Been putting off installation for for about a month now cause it was so blasted hot outside. Now fall is here and Florida days are beautiful. Taking the headliner insert out was not problem. The "BIG" problem is trying to get all that sticky old foam and adhesive off. I'm using a steel brush for the heavy stuff but that glue is pissing me off big time. I tested a little mineral spirits on a rag and that was no good. I tested a heat gun trying to melt it and that didn't work either. Seems like a sander would just gum up the paper and have not tried that yet. Anyone have a "sure fire" way of removing the gummy adhesive? Thanks

 

Lacquer thinners will remove the adhesive

 

As a side note I noticed neither one of my seats will move forward so I could tilt the seat backs all the way back. What's up with that and what controls them? Thanks

 

Thanks. I'll give that a try!

 

Here is my post on the headliner replacement, it mentions the brushes scrapers and the acetone used. CLICK

 

I looked out in the shop and all I had was a can of Acetone. It worked pretty good but was a slow and tedious labor! Took about 30m min to get the headliner insert out and another 5 hours to get 90% cleaning completion. After using a steel brush to get the heavy foam out I used Acetone on about a 6"x6" area with a putty knife to scrape glue and foam off. Still have to finish edges and some portions in the middle and right panel. Anyone think it would be a good idea to spray primer it before gluing the fabric on? My back is aching so tomorrow is another day!

 

I used a BBQ Grill brush.

 

Putting a nice coat on each face is good enough, I was too light in some areas and it came away and I had to fix it.
Not too much or it will come through the fabric. Take special care where the material is stretched the most, that is the pockets for the visor bases and above the doors or it will pull away.
That pulling away at the vizor base is not so bad as the base holds it back but above the doors is bad, I had to use a heat gun to soften the glue to get to the unstuck area.

 

Now I've done it!! Started gluing the fabric on and screwed it up. Tried slicing and stretching and that didn't work. Guess I'm back to square one even though I tried going slow and easy but things didn't work out for me.

 

When I get all the fabric mess off I think there may be a textured paint going back on! Maybe a tan or grey truck bed liner paint would be good. The headliner is giving me more anger than I want to endure. That spray adhesive is some tough stuff to work with especially if working it by yourself!

 

You need at least two people for sure.

 

When my headliner dropped, I took it out of the car and then took it to a local shop here that does auto interior restoration and custom interiors.
I knew that I was not up to doing the headliner fabric myself. Leave it to people that have done it numerous times and have gotten good at it.
I had seen some of their work on some local hot rods and was impressed. Ask around at your local car shows.
Having said that, there are people on the forum that are capable, but not me.
Material and labour was $100 Canadian 4 years ago. They used a heavier velour type material.
I would check this option out before putting some heavy paint up there. Not sure what that would look like. I would have to see one done like that with paint before committing to it.
Jim
Ontario Canada

 

Did you review this first?

 

I removed all the fabric and foam. Ran out of Acetone so I'll have to finish up tomorrow to remove the adhesive. Because I've used Acetone some of the edges have started splitting form the base. I get some glue to strengthen back together. So far I've wasted about $65 of on materials. I will have it texture painted and back in the car by days end tomorrow.

 

I hope you post some pictures of the finished product and details of the paint used.
I am sure that my headliner will drop again someday. On the bright side this will not
happen if paint is used.
Thanks

 

As fresh as the adhesive is a heat gun may allow you to pull the fabric loose in that area. I would sure try that before giving up on the fabric install.

 

Sounds like a good idea and I'll give the heat gun a try on the fresh glue. Already ripped the fabric off and scraped the foam off with Acetone. Glued the two front corners back together.
Update: Just tried the heat gun and it does work except gets pretty hot on the hands when rolling off the glue. Gonna buy some lacquer thinner and see how that works.

 

I used lacquer thinners with terry towel (old face cloths) on an area of about 8"x8" worked best. It's slow and tedious work unfortunately. Good luck!

 

The Acetone worked a lot better than the Lacquer Thinner. I tried the heat gun once again and got a blister on both thumbs from trying to heat and roll the adhesive. Think I'll go back and buy another can of Acetone. I decided to use Rust-O-Leum tested paint instead of the truck bed liner. It's a light sandy texted feel and will use a primer underneath and clear coat over the paint. (Should I ever get this adhesive removed!)

 

Put on at least two coats of undercoat as that board will suck up the first coat and leaves blotchy finish coat.
See how two coats of undercoat looks, if it is blotchy put on another coat. The same goes for the final coat.
You can buy size which seals the surface, two coats of that and one coat of undercoat should be enough.
You buy size in the paint department it is thinner than paint and sinks in well.
Whatever you use check the product by doing a little area first, I would suggest the area that gets hidden by the trunk roof liner.