Do It Yourself Headliner

[Russ Bellinis]

First off, I have never pulled the headliner out of a Saturn, so one of the Saturn techs will have to chime in to tell how to remove the old headliner. As you remove the headliner, be very careful with it, because you will need to reuse the liner. A couple of yards of material of your choice and spray adhesive, a roll of waxed paper, and some scissors are needed. You will also need a clean work table or bench to layout the work on.

After you have removed your headliner from the car, peel off the material from the liner. Chances are that you are replacing your headliner because it is already falling apart, so it should be easy to get the old material off. Use a stiff brush (I forgot to mention this in things you need) to clean off the the surface of the liner. You want it clean enough that the glue will stick and not pull off.

Now lay the liner down on the table with the side that faces the interior up. Cut out your material to hang over the edges by 1-2 inches all the way around. Now fold the material over in half. You can go length wise or side to side, it won't matter. Spray adhesive on the first 8 - 12 inches of the liner, and on an equal amount of the material right adjacent to the liner. Follow directions on your adhesive for drying. Now layout enough wax paper to cover the glue on the liner. Carefully unfold the first part of the headliner material so that the wax paper is between the liner and the material. once everythiong is lined up where you want it, pull out the wax paper, and press the material into it. Now spray the next 8-12 inches of liner and material. After the glue has set according to the instructions on the can, put wax paper over the glue on the liner, and unfold the next section of material. When everything is lined up and straight, pull out the wax paper and press the material into the liner. Continue gluing 8-12 inches at a time until you get to the edge. Let the excess hang over for now. Fold the unglued side of the headliner material over the side that has been glue already. Now repeat the same steps on the other side being careful to keep everything straight and tight. At this time your headliner should be nice and tight and straight with 1-2 inches hanging over all four sides. Now turn the headliner over. Carefully cut the corners of the material so it will neatly fold around the corner. Spray glue on the overhanging material and an equal area of the liner. Let the glue set up as instructed, and then pull the material over tight on the liner. Do all four sides, carefully folding the corners (if you have a curve to go around instead of a 90* corner, you will need to make a series of cuts to fold it around the corner). Now check the back side for any holes for interior lights, etc., and using a razor blade or utility knife, cut an "X" in the center of the opening. Now glue and fold back the pieces of material you have cut. Anywhere you need to put in a screw, like sunvisors just cut a small "x" where the screw needs to go. I think this pretty much covers it. If you have an early Saturn with a shot headliner, you can do this for less than $30.00 probably.

[jcruz12]

i did mine the same way but didn't use waxpaper. would that make a difference because my headliner is now sagging? would i have to buy new material or can i reuse the the same stuff?:whoa:

[Russ Bellinis]

The wax paper is just to help you control the headliner to keep it tight as you iinstall it without getting glue where you don't want it. If it is sagging, I would suspect that some of the old adhesive didn't get cleaned off good enough. The new adhesive probably adhered to the old glue, and then the old glue peeled away. If you can get your material offwithout damage, you should be able to clean up the area where it is sagging and reglue it. I think I would see if the sagging area is near an edge and peel from whichever edge is closest.

[BuzzStPoint]

I just did mine in my 91 saturn.

I peeled off the covering, then peeled off the 1st layer of the fiberboard. If you do the headliner this way make sure you wear some gloves and a long sleeve.

My arms are iching from the fiberglass board.

Other than that good intructions. I didn't use the waxed paper either. Just went about 8-12 inches at a time.


Info:

Headliner (fabric store) $14.00
3M spray adhesive for foam. 12.00
Wire grill brush 2.00
Total cost: $28.00
Time: 1-2 hours
Diffaculty: 4 (Scale 1-10 (10 hardest))

[bbarbulo]

I removed my entire liner last year and tossed it out. I used dynamat (or similar) to cover the entire roof structure, and this week I'll finish it using headliner material (the sponge/fabric combo). Pics should be up end of week or next week. The whole car will be dynamatted cuz it ratles like none other.

