Bay Area interior lining restoration?

B100

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 7, 2003
Location
Berkeley, Eastbania
TDI
2003 Golf
It's my turn... the Golf's interior lining is coming loose from the adhesive, after 16 years. Does anyone have a favored shop that can handle headliner, doors, and passenger sides?
 

tothemax

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 7, 2006
Location
Nevada
TDI
TDIs: 2003 Jetta, 2016 Q5 3.0
Sacramento, which shop?
I recommend buying the OEM liner and having someone experienced install it... maybe Matt can install it for you if you just buy the OEM headliner? Or maybe Tim or one of the boys at Tomas sports tuning in Berkeley could ?

the one who did it for for my Jetta I would not recommend. They totally botched it up and then ended up having to buy an OEM one on their dime to make it right
 

B100

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 7, 2003
Location
Berkeley, Eastbania
TDI
2003 Golf
I recommend buying the OEM liner and having someone experienced install it... maybe Matt can install it for you if you just buy the OEM headliner? Or maybe Tim or one of the boys at Tomas sports tuning in Berkeley could ?
the one who did it for for my Jetta I would not recommend. They totally botched it up and then ended up having to buy an OEM one on their dime to make it right
Thanks, Mr. Max. I can check with Tomas this week... they've done some minor work on the car before, and are just a mile from my office. And of course, Matt is an option. For some reason, I was thinking this needed to go to a car interior specialist.
 

tothemax

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Aug 7, 2006
Location
Nevada
TDI
TDIs: 2003 Jetta, 2016 Q5 3.0
Thanks, Mr. Max. I can check with Tomas this week... they've done some minor work on the car before, and are just a mile from my office. And of course, Matt is an option. For some reason, I was thinking this needed to go to a car interior specialist.
Yes some use car upholsterers for this... but I have not found a good one I trust... or have had luck with
 

Matt-98AHU

Loose Nut Behind the Wheel Vendor
Joined
Apr 23, 2006
Location
Gresham, OR
TDI
2001 Golf TDI, 2005 Passat wagon, 2004 Touareg V10.
I've had a couple headliners redone with a shop in Vallejo. They never quite have the exact same shade of cloth for the headliner that VW was using in Mk4s, though.

I do recommend having at least the headliner reupholstered with fresh fabric. It seems the foam backing and age with the OE stuff can even make old stock, new parts fail faster than the originals did because they still have age on them. I have had a customer tell me he bought a new headliner from the dealer and it started sagging within a year or two rather than going closer to a decade...

So yeah, definitely seems to be the way to go. In order to save a few bucks, I've been removing the headliner myself and then delivering just the headliner to the shop. Then again, I've so far only done a couple Beetles and a Golf, which are pretty short and I could throw them in the back of a wagon without a problem.

There's another shop that's even closer to my house I've been wanting to give a try. Dee talked to them once and he said he's done a number of VWs and has decent matching fabric. We'll see!
 

NewTdi

Top Post Dawg
Joined
Jan 15, 2004
Location
NorCal
TDI
2003 Bora, Reflex Silver
Matt, do you remember the name or kication of the shop? I might want to drive by and get a quote.
 

Matt-98AHU

Loose Nut Behind the Wheel Vendor
Joined
Apr 23, 2006
Location
Gresham, OR
TDI
2001 Golf TDI, 2005 Passat wagon, 2004 Touareg V10.
Matt, do you remember the name or kication of the shop? I might want to drive by and get a quote.
The one I've used for 3 headliners is Valley Sunroof and Upholstery. They're on the corner of Sonoma Blvd. (29) and Alabama St.

The one near my house is Foss Upholstery & Restoration at the corner of Georgia and Tuolumne. That one is so close I could remove the headliner on the street in front of my house and walk it to them. No transportation necessary.
 

B100

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 7, 2003
Location
Berkeley, Eastbania
TDI
2003 Golf
I was quoted $550 for headliner replacement (foam and fabric) on the 2003 Golf (no sunroof). And $350 per door (it's a two-door). That's a lot of money for a cosmetic annoyance... I may tuck the fabric back in place on the doors and use some spring steel clips to hold it there... but we'll see what my wife has to say about it.
 

Fongpei

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 14, 2013
Location
Oakland
TDI
Jetta MKIV 2004 Sedan 225k, '04 wagon 183k
I used California Covers in Downtown Oakland for a Recaro seat and they did the mouse fur for the head liner. It did cost a pretty penny though. IIRC about $400 for the liner as its was for my Jetta wagon. I've had good results with 3m adhesive spray through a tube into the liner itself then holding for a few minutes to set. Surprisingly good results.
 

B100

Veteran Member
Joined
Jan 7, 2003
Location
Berkeley, Eastbania
TDI
2003 Golf
I used California Covers in Downtown Oakland for a Recaro seat and they did the mouse fur for the head liner. It did cost a pretty penny though. IIRC about $400 for the liner as its was for my Jetta wagon. I've had good results with 3m adhesive spray through a tube into the liner itself then holding for a few minutes to set. Surprisingly good results.
Yes, Dee the Ginger had mentioned that... the 3M adhesive spray... and it's worth trying. I might spend some time scrubbing the substrate clean, to get old crumbling adhesive off, on the doors.
 
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