Headliner' armrests falling apart...

[thos.cook]

Hi guys,

Just wondering what some of you have done to remedy a falling headliner? The foam is about destroyed underneath too...=\. Same goes for cloth along drivers side arm rest. Is this common?

Thanks,

Thomas

 

[TDIBone]

The little headliner piece where the sunroof controls are is coming off mine as well. Looks like the glue is just giving out. My buddy who builds furniture said try some contact cement, but I'm curious as to what other say here.

 

[RIP TDI]

The problem with repairing the headliner is that the integrity of the fiberboard backing gets compromised when the fabric and padding deteriorate/separate so that you no longer have a smooth foundation to attach the new material to and you wind up with a bit of an uneven, lumpy look.

Even a new OEM headliner isn't a perfect solution if you're a perfectionist. It uses a different material that matches in color pretty well, but not in style; it has a slight pattern to it that no longer matches the pillar trim. This might be a reasonable trade-off if it proves to be as durable as its harder, more integral molded-with-the-backing appearance and feel suggests it might be. This might be an issue of the availability of only later year headliners that might match only later year interior fabrics; I don't know, but this was my experience with an '01 Golf and a recently-ordered headliner.

 

[autdi]

How mine separated on the 2003 is half the foam is on the back of the fabric, and half is still on the board. Since I'll never get the two back in perfect alignment so the two halves where it separated line up again, it's going to be ugly no matter what I do. I guess it could get removed, taken in to a car interior shop and reworked, but if contact cement or glue keeps it up, I'm ok with a wavy look 11 year old headliner.

 

[gforce1108]

I've seen a bunch recovered over on the vortex... probably the best solution. I noticed mine is starting to go recently as well. My antenna is shot so I'll probably attempt a recover while replacing the antenna.

 

[deejaaa]

go to wallyworld, get 9 yards of the fabric in the color wanted. not sure what it's called or is. kind of looks like felt but isn't. i will be using a light gray on mine. perfect match? no, but good enough for me.
get 2 cans of "heads up" headliner spray adhesive. do not get the 3M 77, will work for door panels though.
remove all the foam left behind.
do not spray so much adhesive as to soak the material. it will bleed to the other side and look bad.
as long as you take your time, spray half, lay it down, lift and spray other, it will turn out fine and no one will tell.
i did my truck 4 years ago in black and it is still holding up, no pun intended.

 

[Votblindub]

My jetta has spots that look like bubbles on the headliner and a couple smaller spots on the doors. I would very much like to do the headliner and pillars in black. That grey/beige stuff isn't working for me. My a6 headliner is mint, but the color is wrong too, i need it black.
For the jetta, would you guys suggest to remove that factory foam, cover it in felt or that soft(thin) pink insulation, then to cover it in black cloth? I would like it to still have that soft feel to it.
Would you suggest that since my a6 is still great to just dye it with the pillars? I'm very cautious of the pillars in it, since there are airbags and I do not know if they are meant to sort of "flap" open or if they're meant to burst through the pillar. I'd like it to be just as safe as factory.
I don't want plaid or anything bright. I don't want it to stand out. I want it to look stock and very minimal.

 

[AARodriguez Corp.]

Hi guys,
Just wondering what some of you have done to remedy a falling headliner? The foam is about destroyed underneath too...=\. Same goes for cloth along drivers side arm rest. Is this common?
Thanks,
Thomas

What color is your headliner?

 

[Rual817]

I used 3M spray adhesive. Pull back liner, spray, give it a few seconds to partially set and reset liner. You may have to brush away loose foam before spraying.
My liner was coming loose on each side above both front and rear windows. Center area was fine. Coming loose from driving with windows open.
Did this a cpl yrs ago, and haven't had any issues since.

 

[jimnms]

The little headliner piece where the sunroof controls are is coming off mine as well. Looks like the glue is just giving out. My buddy who builds furniture said try some contact cement, but I'm curious as to what other say here.

Did you find something to fix it? Mine is doing this as well. I had been pressing it back up with my hand and it would stay for a few days, but that's not working anymore. It's peeling off from the left rear corner and blocking part of the rear view mirror, so I finally pulled the panel off until I fix it.

I don't think the headliner adhesive will work on this part because it's just fabric on plastic and the headliner adhesive sprays on like a foam. Plus this panel is only 6" x 7" and I don't need a huge can to fix that.

 

[deejaaa]

contact cement will dry, crack and fail. use a spray adhesive. best is Heads Up.