[bbarbulo]

bah, I just ruined almost $100 worth of materials, cuz the headliner material folded on itself and the glue stuck to itself immediately, and the material was RUINED. like a mook :dazed: I should have used waxed paper and asked for some help... that's what you get for wanting to do everything yourself. grrrr

that's $100 CDN, $51 for material, and a gallon of contact cement $40 (yes, A GALLON)

going at it again today

[BuzzStPoint]

Then you bought completely the wrong stuff..

Once can of this:
3M™ Polystyrene Foam Insulation 78 Spray Adhesive (http://products3.3m.com/catalog/us/en001/home_leisure/-/node_GS2KR0VPFCbe/root_GST1T4S9TCgv/vroot_GSHCV1ZFXKge/gvel_TFP2GL1L3Mgl/theme_us_homeleisure_3_0/command_AbcPageHandler/output_html)

Then about 16 bucks of headliner material from a fabric store..

The can of spray, I only used 1/2 of the can. The right kind of spray for this will spray out in like a spider web fashon.

[r_o__]

what did you guys use as material, i'm doing mine soon and since i spray painted my ugly beige interior black , i',m thinking a black vinale or how ever the damn thing is spelled, to match my new to me interior

[savage]

i've though about maby cutting out "saturn" out of cardboard and sticking it to the fiberglass then put the fabric over that and have a "custom" headliner

[savage]

i've though about maby cutting out "saturn" out of cardboard and sticking it to the fiberglass then put the fabric over that and have a "custom" headliner

[BuzzStPoint]

Stop at any ulpolstry shop or fabric store and ask if they have headliner material.

If they dont know what that is ask for foam backed fabrick. no thicker then 1/4 inch.

[r_o__]

hey savage if you want the saturn logo on your headliner do it with thin foam then you have to cut the edges at a 45 degree angle for it to be smooth,,,,,,,lol saw it done on horsepower tv...they did flames looked freakin nice.

[savage]

good idea ro

[BuzzStPoint]

If your good at a sewing maching you can draw out your design and put a piece of cardboard with extra foam then stitch the headliner with a custom logo.

Those look real nice..

Or Savages would be nice also to glue a design on the headliner to have is 'bulge' the headliner when you put it on.

[DaytonaSL2]

I am sorry but I am not able to hndle this, I am not handy enough. Through Saturn of Daytona they want $160.00 for the headliner installed on my 99 Saturn SL 2. :)

[Qlara]

Has anyone tried the "Heads-Up" headliner replacement kit?

So, for the original 'sagging' headliner in the Saturn, do we just tore out the old fabric(Color cloth) only?

Asking because I see there's some 'dark foam' material under the color cloth. Should that layer be removed too, how so?

[DaytonaSL2]

I am going to get a new one from Saturn I think

[Low Saturn]

I reupholstered (sp?) the headliner in my SW last year myself. There wasn't anything wrong with it, I was changing the interior color from tan to grey. Its really easy. Just find a fabric shop and buy the correct color fabric. Also pick up a couple cans of 3M Spray adhesive. I got grey fabric with a thin foam backing.

First lay the fabric face down and and spray some adhesive on the back of the fabric and on the head liner. Dont spray the whole fabric and headliner, then try to join them. Instead spray it in sections. I sprayed a section as wide as the headliner and one foot long on both the headliner and fabric. Let it sit a couple minutes then join them together. Then I would let it sit five or ten minutes and work on another one foot section until I reached the end. Wait for the glue to set, then trim off the excess on the sides. I also found that instead of trimming the front and back, its best to fold it over and glue a couple inches on the back side. It looks much cleaner and theres a less of a chance of it peeling back.

Total cost for the project was less than $30 and it looks brand new.

[Qlara]

Thanks for the insight, Low Saturn.

Does it look good in Light Gray with all the trim panels in Tan color?

