove the original covering or just go over that? Also, do you fold it over the edges and adhere it to the back side or just cut it flush with the edge? And 1 more question? Do you/your shop sell material to outside consumers...I.E. us Sorry for all the questions.

 

Thanks man. My headliner was not sagging, so i went over it. Otherwise you need to back the suede with atleast some 1/8th sew foam. You need to fold it over the edges and glue it to the back side. The only tricky part about that is corners. Also, make sure you dont cut the holes for the visors and dome light too large.

Pm me if your interested in materials. You just have to pay for shipping from the shop, to you. The material comes from the distribution center to shop, then i can ship it from there.