[francisb]

It had to happen, no sooner had I finally fixed all my mechanical issues the headliner has now fallen down from the sunroof all the way to the tailgate. Unfortunately the foam between the headliner backing and the interior material has completely disintegrated so I can't just spray glue it back up.

Arghhh.

Has anyone replaced just the material? How hard was it and where did you get it from?

Sadly the car is down in the Caribbean and a complete replacement/salvage is very unlikely.

 

[EulessDave]

Do a search on this forum and you'll find some photos of how to get the liner backing out. Then take it to an upholstery shop and let them do it.

I tried on my New Beetle and it's VERY DIFFICULT as a DIY project. I messed up about $40 in spray glue and $120 in fabric trying to do it myself, and paid about $180 for the pro to do it. Took him 30 minutes.

 

[francisb]

Yeah I found the post to remove the headliner thank you. I figured it might be tricky. I will try and find an upholstery shop, but they will likely be more used to boats than cars! Where did you get the foam backed material?

 

[Paulus]

I got my headliner material from headlinerexpress.com. I was pleased with the results.

 

[VTreg13]

I know this an old post. Hope your still here. How was the quality of material? Was it genuine VW?

 

[nickyt]

Pony up $1500 if you want genuine VW, every 10 years. OEM material that matches is available. You might also find a contrasting color that really looks good.

Just don't go with plaid, which is a thing in certain parts of the world.

 

[VTreg13]

No plaid man. Heck no said the Brown Bear. No plaid.

 

[Paulus]

I didn't check for any VW labels. It looks good installed and I can't tell that it isn't the original material.

 

[VTreg13]

Oh hey thx for getting back. Sounds good. I am going to order tomorrow. Paulus what were the steps. #1 - Remove Liner itself from board. #2 - The take wire brush and remove old foam. #3 - The wipe down to remove all dust #4 - Apply glue to board and apply glue to New fabric/foam? #5 - Then connect fabric to board.... Am I close?

 

[Paulus]

I think you are close. I had someone else do it for me because I didn't feel like fighting to get the liner out and back in the vehicle.

 

[nickyt]

You are close. Getting the extra large headliner out without damage is a challenge.

The rest of it is covered in this guys video. https://www.youtube.com/user/TheLuckyNeedle

 

[francisb]

Thanks Paulus, small world, I'm up near West Bay (white V6, no roof rack). Before I ordered the material I had a guy take a look to fit it and he ended up supplying the material too, all for CI$300! Good job, not perfect but I don't care that much now that all the interior plastics are disintegrating. Sadly I think he left island.

 

[VTreg13]

Gotcha. i was super lucky. On an angle and with all the head rest on the whole headliner came out fairly easy. No bends!

 

[TRespect]

Going to do this in the near future.
I have a crystal grey interior and I'm adding some color to it.
I'm going red headliner and red seat belts. My seat belts do not retract correctly so I'm changing them too.
I found what looks like a nice fabric on aliexpress. 30€ 1m/1.6m:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1MX...2.html?spm=a2g0s.13010208.99999999.310.6bdHaa

 

[TRespect]

and for the adhesive I'm getting this:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HIGH-TEM...var=460256594901&_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649

 

[Mr_scsi]

I tackled the Headliner in my 2006 Treg.

Removal was straight forward, the sunroof surround trim piece was tricky needed fine pick tools to release the clips (as well as removing the clips themselves). About 45 minutes.

I used a cordless drill with a Harbor Freight Item #91367 Abrasive brush to remove the foam/glue. Then duct tape pressed into cylinders that fit around my hand removed the "balls" of glue/foam that remained on the hardboard. This was the most time consuming at about 2 hours.

For adhesive used headliner contact cement sprayed from a cheap H-F paint gun did the trick.

Start at the back, work small section 1-2 feet at a time (glue, adhere, repeat) and you will do well. The hard part is the compound curves, if you think about the increased material compared to the more flat areas you will be OK.

All in all it took about 4 hours to complete the fabric replacement.

I found my Flat Knit fabric from this place in MS for a lot less $s than previously mentioned seller.

https://www.yourautotrim.com/auheclvifa.html

I'm actually going to put Micro-suede on my GTI. the the price, it is an easy upgrade.

 

[TRespect]

Thanks for posting this. I have it on my list.


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