Same question asked:
Before you glue the new fabric on the headliner board, did you just remove the old Cloth Layer only? From what I see on my sagging headliner, there seems to have a layer of 'foam' stuff still sticking on the headliner board.....is it a must to remove the foam layer or just the old cloth(Color one) is fine...?

[Low Saturn]

Thanks for the insight, Low Saturn.

Does it look good in Light Gray with all the trim panels in Tan color?

I redid the whole interior. I picked up a SL2 for $99 and used the seats and all the trim panels I could use in my SW2. The rest I used an interior dye/paint. It matched and looks great.

Same question asked:
Before you glue the new fabric on the headliner board, did you just remove the old Cloth Layer only? From what I see on my sagging headliner, there seems to have a layer of 'foam' stuff still sticking on the headliner board.....is it a must to remove the foam layer or just the old cloth(Color one) is fine...?

Mine wasn't saging so I left it. I assume you can just pull off the old fabric. I'd leave the foam if it isnt coming off.

[emptypockets]

Do they sell fabric that is as big or bigger than a headliner? I'm going with rough guesstimates here but a headliner is about 6x5 and normal fabric(like the fabric for making kids blankets or whatever that you can get at walmart) is about 4x(whatever you want it to be). Is there a place that sells ACTUAL headliner material? I was thinking of converting mine to red because I'm switching my car from tan to red and black. Looks good so far.

[Low Saturn]

Just look up fabric stores in you area. You could even go to an upholstery shop as well and see if they will sell you some.

[allc0re]

I followed the instructions in this thread and redid my headliner. Everything was great until the first time I parked my car in the sun for over an hour. When I got back in it was all hanging down. During the second removal of the head liner I also damaged the fiber board a bit (it is fragile). I repaired it with duct tape. Not sure where I went wrong, but I decided to take a different route. I got two cans of fabric spray paint from the autoparts store. They say it works on cloth, leather, vinyl etc. I took off the fabric that was left, cleaned off the fiber board, and proceded to spray away. I used one can for each half of the board. I did about four or five coats in all. It looks great now and I never have to worry about it again. Plus, had I gone this route in the first place, it'd only cost the amount of two spray cans. Let me suggest this method to anyone who was skeptical or hesitant to redo the liner. I'll post pics if anyone is interested, let me know.

[sps SOHC]

I was thinking of a different idea for those who don't want to use cloth.

First I am planning on coloring the foam liner black.
Then I'm going to put a light coat of fiberglass resin. Don't know exactly how much it costs, I know my friend coated his subwoofer box with it.
Then after it dries completely I will touch up "thin" areas.
When it's completely dry I'll carefully buff sand w/ 1000 grit sand paper.

Probably take longer to do but I hope it comes out nice. Might even do better w/ heat reduction. At least I wouldn't have to worry about sagging headliner. The one problem w/ this would be I'd probably have to do it in the car as it wouldn't be able to bend back in. Think it's an acceptable idea?

[allc0re]

I don't know SPS, it would sure be a b**ch to do it while it's still in the car.

[Low Saturn]

I think you can get it into the car without bending it if you remove the seats. The more you remove from the interior the better. Slide it in sideways through the rear door at an angle towards the opposite front door.

[allc0re]

I think you can get it into the car without bending it if you remove the seats. The more you remove from the interior the better. Slide it in sideways through the rear door at an angle towards the opposite front door.
Definitely! If I did it over again I would remove the seats first!

[sps SOHC]

when I took it out I didn't have the front passenger seat in and I needed to bend it because of the door. It didn't look like it would fit out the back door. I guess if I took the door off it would be perfect.
I'll make this my next big project.

What would be the best thing to color the foam liner with?
Once I get it all done I might do some artistic painting and put a big red saturn emblem in front of the dome light. :yes:

[allc0re]

What would be the best thing to color the foam liner with?
Like I said previously, fabric paint works like a charm and I think it even looks better than the OEM liner.

