The Sky is Falling

"Brian Tschiegg" (WritingInCars)
08/19/2013 at 11:07 • Filed to: Maitenance Monday, Volkswagen

(Not my car, but it's the exact same issue)

My headliner is coming down on me. The Florida heat and humidity have shown that the Germans can build a car, but they know nothing of warm weather. I was quoted $300 to replace it at the local VW dealership (which included parts and labor but not tax). It sounds reasonable, but my plan is to just go ahead and take it down completely. I've got some Goo Gone and some solvent and, in honor of Maitenance Monday, it shall be removed.

Any tips or things I should know about removing the headliner?

DISCUSSION (5)

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Brian Tschiegg
08/19/2013 at 11:12

A friend with a 99 Benz has some headliner sag (KusabiSensei, posts here), but my '87 has none. The main difference being that the headliner on his is more of a chenille or fluffy material.

Every single 80's Suburban I have ever seen has had foam rot and lost the headliner to sag wholesale.

Brian Tschiegg > RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
08/19/2013 at 11:16

The foam is still intact oddly enough. The glue is just not made for the heat down here (neither is the finish on the radio). I'm going to strip it and go bare metal for a while and see if it's too noisy or hot. I might even consider putting some thermal sheilding up there instead of the original headliner.

Xesty > Brian Tschiegg
08/19/2013 at 12:16

This happened in my Jeep Cherokee (yay Florida sun...) I only removed one part that was easy to remove from the ceiling (the rear ceiling mounted speaker housing).

Goo be Gone or Goof Off... i forget which one is actually better... but it leaves an oily residue you will want to clean off. Typically the fabric is glued around the edges of a fiberglass panel that slides into the ceiling of your car (well it did on my jeep) so if you just try to pull it off without removing that panel, you will probably have little bits of fabric stuck in the edges.

Scraping off the old glue so you have a clean smooth surface is VERY messy... Being in a car where you can't easily remove it is going to be an issue... first thing I would do is figure out a way to cover EVERYTHING in your car with plastic/paper and tape the edges up (like when you paint).

I just left it bare fiberglass due to the Florida heat... what ever else I was to stick up there would eventually come down. Plus you can just sand it a little and spray paint it.

If you do just remove the fabric and not clean off the fiberglass the foamy stuff will constantly rain down on you so you might want to just bite the bullet and clean it all off. Get some help or else it will be a long day lol

Matt Urban > Brian Tschiegg
08/19/2013 at 16:32

I remember my mom's 81 buick centry with the inoperable rear windows flapping like a flag going down the road.

Brian Tschiegg > Matt Urban
08/19/2013 at 16:34

It's the worst, and it makes a nice respectable car look so trashy.