I have a factory headliner board and some new beechwood material to cover it with, but before I do i want to make the backing board waterproof. My t-tops dont leak much of at all, ever so often I find a drip on the seat but not often, but I just don't want to have to worry about it happening and not being prepared.

I've herd of Jeep guys coating theirs with underbody spray. I've also heard that fiber glass resin can be used but makes the headliner heavy and rigid.

Any input on those ideas, or any other ideas anyone has?

Oh, and this board is in great condition so I can't see throwing it away and spending $200 on a new ABS headliner...

 

Don't use fiberglass resin. I remember reading on a forum somewhere that a guy did that and the thing snapped in half when he picked it up. I've never heard of coating it with undercoating, that would be interesting.

As for the ABS headliners: there are two problems with them. One is they don't fit or look exactly like the factory board. If you are after factory looks, you won't get that. 2nd: if you do have a ttop leak, since they are ABS, they create a nice place to hold water over your head and as soon as you take off, all that water sloshes out all over the back seats, out through the dome light, out both sides near the sun visors. You'd be surprised how much water can accumulate in these cars after a good heavy down pour.

 

How about silicon spray across the entire headliner backside?

 

I too am interested in finding a way to waterproof mine before I install it. I found a nice factory board a few weeks ago. My ttops don't leak in a normal rain, but in a heavy down pour with lots of wind...water in the car.

 

The only silicon spray I know of is a lubricant, and I'm guessing you dont mean that one lol

A silicon type coating might work though, (although im unfamiliar with them) seems like it would be flexible enough to move with the factory board..

 

I used fiberglass resin. I also used some fiberglass cloth to strengthen up some weak spots. It turned out fine. I definitely recommend it. Just don't use too much cloth and resin, as it will add too much weight.

 

There's a dozen different kinds of silicon spray out there.
One of them shouldn't seep into the headliner
I don't know for sure, though. Was just a thought.

 

Can't you spray some 3M 77 Glue on the back of the headliner and cover it with a good mill plastic sheet and trim it up???

 

lol hold on hold on.... i have a better idea. Why dont we just waterproof the entire car so we can just leave our tops off all the time?

Seriously why not just install new weather stripping?

 

Whats the point! Water will run to the edges (dome light/seat belt retracts/visor hinges).All areas that cannot be sealed.Water wil just drip/spill over from there anytime you accellerate/brake.

Besides, if you could "seal" it.Then you trap water where mold/bacteria will build.How about fixing the leak, instead of masking it.

 

There's always got to be a start to a leak, and water can easily destroy a factory board before you even notice a small leak... Not to mention that even brand new weatherstripping can still leak under certain circumstances.

This is fix will be for the occasion drips that get through at the car wash, or to protect the board should a leak ever appear in the future.

 

I love my hard top.

 

Me too. But when it really rains I still get wet seats. But I don't have a headliner yet

 

I finally got some of the good 3M rubberized undercoating and sprayed the whole back of the board with it. Got 2-3 coats from the single can and it really turned out great!

The only picture of the back was after I had sprayed a test spot to make sure it would adhere to the press board alright. It's such a simple thing I would recommend anyone who's recovering a headliner to go this route. Here's the whole project:

Just bought


Undercoating test


Done!