[micronrb]

I just did mine with felt and 3M spray adhesive. It looks great now, we'll see how it holds up.

[micronrb]

This was a "quick fix" for me, I want to switch to tan vinyl down the road.

By the way, I left the foam on the board, I just took off the old cloth.

Next the door panels and the visors.

[retard7117]

does anyone know where i could get a headliner for a 97 sl1? I was going to redu my whole interior black and red. Most of it was black, the roof was grey though. I took that out and threw it away at college, thinking i would just find a black one in a junk yard somewhere.... bad idea. I am not sure if they even made black. Now i am going to have to buy a headliner, and cover it with black. I can find them at junk yards, but they are asking $50!!!! They probably didnt even pay that much fpr the car anyways, WHat a rip off. I did my door panels with red vinyl, i am going to start a new thread about that.

[LeanderL]

Well - the headliner is out of my 93 SL. I was holding up the fabric with upholstery pins - the kind that you can twist in - not very attractive but it was a good temporary solution until I could make the time to do this project. After removing all the hardware, I was able to carefully ease it out through the trunk. Once I removed the pins the fabric lifted off easily. The foam was almost totally disintegrated - I carefully peeled it off and now I have a "clean" liner ready for my next surge of creativity. I want to cover it with something that I can clean easily - micronrb mentioned vinyl - I might give that a shot but I am sure it will take some time to make it fit over the curves in the liner.

LeanderL
93 SL
40 mpg hwy (thanks to the maintenance tips and instructions on this site!)

[smash_57]

I have a '95 SW2. How would I go about getting the headliner board out of the car? Do you have to take off all the trim around it?

Thanks!
~Jennifer

[Low Saturn]

I have a '95 SW2. How would I go about getting the headliner board out of the car? Do you have to take off all the trim around it?

Thanks!
~Jennifer

Only if you plan on putting it back. Otherwise you need to remove all the plastic trim, both dome lights, sun visors, and grab handles.

[paulygon]

I would really like to know how to get the headliner out of the car in the first place, and more specifically, how to get the headliner out from underneath the door trim pieces.

[Low Saturn]

Remove the door trim pieces.

-remove the side vents on the dash
-uinbolt the seat belt from the "B" pillar
-remove the trim from around the front door.
-remove the side pieces of the rear seat.
-remove fasteners holding the "C" pillar trim to the frame
-remove the coat hanger hooks
-remove the trim around the rear door
-remove dome lamp
-remove sun visors
-remove roof handles
-remove trim around sunroof controls if equipped
-push front seats all the way forward and recline them all the way back.
-remove headliner through rear door.

[paulygon]

More detail on taking the trim pieces out would be helpful.

[Low Saturn]

From the bottom pull it back a bit untill you see the gold clips. Slide a screwdriver behind it and pop it out. If you just grap the trim pieces with your hands and pull, the tabs can break off in the frame.

[paulygon]

I just finished replacing my headliner today, here's a tip:
To get the old glue off the headliner board, try a vacuum cleaner with a hose, and use the wirey attachment... after getting the bulk glue off, scrub the board with the vacuum hose attachment, the leftover glue will come off, and suck into the vacuum.

Here's another tip, if you have a sunroff, DON'T EVEN ATTEMPT to replace your headliner, it was hell getting the new fabric to mold around the button/maplight buldge.

[geartooth94]

so what are we sunroof-sporting Saturn owners supposed to do when our healiners sag?

[paulygon]

so what are we sunroof-sporting Saturn owners supposed to do when our healiners sag?

Find your mom and have her do it. :)

[stinka]

My headliner is not sagging, it's just has water stains. I guess the previous owner had clogged sunroof drains, and let it do for a while...

Is there anyway to clean the water stains away? My enterior is tan...

[David 93 SL2m]

Funny. My headliner has been fine for 13 years and now it just began sagging in one spot. Hopefully it won't grow so that in time the whole thing is sagging like the top of an old canopy bed top in my car... :xeye: