Frozer!!!

iTrader: (11)

Looks like there was some interest on how to repair a broken or weakened headliner with fiberglass resin and cloth so heres some of the basics. I got my idea from this thread started by another member and I followed the same procedure for the most part. https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/nw-i...x-writeup.html

Materials:
2 or 3 cheap brushes
General purpose fiberglass resin
Sheet of fiberglass cloth
Acetone (optional)


First I pulled the headliner out. This is what I had to work with






The headliner was broken into two pieces. cracked at the opening for the dome light. The edges were frayed and separated. Each layer of cardboard was peeling apart.

Be careful when removing the headliner fabric. My headliner broke all the way in half so it was two separate pieces while I was removing it. After the old fabric is off I used a vacuum with a brush attachment to gently remove all the left over junk from the old fabric. I brushed/vacuumed over each side twice making sure to blow or sweep away all the stuff that fell off too so it wouldn't get in the way for the fiberglassing step.

The fiberglassing is the hardest and most important part of the repair. It started off by cutting all of the fiberglass cloth I would need. I only put the cloth on the parts that were cracked, badly frayed and damaged. Cut these pieces ahead of time because the resin dries fast after you mix it with the hardener. *Since my headliner was broken in half I had to even out the whole board by putting bricks under the center and some scrap wood at the front and back. Make sure the board is on an even surface while drying also so it does dry crooked or warped!*

First I mixed about a 1/4 of the bottle of resin with an equal amount of hardener and brushed it on. I layered the resin on thin on the areas that were not damaged and used it heavily on the edges and cloth areas. It helps to dab the resin ontop of the cloth instead of brushing across it. This way the cloth will stay put as to where you want it. Also make sure you are frequently mixing the resin. If you leave it too long it will start to clump up and look like crap when its applied I did two coats of this on one side and then let it dry overnight. Repeated this procedure for the other side but only applied one coat.

After the other side dries feel free to pickup the headliner without worries of it crumbling in your hands like it felt before. Heres how mine came out. I am planning on sanding the outside(the side where new cloth will be applied) to even it out and provide a good surface for it to adhere to.




More pictures to come after I buy the new headliner material next week. Hope this helps and answers some questions.

drknow90rs_ss@y

iTrader: (3)

That looks good. I'm gonna have to try it now.... Nice work!!!

92RSsleeper

iTrader: (6)

bump...any finished pics?

IROC212

iTrader: (1)

Nice job man!

buell

yeah i will be doing something very similar to this myself and actually did it to fix a leak i had in the t-tops.... new weather stripping and like a week and a half later and i get in my car after a storm one day to find a puddle of the center console.. well i cant just rip up the weatherstripping without tearing it so now im slowly appying more silican everytime it rains until i have no more leaks.... ahh! as much as i love the t-tops im thinking going with a hard top would of been a better idea... Oh yeah neway back on topic:
I'll post some pics on here sometime this year lol

87transGTA

you think you could just use bondo after you used fiberglass to make it smooth then paint it or put cloth cause i got that same problem with my headliner and its a t-top to and ive been lookin for diff ideas im leaning towards the fiberglass seems less complicated lol

Dani Mae Worm

Would this work with pieces that are torn off like from a dog scratching at it?