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Anyone done it? I have searched on the site and find plenty of threads about recovering one,but I'm talking about make it one. My car doesn't have one at all. And I can't find one locally. I'm wondering what you would use to make one? MDF,very stiff cardboard ???? Some one throw me some ideas please.
Anyone done it? I have searched on the site and find plenty of threads about recovering one,but I'm talking about make it one. My car doesn't have one at all. And I can't find one locally. I'm wondering what you would use to make one? MDF,very stiff cardboard ???? Some one throw me some ideas please.
Just buy a pre-covered ABS headliner, since the cost of materials to make your own will most likely equal or exceed the cost of just buying one. There are lots of places to get them online.
I don't see how 1 sheet of MDF or foam board or comparable material would be more then 25-40$ a sheet plus fabric would be over 165$ which is the cheapest I can find a new headliner for. I'm looking to make one. So still looking for ideas for base material on the liner.
I agree with FBFAN. With the resin, materials and tools, it'll cost about the same. However, it would be cool to see it done and projects are way more fun. I'd make a cardboard replicate and go from there. Fiberglass would be amazing if you could pull that off. There a bunch of ways to do it, carpet, fiberglass, plastic, heavy cardboard, mdf.
I'm still working on my fiberglass top headliner. It's a very challenging shape to make a good mould of, but I'm slowly getting there.
The first challenge is finding a good original to make a mould from. I had one that one just broken on one corner. I finished mould 1.0 and popped out a complete headliner, but the one corner didn't come out the right shape so I'm reworking it. I'm a real perfectionist so I also decided I wanted to modify the shape slightly so it will look better uncovered. The original headliner shape relies on the fabric around the edges to make it look decent from above. I really want these to look good in bare carbon fiber.
If you just want to make a one off you can use cardboard or foam to build it up then coat with fiberglass and dig out the foam support. This method will take a ton of sanding and resanding to get it to look good, but hey, so does making a mould from a crappy paper headliner. easiest way to make a one off headliner with no original plug is to have the body upside down or vaccum bag it directly to the roof. This is definitely the messiest way to do it.
My dad has been in the car business his whole life. He told me how crazy I was to have spent 350.00 on the headliner kit I bought for mine (It included the sunvisors and sail panels) and told me that his lot gets hit up at least once a week with guys who go around and repair, and replace headliners for 35.00 to 75.00. 75.00 being for a replacement. He said they ussually take less than an hour and do good work. So maybe check around some used car lots and get the buisness cards from those guys would also be an option.
I'm still working on my fiberglass top headliner. It's a very challenging shape to make a good mould of, but I'm slowly getting there.
The first challenge is finding a good original to make a mould from. I had one that one just broken on one corner. I finished mould 1.0 and popped out a complete headliner, but the one corner didn't come out the right shape so I'm reworking it. I'm a real perfectionist so I also decided I wanted to modify the shape slightly so it will look better uncovered. The original headliner shape relies on the fabric around the edges to make it look decent from above. I really want these to look good in bare carbon fiber.
If you just want to make a one off you can use cardboard or foam to build it up then coat with fiberglass and dig out the foam support. This method will take a ton of sanding and resanding to get it to look good, but hey, so does making a mould from a crappy paper headliner. easiest way to make a one off headliner with no original plug is to have the body upside down or vaccum bag it directly to the roof. This is definitely the messiest way to do it.
My dad has been in the car business his whole life. He told me how crazy I was to have spent 350.00 on the headliner kit I bought for mine (It included the sunvisors and sail panels) and told me that his lot gets hit up at least once a week with guys who go around and repair, and replace headliners for 35.00 to 75.00. 75.00 being for a replacement. He said they ussually take less than an hour and do good work. So maybe check around some used car lots and get the buisness cards from those guys would also be an option.
This is true for many older cars , Don, but outdated.
On older cars the headliners were much more basic, sometimes just cardboard and cloth held up with bows. On many you didn't even have to pull any interior panels to remove.
Once cars went to molded headliner boards and more roof equipment like consoles and roof retractors, they became much more difficult to remove and nearly impossible to reproduce, especially without an original to copy.
Many are still pretty simple to recover (like our hardtop cars) but they are now always covered or supported by interior plastics. Usually takes more time to remove and reinstall than the actual headliner work. Shops who rush it will break all the mounting clips and double side tape them back which eventually fails and always rattles. The shop I used to work at charged about $125 for a regular headliner recover, but additional labor for the many audis we worked on because of the panel work. I don't think that guy would have even attempted making a new molded headliner from scratch.
The third gen t top headliners are a very complex shape that has to be spot on to line up with retractors , panels, and sun visors. No way any traveling headliner guy would even attempt it.
fitting the test piece:
note how many panels it has to line up with just at this corner. also not well wetted out since i didn't want to waste resin on the test part.
ill make some basic fiberglass ones like the test part for those that want to cover with fabric or paint, but the main goal is to get some sharp looking carbon fiber or the exotic color materials like kevlar. most cars you can only see the headliner from the seats, but on a top car, everyone can see it all around the car.
This is true for many older cars , Don, but outdated.
Okay, you just described my pops....old and outdated...lol
I have done a few recovers myself, but never attempted to make a moulding. ABS is simple to recover, or at least I found that it was. I repaired an original once and that was a mess and not worth doing as it was glorified cardboard straight from the factory and destined to fail even when new. Didnt make sense to me either when he said guys go around the lots replacing them. The only thing I can figure is that they order an ABS mould and work from there. 75.00 though has me thinking his memory is stuck in 1972...lol
I just went ahead and bought the kit this time around as Im getting older and can afford it more than I could when I was a kid running around in a 3rd Gen Camaro without two nickels to rub together. Your mould is sure coming out professional looking. Look forward to seeing the finished product! I am satisfied with the Hawks headliner kit, but it isnt perfect. They get them from ACME and the ABS plastic moulding on mine doesnt fit just right if inspected too closely...there is about a 3/4 inch gap between the headliner and the roof rail by the windsheild. Its hardly noticible because its a black headliner on a black car. Any other color car and it wouldnt look so great. I hope yours are better and you sell a ton of them. We need good quality replacement parts out there!
Yes, none of the abs headliners fit perfectly because they used the backside of the headliners as a mold instead of making a real one. That means the dimensions of the final product are a little off. The hard top isn't even the same shape since the backside has a reinforcing ridge in it.
Trying to get this one done as fast as I can, I do hope to sell a lot of them and my car needs one!
Yes, I'm at least two years older...��
I was able to get a little further with this, made some corrections to the mold.
I have had a lot of health issues this last year and a new job is keeping me busy but I do plan on getting another test part out sometime this month.
I will definitely let you guys know when I get there.
05-17-2015, 06:21 PM
easiest way to make a one off headliner with no original plug is to have the body upside down or vaccum bag it directly to the roof. This is definitely the messiest way to do it. 
