painting versus headliner

candcseals · Samba Member Joined: August 07, 2007 Posts: 10

I was thinking about removing my sagging headliner and painting the interior roof. Has anyone seen this done, and what did it look like. Is the roof smooth with the headliner removed?

VolksWatson · Posted: Mon Oct 01, 2007 10:10 pm Post subject:

I wouldn't recommend it. Under the headliner is padding and lots of glue. Seems like there are ribs or something as well; but maybe I am wrong...

74Ghia · Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2007 4:22 am Post subject:

I just finished painting my car and the roof was bare. But I only primed the roof. Having said that, the new insulation and new headliner will go back in this weekend. IMHO it would look odd without the headliner in place. The four headliner bow clips on each side would show, and the channel around the inside would also be visible. Plus you would lose all the sound proofing and heat insulation. I imagine the rood would get plenty hot in the summers. Especially in the warmer parts of the U.S.
_________________
Allen C.

2012 Silverado
53 FiberFab MG TD Replica (VW)

Life is hard and its harder if you're stupid.

johnnyrotten · Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2007 9:17 am Post subject:

candcseals · Samba Member Joined: August 07, 2007 Posts: 10

Do you know any way to repair a sagging headliner other than replacing it? I did not really think about the heat. I do live in Texas. 105F in the summer ouch!

74Ghia · Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2007 4:25 am Post subject:

The headliner has four bows along the top that fit into hanger brackets and (looking from the side) these bars should point upwards to the roof. Unfortunately the headliner material is glued to the sides and the window and door openings and would require removal of the windows and seals and carefully pealing the material from the interior metal. Once the glass is removed you're talking replacing the seals and at that point you may as well replace the headliner because all the glass is removed.

Having said that; you may be able to carefully push upward on the headliner and try to get the headliner bows to stand up vertically like the should. If the bows are not the problem perhaps heating the sagged area with a blow dryer would work. They use that method to remove wrinkles when installing headliners.

Hopefully someone in this forum has encountered the same problem and worked a viable fix. If so I hope that person will chime in and help us all. You can also ask in the interior forum. They have folks who specialize in interiors.

Good luck and keep us posted.
_________________
Allen C.

2012 Silverado
53 FiberFab MG TD Replica (VW)

Life is hard and its harder if you're stupid.

candcseals · Samba Member Joined: August 07, 2007 Posts: 10

I can not feel the bows in the headliner. It is just vinyl hanging in the center of the roof. You can actually push it to the ceiling and I can feel the insulation underneath it, but it just falls back down. I believe the headliner is original. How are the bows attached to the vinyl? It is actually in pretty good shape.

woodgoldendale · Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2007 6:46 pm Post subject:

if you cannot feel the bows then they are probably still in place, if you really do not want to replace the headliner now, you can buy headliner repair kits from any autoparts store, it's just a syringe with glue in it, but getting it to look good is difficult, but it may get you through till you are ready to replace it.

werka · Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2007 6:59 pm Post subject:

The bows are just thin metal rods. About the same thickness as a metal coat hanger. The attach on the sides up in the roof. If I recall correctly, the headliner has stiched pockets that these rods slide thru. It may be that this stiched sleeve has ripped out and is sagging now.

werka · Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2007 7:03 pm Post subject:

check out this link for more.

http://www.house-of-ghia.com/ghiagab_v6-3.html#headliner

snookerdude · Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2007 9:56 pm Post subject: headliner +-

if you pm me with an email address i can email you a pic of the top with the headliner removed. you can see the grooves where the bows have ridden and because they nest in the grooves you may not be feeling them. if you choose to install a new headliner there is good advice here on samba and a few of us even have pics of our replacement jobs in progress. the outside appearance can get you the ooooohs and the inside appearance get you the aaaaaahs.


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