Recovering You Car's Headliner and Pillars

We installed 100's of headliners in the body shop I worked in and it's really quite a simple operation. The most difficult part is getting the headliner and fiberboard in and out of the car or truck without messing up the fiberboard. It is not bent, like some have mentioned. All headliners are able to be worked through the car and out the passenger door or out the lift gate. One of the most important things to understand is "When applying the fabric to the fiberboard have one or two friends help you. Three people doing this is best. Take your time and whatever you do, DO NOT MESS UP THE BOARD the headliner is glued to." After having removed the board and headliner, place the board on a table in your shop. What I have found works well is make a table from a 4' X 4' piece of 1/2" plywood resting on 2 saw horses. Then carefully remove the old headliner from the fiberboard. Your car's interior gets hot in the summer time, which is difficult on the thicker cardboard type fiberboards, so it may be a tad bit crumbly. Then take a gentle soft 3" wide brush and gracefully brush off the remnants of foam and old glue residue to the floor. A soft paintbrush works quite well. When getting ready to put the new polyester headliner on the fiberboard, I find it best to use a suction paint spray gun and contact cement. A quart will cover one average sized headliner. It takes 2 people minimum to perform this job right. When spraying the contact cement on the fabric, put the material on from the center of the fabric and work your way outward to the edges, KEY POINT....SPRAY CONTACT CEMENT AWAY FROM YOU and across to the far edge and walk around the headliner while you continously spray away from you to all the far edges. If you dont do it like this the air from your spray gun will try and throw the fabric up and get material on the fabric side. If you accidently get the contact cement on the fabric side, you have to throw the material away and start over (bummer). Spray on in nice passes getting good coverage, but not too heavy. Do the same thing with the fiberboard getting good coverage on all areas. Then set the spray gun down and you and your helper(s) each get to grab 2 corners, one in each hand and after positioning the headliner into place slowly work it on into all the valleys. I cannot stress more than to be patient and take your time. You can get professional results fairly easily. I believe if you do not have an air compressor, contact cement can be purchased buy the can in places like Walmart or Home Depot. Some have said 2 cans will do, but I think you need at least 3 and 4 will be better. Better to have enough than not enough material. Wish you the best.

Buy Headlining Velour online at wholesale prices. Automotive roof lining material Australia wide! Is your car rooflining sagging or deteriorated due to heat and wear and tear. Replace the roof lining material with high quality foam backed brushed nylon, to update your car interior for a fresh and neat finish. We are a leading Australian supplier of motor trimming and upholstery products, so you can be confident you are using the right products used by trade trimming professionals. Be sure to use our professional range of adhesive products for gluing the headlining to ensure a lasting result. Buy roof lining or headlining velour online now at Home Upholsterer, for competitive prices delivered fast Australia wide.

We've all been there. One minute your commute is going smoothly, then in the blink of an eye, some yahoo cuts you off. You react quickly, saving both yourself and the car, but there is one casualty: your coffee. As you swerve to avoid the ne'er-do-well, the cup flies from your hand, causing it to careen into your dashboard, dump its contents, and coat your interior with the latest shade of pumpkin spice.

The Best Car Upholstery Cleaners

How We Chose the Upholstery Cleaners in This Guide

To aid in the task of interior decontamination, we have assembled a guide to 10 of the best car upholstery cleaners. We tested them on stained upholstery and found that each offers the everyday car owner the ability to clean with the speed and efficiency of a professional detail shop. To be clear, the products on this list are intended to clean cloth and vinyl upholstery; a few here will also clean leather.

Upholstery Cleaning Tips & Tricks:

• You'll want to start cleaning your car's interior with a good vacuuming. A dry soft brush before vacuuming will go a long way toward loosening stuck-on and ground-in debris. Use the attachments that came with your car vacuum cleaner to get deep in the creases and crevices of the seats.
• Expose as much of your seats as possible by folding them forward, laying them ball the way back, and slide them back and forward as far as they will go. Front and back. You never know what might shake loose and besides, why do a half-assed job? Do it right the first time.
• Treat stains with a special cleaner before cleaning your upholstery, taking care to test any cleaner in an inconspicuous spot first, for colorfastness.
• If cleaning cloth seats, use any liquids sparingly. You don't want to soak the foam padding underneath, which could lead to mold and mildew.
• While some of the products on this list claim to clean leather as well as fabric and vinyl, we recommend using a specialized leather cleaner and conditioner in your car.

Other Considerations:

• Before using any new cleaning product, or trying a familiar one on a new surface, always check for colorfastness. This means testing the product in an inconspicuous area to ensure it won't cause the dyes in the fabric to bleed or run. It says this in the directions, but we're going to take a wild guess that you have been known to ignore those, which brings us to:

• All cleaners are different, and it's good practice to read the directions before you start in order to guarantee optimal results. Pay close attention to specific techniques and methods.

• If simply applying product and wiping it away isn't working, consider purchasing a detail brush. The detail brush helps to agitate the cleaner, working up a lather and offering deeper penetration into the target area.