XJ Headliner delamination

Does anyone know a cheap fix for headliner delamination? One friend used
wooden slats as if it were boat canvas, and it looked pretty good, but there
were still sags between the slats. My headliner is "bubbling", not a total
delam yet, but the biggest bubble is over my seat and rubs on my bald head -
kinda annoying unless you wear a hat!
--
Dana
Port Kent, NY

2002 Saturn LW300
93 Jeep YJ
90 Jeep XJ Ltd.
---------------
95 Grand Cherokee Ltd.
91 Grand Wagoneer Ltd.
82 Cherokee 4dr
76 Cherokee 2dr

There's a few d-i-y solutions but the only way to get it done correctly is
to take it into auto upholstery shops or even glass shops (often they
rebuild headliners). I have seen safety pins used as temp solutions, the
best d-i-y bet is to remove the headliner from your jeep, pull back the
corner and stick the loose cover back on with 3M spray adhesive.

Snow...

"Dana Rohleder" > wrote in message
...
> Does anyone know a cheap fix for headliner delamination? One friend used
> wooden slats as if it were boat canvas, and it looked pretty good, but
> there were still sags between the slats. My headliner is "bubbling", not a
> total delam yet, but the biggest bubble is over my seat and rubs on my
> bald head - kinda annoying unless you wear a hat!
> --
> Dana
> Port Kent, NY
>
> 2002 Saturn LW300
> 93 Jeep YJ
> 90 Jeep XJ Ltd.
> ---------------
> 95 Grand Cherokee Ltd.
> 91 Grand Wagoneer Ltd.
> 82 Cherokee 4dr
> 76 Cherokee 2dr
>
>

Dana Rohleder did pass the time by typing:
> Does anyone know a cheap fix for headliner delamination? One friend used
> wooden slats as if it were boat canvas, and it looked pretty good, but there
> were still sags between the slats. My headliner is "bubbling", not a total
> delam yet, but the biggest bubble is over my seat and rubs on my bald head -
> kinda annoying unless you wear a hat!

I've used the following.

- screw in headliner holders (like big plastic headed screws)
- push pins
- large chunk of heavy paper/pressboard

Spray on glue and squirt in glue simply does not work.
It's like trying to glue cloth to sand and all you wind
up with a heavier lump that sags more.

The only real solution is to replace the headliner.
It is something you can do yourself in the garage.
Several examples out there on the web but it ammounts
to removing the headliner, taking the old cloth and
foam backing off, applying contact cement for headliners,
then carefully putting on a new liner.

Having done this a few times before, I'd pay someone else
to do the job.

--
DougW

i have used those screw in headliner fixes and they look like stars in the
sky. hehehe
buy them at pep boys or auto zone for 3.00 for 6 or 8. workpretty well.
old john
2000 xj classic
1988 xj lotsa mods
56 cj5 lots and lots of mods
64 fc150 jeep 289 ford v8,c5 auto tranny, lottsa others
1989 ford bronco stock with 32 x 11.5 tires
1963 j200 jeep pickup ready to modify
1999 tahoe great traveller
big insurance and gas bill\
considerate lady.


"Dana Rohleder" > wrote in message
...
> Does anyone know a cheap fix for headliner delamination? One friend used
> wooden slats as if it were boat canvas, and it looked pretty good, but
there
> were still sags between the slats. My headliner is "bubbling", not a total
> delam yet, but the biggest bubble is over my seat and rubs on my bald
head -
> kinda annoying unless you wear a hat!
> --
> Dana
> Port Kent, NY
>
> 2002 Saturn LW300
> 93 Jeep YJ
> 90 Jeep XJ Ltd.
> ---------------
> 95 Grand Cherokee Ltd.
> 91 Grand Wagoneer Ltd.
> 82 Cherokee 4dr
> 76 Cherokee 2dr
>
>

On Thu, 16 Jun 2005 09:10:36 -0400, "Dana Rohleder"
> wrote:

>Does anyone know a cheap fix for headliner delamination? One friend used
>wooden slats as if it were boat canvas, and it looked pretty good, but there
>were still sags between the slats. My headliner is "bubbling", not a total
>delam yet, but the biggest bubble is over my seat and rubs on my bald head -
>kinda annoying unless you wear a hat!
Try http://www.headlinerkit.com/ I've used them for my 1988 full size
Pontiac Safari wagon. The hardest part was not breaking the clips.

Dana Rohleder wrote:

> Does anyone know a cheap fix for headliner delamination? One friend used
> wooden slats as if it were boat canvas, and it looked pretty good, but there
> were still sags between the slats. My headliner is "bubbling", not a total
> delam yet, but the biggest bubble is over my seat and rubs on my bald head -
> kinda annoying unless you wear a hat!

I'll bet you're tempted to take the straw off a can of WD-40, plug it
into a can of spray adhesive and try poking it up into the bubbles,
right? I tried that. It won't work.

This is something I wrote here a while back, right after regluing my `89
Cherokee's headliner:

The headliner: You can repair it yourself. Start with the dome lights,
pop out the lense, the lamp (it gets hot!) twist out the press-on
spring-steel nuts with pliers and unplug the dome light assembly. Then
start at the back. Remove the trim at the edge of the liner over the
rear hatch, then the side pieces (don't bother seperate them, just take
out the screws and pull the metal pieces away from the plastic over the
door.)

