I spent the day re-doing my sons 91 RS head liner. It came out pretty good for a 1st timer. The pics show I got it a little dirty but it will easily brush off. ( I shoulda swept the deck 1st). I wrapped the edges and glued them of course and it hit me.... Duct tape! I didn't have any so I wrapped the fabric around the edges, glued and pressed them down with a board and glued electrical tape in double strips so it was wider to overlap the end of the fabric and help fasten it to the board. It held great.
Then I was thinking, what if I laminated the whole board on both sides or just one side if it made it to heavy. And wrap the edges all in duct tape that was glued to the board. This would make that board sturdy! I know it's not pretty, but strong and those with bad boards could strengthen them or even add a little cardboard to places missing back by the seatbelts. I didn't do it but it may be a good fix for some. I bet the glue and fabric would stick to the smooth surface of duct tape. Or you could cut a whole new one out of cardboard and laminate it. What do ya think? Who would know except you? It comes in many colors too. Kids these days wouldn't even need fabric! Just an idea. Maybe I'm . If so ignore me !

 

No replies? I couldn't believe I said I said use duct tape either! But I thing it would work great. Anyone wanna step up and agree or just me!
LOL !

 

I wouldn't say tht any "repair" that requires duct tape is worth much praise. The adhesive in duct tape becomes gooey in heat. Headliners take ALOT of heat from the sun. But if you like sagging headliners. Go for it

 

Dude, It's not like the headliner is duct taped up. It's just laminating the headliner board to make it stronger. It is all still glued as normal. I didn't try it because I didn't think of it till I was done recovering it. I agree that duct tape is not the way to install it on the roof of the car, that would not last long of course. I'm just saying if someone has a bad or weak board and wants to strengthen it, or can not get a new one or a used one from a junk yard, it may be the fix for them. The hot sun and extra gooey adheasive may make it even stick better like the hot tar on a roof in summer. It would have to be an oozing liquid glue coming from the duct tape ( which I have never seen) before it would not stick.
I know it sounds bad when we say use DUCT TAPE! But we all know that stuff has been around for a long time and it works on everything.
I may even make me a new pair of shoes if I have any left over! LOL just kidding! Thanks for stepping up and replying to my post. And I do understand the "Duct Tape Fix" affect we all have.

Also re-thinking it again:
Whats the back of the board glued to? Nothing right? Certainly not the ceiling of the car. If you just laminate the back of the board with tape for strength and to avoid tearing during reinstall, no harm done.

And If anyone plans on doing this, do it immediately after removing the headliner from the car. So when you clean and brush the old glue and foam off, You won't break off as much of the board and destroy it.

 

Your headliner is going to sag, no doubt about it. Too bad duct tape is the weakest link- no way will it hold up to the heat a car endures.

 

Josh, There's no duct tape on my headliner, I only used electrical tape to hold the wrapped edges of the liner to the board. I was out of duct tape so I doubled it up so it was wider. The fabric is still glued as normal to the board. I don't think you understand what I am saying. The wrapped edges are glued and taped both. They will never peel away. I never said tape the fabric to the board. Does that make sense now?

 

People should definitely start reading entire posts before they reply. I understand what you're saying, RCAR ... you're simply saying that you think duct tape could be used as a reinforcement for a headliner board. I agree.

Too bad you're headliner is going to sag, though. I can't believe you used duct tape!!!!!! Just kiddin'!

 

Thanks Garner,
I not only can't believe that I used duct tape but even told everyone about it! Oh well, it's my sons car anyway! LOL ! It really looks good and won't come down ! Thanks again for the good comments!

 

i did something like this. just not with the whole headliner. my headliner started sagging in the back so i took off the plastic panel in the back and pulled the headliner back a lil bit and electrical taped it to the roof and then put the panel back on. my headliner sags a lot but it does the job for now.

 

I did not tape mine up to the roof though . I just taped the edges of fabric around the back after I glued the fabric to the board. You could run duct tape across the whole back of the board just to add a layer of strength to the board so it doesn't fall apart while scrubbing the junk off it before recovering it. Don't try to tape it to the roof unless it's a temporary fix you plan on doing soon.

 

 

 

Well instaed of duct tape...
small (thin) strips of heavy weight (3-4 oz) fiberglass mat...
Granted a little more difficult to work with but is much better suited to the task you as asking./describing.

Even just redoing the edges in a light weight fiberglass cloth would provide a much better edge guard, not to mention a very stable point to glue too...

 

Yes, but where do ya get it and do ya just glue it on as well? Is it hard to find? The key is anything you can to make the board sturdy. Cut out card board, duct tape it then fiber glass it would probably even work.

 

fiberglass is easy, even home depot and wally world has it.
Fiberglass "glue" is a two part resin. You mix the two parts according to directions and then cover the fiberglass until it becomes translucent.

Also the resin from the fiberglass can also soak into the stock foam stuff and bond straight to it as well.

 

Where is it at home depot?

 

Anywhere that sells body shop supplies, or most hardware stores will have fiberglass resin.

 

in paint section. they have "fiberglass repair kits" or something like that.
I think they are a 3'X3' or something like that mat that is included in the "kit".

 

You probably wouldn't even need any matting, just adding resin to the stock headliner would work fine.

 

Thanks for the reply.

 

Np it's what I am here for right?
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depends on how bad the stock backing is.

like on the t top ones, I would almost bet going with strips would be loads better than just resin.

 

What I did was infact use duct tape. I duct taped the entire back side to add stability to the weakened board, I then purchased some cheese like cloth from a fabric store and used that and glue to recover the surface. I then had a great working surface to apply the new headliner material, and the backing was strong yet still flexible. I have heard that fiberglass makes the headliner too stiff to work with

 

I don't know. I've never seen a headliner where the problem was with the fiberglass itself, only where the foam backing on the fabric rots away.

 

See and the only ones I have seen are the physical pressed paper like board and presed/formed insulation like foam.

Like the one on my 83 full size 4 by was a pressed foam type that was in "ok" shape but I went ahead and did the perimeter and made 2-3 connecting strips and it really got it alot more stable to work with.
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that is where the weight you work with and the amount you work with comes into play.

I am able to make 3-4 layer fiberglass panels that can easily be bent almost into a circle without breaking.
But this is again dealing with lightweight fabric type and not mat. that is why I suggested strips, not remake the whole panel. The strips would still allow some flexibility.