How do I apply the new headliner fabric to the headliner board?

[Duane867]

Mineral spirits are used after scraping to remove and left over hardened glue.
Spray paint is some times used because it will soak into the backer board and when dry it will provide a firmer less porous surface making it easier to apply the new adhesive. In other words it clogs up the pores a little so more new glue can stick, and the mineral spirits cleans the gunk off before hand so the paint and glue can stick.

FYI for any one doing a head liner.... Most fabric shops like say .. Michales, or Joann fabrics can order foam backed fabric or have it in stock MUCH cheaper in most cases then auto fabric shops on line or locally shops.

 

[mht95ranger]

Quick question for those with extended cabs, how do you get the old headliner out of the truck? I dropped it down but could not get it out the door. What am I doing wrong??

 

[HRTKD]

I had the seats in when I took mine out. Very difficult and I had to fold the headliner a bit. Because I was refurbishing the entire interior I ended up with the seats out and putting the headliner back in was much easier without the seats there. It is also very easy to put the headliner in when the back window is not in place.

 

[barrys]

> How do I get the headliner board out.
I think it's much harder with a manual trans. With auto...
Remove the little consolette (on mine pull up the rubber mats at the bottoms of the cup holders and open twistlocks 1/4 turn) if you have one.
Free the headliner board -- note you don't have remove all the trim as per the manual.
Seats pushed all the way back with backs down all the way.
Spin board 90 degrees.
Drop the front edge (was the side edge) down to floor. Note, you'll have to bend it a bit here but not enough to crease it.
Slide it out the passenger side door.

If you have a stick, I really don't know how you do it without a lot of bending. I heard they slide them in the window cavity at the factory. But, I'm sure someone on here's been there and can respond with some tips.

 

[mht95ranger]

Thanks for the help. I am going to try next weekend and see how it goes.

 

[barrys]

I just had an idea that maybe someone will try for removing the foam from the fiber boards without trashing the board...

Getting the fabric off the foam is easy -- just razor into strips and pull up the strips carefully. The problem is getting the foam off the board without delaminating the compressed paper substrate. So, what we want is something that eat foam and not the glue that holds those fiber sheets together. What about acetone? That would dissolve the old, tired foam on contact. I don't know if acetone will compromise the glue in the board. (Paint stripper would eat the foam but would definitely eat up the glue in the backing board.) But a test in a corner covered by trim would help figure that out. What you'd end up with is glop which is a mushy dissolving foam. And, you'd have to get this off quickly before the acetone dries. Maybe working small areas at a time would work. I think a wire brush would be too aggressive for that board. But, maybe a stiff bristle plastic brush -- like a bathroom scrub brush -- might work. Scraping with an old credit card might do the trick too. As long as the board ends up smooth, it doesn't matter what it looks like.

Let's see if someone thinks this is a interesting idea and gives is a whirl.

 

[HRTKD]

I did the razor/elbow grease method. It took a long time, but I didn't have to worry about nasty chemicals. A lot of the old foam/fabric came off in large sections. The foam around the visor area was the worst. While I hope to never, ever have to do it again, I probably would do it the same way. My search for an aftermarket backer board came up with nothing. I would gladly have paid $300 for a clean board to start with.

 

[barrys]

I can't find a board for the '91. Stockinteriors.com has them for the 93-95. The price went down a bit to 220+ship. That's a great deal to me.