Accidents do happen – that’s part of driving a car. To better understand how to move forward with fixing the headliner, first you have to be able to identify where it is on your car, what it is, what your best process is for fixing it for your model, and even where you can get it fixed.
What is a headliner?
The headliner is the material that’s stuck to the bottom side of your car’s roof. The headliner is generally a face fabric, with either foam backing, or some type of no name non-woven material which helps support the face fabric.
A headliner is mostly made of multiple layers, thus providing multiple functionalities. The multiple layers, in conjunction with the materials and foam when needed, give the desired look, feel, and rigidity to provide the desired qualities that are lacking on the car.
Most car headliners are manufactured using safety systems defined by head impact countermeasures, or for integrating light fixtures behind the face fabric.
Most headliners from car manufacturers are designed using a knitted tricot fabric for consistent appearance and performance across the inner roof. The face fabric is joined to the polyurethane foam backing, which is bonded to the ceiling inner fiberglass roof.
What is a Roof Lining?
A car roof lining (also known as headliner). It is a soft fabric that hangs from the inside roof of cars.
The roof lining serves various purposes like:
- Appliance aesthetics by providing a smooth, finished texture to the interior
- Dampen outside noises from the outside
- Regulate internal temperatures by buffering heat and air (warm and cold) from the outside
Because of these various uses car roof linings are made with several layers of composite materials for added durability. Manufacturers also consider head impact counter-measures when they manufacture roof linings. Some incorporate LED light technology just behind the fabric material.
For a consistent appearance and soft feel, the majority of roof linings use a napped tricot knit fabric. Manufacturers attach this fabric face material to a melted polyurethane foam. In the final step the fabric-foam is adhered to the inner fiberglass roof of the car.
Currently there are environmentally friendly roof linings. They use recyclable face fabrics with an adhesive backing.
How to Install a Headliner
A headliner is the fabric backed foam covering that is attached by glue to the ceiling of your vehicle. It wouldn’t be unusual for a car headliner to be disengaged from your car and sag if an older model or if there is a lot of moisture that your car was exposed to.
There is no need to pay an automotive professional who will fix a saggy, dirty headliner, follow these steps on how to install a headliner and get it replaced yourself.
- Remove the old headliner.
- Pry off the trim that surrounds the headliner and holds it all in place.
- Unclip and remove all of the seatbelt cover, lights, speakers, visors, and clothes hangers. You will most likely have to unclip and possibly remove some the upper A, B, C pillar panels to enable the headliner to drop from the roof area. There may be the need to unscrew bolts and/or pry some parts up with a flathead driver or torx driver.
- Unclip any clips securing the headliner board in place.
- Slide out the headliner board and take it to a flat work surface such as a large table or the floor.
- Remove as much foam still stuck on the headliner board with a bristle brush or light weight sand paper. Be gentle, you do not want to damage the board. The smoother the surface of the board, the better the finished headliner replacement will look.
- Lay the replacement headliner fabric down on the headliner board. Unfold any parts and attempt to lay it out flat with no folds or wrinkles.
- Fold 1/2 of the fabric back on itself and expose 1/2 of the headliner board. Doing half the fabric at a time of your headliner makes it easier to work with, as you can work on each half separately.
- Get the surfaces ready for bond. Brush contact cement on the underside of the headliner fabric and on the exposed half of the headliner board. Or, if available, use the 3M spray adhesive that is easy to work with.
- Use the strongest glue you can find. Many weaker glues will fail because of the temperature inside the car area, being that the headliner is high in the car.
- Stretch the cemented material over the cemented half of the headliner board area and keep pressing it to place with the palm of your hand.
- Fold the loose half of the headliner fabric back, and follow the same bond and stretching and then pressing in place process on the other 1/2 area of the headliner fabric.
- Wait for adhesive to dry. There will be drying time on the adhesive label.
- Cut holes in the car headliner for the lights, seat belts, visor’s and clothes hangers. A hobby knife works well for this.
- Cut off excess fabric at edge before headliner board installation back onto car. You want approximately 0.5 inch (1.27 cm) of extra fabric around the circumference, so that you can tuck it in when installing.
- Re-insert headliner board back into the vehicle. Tuck in excess fabric for clean edges. Use the car’s front headliner clips to hold the headliner board (if available).
- Replace any accessories or trim that you removed for the headliner replacement.
How to Fix Car Headliner?
Most vehicle owners focus much of their maintenance efforts to the exterior of their vehicles. They do not realize that there is also wear and tear on the inside of the vehicle, although at a less apparent rate.
It could be a heart-breaking realization, coming to the conclusion that you should have paid attention to your car’s interior roof before it had sagged into your head. At that point, you will want to regularly check the condition of your roof lining. If you see any bowing at all, it may be best to fix it now.
There are two ways to fix a clouding roof. One way is to take it out and put another one in. The other way is to fix the lining itself without taking it out.
Removing a roof lining and replacing it is not only costly, but also not practical because, you could be doing this in a car that is already older. You may end up spending a fortune on a project that is worth that much.
Also, having someone fix it for you professionally is moderately expensive. In fact, you can usually do it yourself in a few minutes, and for hardly any money, if you pay attention to the following tips:
1. Clear-headed Twist Pins.
These are also called saggy stoppers. These pins are great to use when you want to fix one of the large rug areas of a roof lining.
These pins are not only inexpensive, they can be found everywhere. If your roof lining is sagging and is on the verge of falling down, you can use twist pins to secure it.
The best thing about these pins is that they won’t be holes in your board. So, it’s better than other ways.
2. Using Glue.
The easiest way to reattach a car roof lining is by gluing it. It works best when the fabric is sagging from the edges mostly.
Spray-on glue will work the best for an evenly applied reattachment. Just make sure that the glue is specifically for car upholstery fabric.
Regular glue doesn’t last in bad weather, so it won’t be of much use.
Spray glue to the entire upper side of the fabric, and spray some to the foam which is glued under the lining.
Adhere the fabric to the foam and press hard with your hands keeping it flat through the creases.
3. Using a Steam Cleaner and Paint Roller.
A sagging car roof lining is only due to glue failing on the edges. A steam cleaner will melt the glue and it will stick again, or at least it will.
A steam cleaner is only useful with a paint roller. A paint roller will evenly spread the lining against the board, without any creases or bumps.
This method works best on sagging fabric at the edges and corners. This method does NOT work if the glue is old and dry.
4. Using Sequin pins.
This is another option for fixing car roof lining, without removing it. Sequin pins are the right way to go when the fabric is sagging from the middle. Rather than glue, sequin pins should be used.
They don’t cost much money or time. You can use them when half or all of roof linings come off! But they are NOT meant for large systems.
After the fabric is tight, push the pins through the fabric to the foam backing. Make a pattern with your pins if that’s appealing to you.
5. Using a Double-sided Tape.
You can buy this double-sided tape at any local auto store. The tape sticks to the roof frame and then to the lining.
This tape sticks so well, that it can hold the lining for months. Best for really bad damage on the sides & edges.
I would encourage a better approach, but this may be a temporary fix until you do a better fix.
Can I fix a damaged headliner myself?
If your headliner is damaged, you might want to attempt to repair the headliner yourself. We will take you through this procedure step-by-step to help ensure that you can repair your damaged headliner without having to waste money at the mechanic’s auto body shop.
First, you will need to prepare your vehicle for the work you are about to do for the repair. Undo the battery terminal before starting, and remove the right passenger seat for better access to the headliner location.
Although you may gain access to the headliner without removing the seat, removing the seat will give you a better angle to accurately and safely do the repair work.
In step two, you will need to begin removing the trim. The trim level of your vehicle is another way to identify your vehicle through more features.
Usually, the higher trim levels are offered through the higher models of the vehicle, whereas the regular trims use more common and less expensive features.
After, or while removing the trim before performing the repair, you will need to unbolt your sun visors and remove any attachments that you may have on your ceiling/ headliner area.
Make sure to remove the upper seat belt loops as they are adjacent to where you will be doing the repair work. Also, remove some of the upholstery trim panels so that you can gain access to the headliner edge.
Step three of the headliner repair process is to remove the old headliner fabric from the board and place the headliner panel on a clean surface. Remove the old fabric from the board, and vacuum the foam remnants from the board.
Step four is to gain access to the board, and identify how damaged the board is. If it has damage, you will need to repair it with aluminum tape. You will be able to use double-sided tape to tack the board back onto the roof.
Next, you will want to place adhesive glue on only half of the dimensions of the board and the back of the fabric to create a sticking surface to again fold the board.
You will want to use a spray adhesive that is a specialized adhesive for headliner repairs, so you can guarantee the adhesive is distributed evenly.
After adhesive has been placed onto half the board, you will want to fold over the edges and glue to the underside of the board with a little bit of space around the edge.
You will want to cut the edges at the board, and cut any holes that may be needed for any accessories you removed prior to beginning your headliner repair process.
Finally, you will need to reverse what you have done to re-mount the headliner in your vehicle.
You will first need to raise the headliner into position above the trim panels and replace all of the accessories you previously removed. After this work has been completed, you have repaired the headliner successfully!
What if it is just sagging?! Do I need to remove it?
It is good to know why a headliner sags in the first place. A headliner can sag due to a matter of gravity and adhesives losing their stick over time. The headliner was made with different layers, as we’ve learned.
There could be outside influences on the headliner over time, for example: moisture and heat, which causes shrinkage and flimsiness, and can be potentially removed from the outer pressboard due to a lack of rigidity and stiff material.
It is important to fix your sagging headliner, as the sagging headliner could interfere with your line of sight while you drive and need to scope your surroundings. You can remove the headliner, or if all you want to do is make a repair on the sagging headliner, removing it is not necessary.
We have lined out a list of means of fixing a sagging headliner, with a few, or many cheap options, and some expensive headliner repairs for assistance.
First, the easiest and cheapest way to fix a sagging headliner is to just pin the headliner back up.
I’m sure as time progresses, you may want a more permanent solution, but if you need something to get you from point A to point B, a couple push pins can help you get a quick headliner repair.
Second, you could simply use glue to get the headliner material back into place.Depending on your needs, your sagging headliner may only require adhesive to put it back where it belongs.
There are few tools needed for this option, which should make this repair fairly simple for everyone. The only tools that’s needed is a glue gun. If you want, you can also get some type of wire brush to clean the spot where you’ll be applying the new adhesive.
Once the glue is placed on the headliner and frame, you can push the fabric back in place.
If the ceiling comes back tight, and it doesn’t have any bumps or bubbles, you’ve done a good job of ceiling off any air and made a solid intention to seal.
A third option for repairing a sagging headliner is to use clear-headed twist pins. Twist pins are a specific type of pin with a pointed end.
When you press the pin into place against the backboard, and then twist it, the pin will stay in place. This is another solution to the traditional push pin, since the clear-headed twist pin looks, and is better than a push pin.
Clear-headed twist pins would be a good option for a temporary repair on a headliner repair, as it doesn’t harm the backboard of your car.
Twist pins won’t create unwanted damage to the roof of your car by creating holes in the backboard.This could make them a better option for you than the push pins option for headliner repairs.
A fourth option the combination of staples and hairspray. Ideally, you would want to use a staple gun so that the staple goes directly where you need it to, it goes in deep enough, and it won’t fall out.
Once you have stapled in all the right places to ensure the headliner stays in place, you can now use the hairspray. Spray all over the places that you have stapled to melt the adhesive and provide the stickiness you need.
Once you have sprayed the hairspray, wait a few minutes for the surface to dry. Once the surface has dried, remove the staple pins so that they are not sticking out of your headliner. This is a short term fix that allows you to use household items to make a quick and inexpensive repair.
For option number five, you can use double sided tape. It is extremely important that you use double sided tape to make sure that there is adhesive on both side, for the headliner and for the underneath of the roof.
You need to place the tape in only the spots that are loose and sagging, and space them evenly so that the force is evenly distributed.
Apply some pressure on the tape so the tape adheres firmly to the backboard of the car and does not come loose. This fix can last a decent amount of time as long as you buy good quality double sided tape.
This method is a preference for those that do not want to part with money for a more permanent option that will take time and energy, when a relatively free option that works well, can be applied.
Another method, is to use a steam cleaner as an adhesive remover. The only connection that holds the headliner to the inside of the roof, in most vehicles is the adhesive that is originally installed.
As mentioned earlier, the headliner can sag from normal elements such as heat and moisture causing to adhesive to lose its stickiness over time, and you will see this when the underside of the ceiling has sag spots or protrusions.
With a steam cleaner, you can attempt to rejuvenate the failing adhesive, which was once used to keep the headliner glued in place by heating it to a sufficient temperature to rere-melt the glue underneath the headliner, which in return the ever-relinquishing stickiness of the adhesive will return.
During this procedure, you will want to make sure that the steam cleaner hits every sagging spot on the headliner.
Once you have made sure that the steam cleaner has touched every defective area, you want to press the fabric back into place using a paint roller, so you can have a consistent fabric across the inner side of your roof.
This process is not only a relatively easy method and easy to find the materials required, it also does a fantastic job at leaving almost no wrinkles or sagging spots once the headliner is repaired.
This method of headliner repair provides a more permanent method than the options described previously.
How Long Are These Remedies Supposed To Last?
As we discussed each remedy is slightly different in price, duration and the ability to put in some work/money.
All the remedies that we discussed will be a great option if there isn’t the time, energy or money to rejuvenate/replace the headliner in the vehicle.
The remedies that we went over will last a decent duration of time if you do the work. If you simply glue down the sagging spots lightly, the repair won’t last long.
However, if you glue down all the sagging spots and double check your work, you can be rest assured that the fix will last for a good chunk of time.
As far as the other methods, the steam clear to bring life back to the glue will be the longest duration, lasting upwards of 12 months.
Again, it will only be that duration if the maintenance/upkeep is adequate and not wasted by limited maintenance/poor care of the headliner.
Conclusion
Now depending on the headliner repair severity, you can choose to partially or completely remove the headliner or just remedy the current headliner.
You must determine, what is the best course, that fits your body of work.
If you conclude that a proper removal is the better route, there is a possibility that you will have to visit a mechanic. There are numerous sources to have quality work done on your vehicle.
For example, just in Columbia, South Carolina, there are procedures, if you have to visit a mechanic, when going through the procedure.
If you decide that you can complete the repair on a sagging headliner, we provided the steps required, necessary materials, and the duration of time each method is supposed to last.