Need advice to redo headliner / interior panels

[vintagemotion]

On my 82 Westfalia pretty much all contact paper come of the headliner and interior panels.

a)Does anyone know where to get good contact paper that holds up to the headliner

b)Any alternatives like laminated panels?
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82 orange Diesel Westy
AHU conversion (mechanical with stock JX pump)
5 Speed ASS
CLK Wheels 215/70/16

[jetta jimmy]

Hey, I was just thinking the same thing! I have an 82 Gas Westy. Same deal. I went to the fabric store and found marine grade vinyl, but it's too thick to fit in the rails.

I also have the advantage of being really tight with a printer. My new plan is to do it with either poly or outdoor vinyl. I am printing directly on it, before mounting it to the van's panel. I am not going to laminate it, because i think it's a bit of an overkill. I am also using a large format mounting machine to get the vinyl to stick. I am working on graphics now, so I can keep you updated on how things are going.

Let me know if you have any questions.
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Old City Oil Drippers

64 Split
73 Super
74 Baja
82 Westy
00 Jetta
95 F150
05 Element

[GBA 88West LA]

sewfine has liners & panels...
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88 Westy GL Vanaru 07 2.5 EJ25/AA Trans/oiling plates, 1.14 3rd-.77-4th..solar powered cabin

[noganav]

Do a search for Baltic birch

[914 mike]

Ditto on the Baltic Birch.....

I am doing this to mine as time permits. Looks really nice...
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Mike
84 Westy
2.2 Suby
In a world full of ponies it's a thoroughbred horse....
Can ≠ Should

[TroySmith80]

The wood paneling is beautiful, i want to do that someday too.

My van is really noisy though and i hate to do anything that might make it even louder. In theory, the paneling would be louder than some kind of vinyl or cloth liner, but in reality, is the difference noticeable?
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1984 Westfalia Wolfsburg - 2.5L Subaru - Sold - Preparing to move to the dark side (4x4 Ford van)

[Leny500]

I have a 86 Westfalia and wanted to repair the headliner. How do you remove the headliner? What about the interior light attached to the headliner with rivets?

[randywebb]

think about what you want first

- do you want a dark color over your head? or a light color?

- a hard surface (like plywood) will reflect noise back onto your ears, but it is easy to clean

- a "soft" textured surface will absorb some high freq. sound, but is harder to clean
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1986 2.1L Westy 2wd Auto Trans.

[mightyart]

Contact paper is a pain, and you have to have it real thin or the panels won't go back in the rails right, heard several horror stories about people that took the time to cover all the panels in something thicker like cloth only to find they didn't fit back in place.

You want the panels to be white, or a light color so it is easier to see inside at night, we know battery power is at a premium in the Westy, so the less light you have to use at night the better.

The easiest, cheapest and best results come with paint, plus if you paint them, you can always do someting more eleaborate in the future.

here's what I did with mine:
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=198673

Taking the panels off is a good time to sound deaden and insulate to.

[hippiepilot]

I used overhead lining from Joanns fabric and some spray on cement. It has held up very well. http://www.vwvid.com/m/photos/browse/album/Orange-Crush-Bus/owner/papasmurf
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83 air-cooled Westy
91 Carat (daily driver)
http://www.changeisland.com