Each metal side piece has a white plastic spacer captured by a screw, it
will fall out at you when you pull it out. Pry the caps off the
over-door grab handles (not too hard, they're anchored at the outer edge
of the base), remove two Torx scews from each, let the trim flop out of
the way.

The trim over the driver's door has a moulded-in barbed fastener, just
pull it away from the roof. Pry out the caps over the screws in the
trim on each windshield pillar, remove the screws and let the trim flop
around.

Remove the visors, if you have the vanity mirror you'll have to unplug
the wires behind the right pillar trim.

The headliner is a fabric piece backed with foam rubber and glued to a
formed fiberglass shell. The foam rots and lets the fabric droop. The
fiberglass shell is attached at the front by two heavy-duty velcro"-type
strips. Give it a good pull, either the velcro will part or it will
pull away from the fiberglass. If it does just glue it back on. The
shell is supported along the sides by a couple of U-channel clips,
nothing fancy.

Release it all the way around and pull it out through the rear hatch.

Lay the liner fabric side up and release the edges (they don't rot -- go
figure), work your way to the center so you can fold the fabric over
itself. Don't pull it all the way off, you'll never get it lined up
again, just go to the center line. Brush away any remaining rotted
foam. _All_ of it, otherwise you'll be gluing your headliner to rotten
foam and it will fall again, and you'll be unhappy.

Using 3M Spray Trim Adhesive (the kind that says on the label "Not for
repairing headliners" --seriously) spray an 8" strip lengthwise on the
shell and the back of the fabric. Pull the fabric over, smooth it out,
repeat on another 8" swath until you get to the edge. Don't try to glue
the entire half in one go because you'll never get the fabric to lay
flat without sticking in the wrong place or to itself. Now release the
other half and repeat. Let the solvents boil off for a couple of days
-- you don't want to be in a closed car with this stuff.

Reinstall the way it came out. Line up the rear edge and press up to
make the velcro grab, replace all the trim parts from the front to the back.


Enjoy!

You can buy several colors of the headliner material from JC Whitney. I
have repaired several for friends and my self. The best thing is to remove
the headliner completely, remove all material from the liner. The foam
backing comes off pretty easily just by rubbing with a green kitchen pad.
Once clean and free of the old stuff, spray the liner with contact adhesive
and the back of the new material. Let dry to the touch, place some
newspapers on the liner they will not stick. Carefully place the new
material on top of the newspaper. Fold one side of the new material back
remove 1/2 of the newspaper. Slowly from the center to the edge start
mating the material with the liner. It takes one-person holding the
material and the other to mate the material, do the same with the other side
.. Roll about 1 inch over the edges to finish.

--
Coasty
Semper Paratus
(Always Ready)

"Dana Rohleder" > wrote in message
...
> Does anyone know a cheap fix for headliner delamination? One friend used
> wooden slats as if it were boat canvas, and it looked pretty good, but
> there were still sags between the slats. My headliner is "bubbling", not a
> total delam yet, but the biggest bubble is over my seat and rubs on my
> bald head - kinda annoying unless you wear a hat!
> --
> Dana
> Port Kent, NY
>
> 2002 Saturn LW300
> 93 Jeep YJ
> 90 Jeep XJ Ltd.
> ---------------
> 95 Grand Cherokee Ltd.
> 91 Grand Wagoneer Ltd.
> 82 Cherokee 4dr
> 76 Cherokee 2dr
>
>

How cheap do you want? A local shop replaced mine with a new one labor and
all for 90 bucks.
KH


"Dana Rohleder" > wrote in message
...
> Does anyone know a cheap fix for headliner delamination? One friend used
> wooden slats as if it were boat canvas, and it looked pretty good, but
> there were still sags between the slats. My headliner is "bubbling", not a
> total delam yet, but the biggest bubble is over my seat and rubs on my
> bald head - kinda annoying unless you wear a hat!
> --
> Dana
> Port Kent, NY
>
> 2002 Saturn LW300
> 93 Jeep YJ
> 90 Jeep XJ Ltd.
> ---------------
> 95 Grand Cherokee Ltd.
> 91 Grand Wagoneer Ltd.
> 82 Cherokee 4dr
> 76 Cherokee 2dr
>
>

Same here, except that was fifteen years ago.
God Bless America, ßill O|||||||O
http://www.billhughes.com/

Kevin in San Diego wrote:
>
> How cheap do you want? A local shop replaced mine with a new one labor and
> all for 90 bucks.
> KH

little trim screws spaced evenly apart does not look too bad....total cost
$3.00 and about 20 minutes of time.
use a box or whatever pattern you like to space out the screws
this will hold me until I decide to do something more permanent. ;-)
--
later,
dave AKA vwdoc1
88 XJ 4.0 auto

> "Dana Rohleder" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Does anyone know a cheap fix for headliner delamination? One friend used
>> wooden slats as if it were boat canvas, and it looked pretty good, but
>> there were still sags between the slats. My headliner is "bubbling", not
>> a total delam yet, but the biggest bubble is over my seat and rubs on my
>> bald head - kinda annoying unless you wear a hat!