headliner ideas, lets discuss
Thread Starter
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 5,221
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From: Skiatook, OK
headliner ideas, lets discuss Ok, those of us who have had to mess with a headliner swap know how flemsy & easy to ruin the stock pieces are. And we know the ABS replacement is a little pricey.
So I was thinkin, how would a guy go about converting a stock headliner to a firmer headliner? Not just firmer on the backside to prevent damage when installing/uninstalling, but maybe even hard on the side facing the interior.
Could it be overlayed with a single layer of thin fiberglass strips & thin coat of resin? Or is there a resin like product that could be applied right onto the headliner to harden it good enough for primer/paint?
I'm curious b/c I like my modified headliner but wish it was a glossy black with the flames in it accented with some very mild white airbrushing. So it'd be great if I could create a hard surface while reinforcing the entire piece so it could be primered & painted with my raised flames in it.
So I was thinkin, how would a guy go about converting a stock headliner to a firmer headliner? Not just firmer on the backside to prevent damage when installing/uninstalling, but maybe even hard on the side facing the interior.
Could it be overlayed with a single layer of thin fiberglass strips & thin coat of resin? Or is there a resin like product that could be applied right onto the headliner to harden it good enough for primer/paint?
I'm curious b/c I like my modified headliner but wish it was a glossy black with the flames in it accented with some very mild white airbrushing. So it'd be great if I could create a hard surface while reinforcing the entire piece so it could be primered & painted with my raised flames in it.
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Joined: Sep 2002
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From: Clinton Twp. Michigan
I have been contemplating the exact resin coating idea. I bought a spare headliner for my car that i can re-cover in fabric if i screw up the current one. Having T-Tops and the passenger side is kinda damaged, but if the fiberglass resin idea works, then i wanted to paint the headliner either car color, or have some airbrushing done. Hopefully someone that has done it will chime in with pics and ideas.
Thread Starter
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 5,221
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From: Skiatook, OK
Come on guys, really only 2 of us are curious about how to make improvements to our stock cheapo headliners besides the usual lame plain ABS replacement or buying a new stock replacement? Where is the creativity, LOL
could you get a sheet of plastic and make your own??
you could use a heat gun to form it, and if you had a hard version of your flame pattern you could heat form that into the plastic as well. this option would be flexible and yet sturdy as well. they usually come textured on one side and smooth on the other.
i have been using it to make the air ducts for the vents on my front bumper, its super easy to mess with and just might do the trick, but im not sure how big of a sheet you can get of it. (i think it comes in sheets as big as 4x8 which should be more than enough.
you could use a heat gun to form it, and if you had a hard version of your flame pattern you could heat form that into the plastic as well. this option would be flexible and yet sturdy as well. they usually come textured on one side and smooth on the other.
i have been using it to make the air ducts for the vents on my front bumper, its super easy to mess with and just might do the trick, but im not sure how big of a sheet you can get of it. (i think it comes in sheets as big as 4x8 which should be more than enough.
Thread Starter
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 5,221
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From: Skiatook, OK
Well I found a place with the ABS headliners priced pretty decently after lookin around a little more. If I cant salvage my current one I might just grab one of those & have a buddy do some airbrush work on it.
Well I was curious about this 5 years ago so I went ahead and put it to the test. I took down the headliner, and seeing that the material is good enough to absorb the resin I layed the resin directly onto the headliner, I had no intentions of painting it I just needed it to be more sturdy so I could cover it in vinyl. When I was done laying the resin and it dries up it was about 3 times as heavy as it was before I started. I also realized that if I did want to paint it that would be a pretty big job I have seen it done but if you're thinkin about painting it be prepared to put a quite a few hours into it.
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Thread Starter
Joined: Jun 2005
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From: Skiatook, OK
Here is a link since I dont know of a sponsor selling headliner replacements
http://www.automotiveinteriors.com/a...c_firebird.htm
http://www.automotiveinteriors.com/a...c_firebird.htm
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Thread Starter
Joined: Jun 2005
Posts: 5,221
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From: Skiatook, OK
I'm not gonna waste my time if it has to be wrapped. Its already a custom headliner with a flame pattern raised in foam. If it comes out I'll just get one of those ABS ones, paint it Satin black & have some cool airbrush smoke or flames ghosted on it & be done.
ive been considering doing this as well, somehow i have a cigarette burn between the t tops... confusing to think how it got there of all places but its one of those things that i dont want to repair, but want to replace it
Joined: Aug 2007
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From: Turnin' Wrenches Infractions: 005
You can't load a headliner up with fiberglass bc its too heavy. Weight is very important when wanting the liner to not sag from the roof. Unless you plan on modifying how it mounts.
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I'm going to attempt to strengthen one i got from a junkyard tomorrow, ill post pics from the thread. A friend of mine who does this sort of thing, advised me to use pop sickle sticks with light resin... we will see. As with my car, i bought it without one.... the way its looking with this thing id be better off if I'd have bought a shell with interior and just put a motor in it....
A little off topic but I came across this and you guys interested me, I had an idea of trying to take my headliner up to the jaguars practice or some events to get some signatures on it butttt first and foremost they haven't produced a big name except mjd so I'll hold off on it and second if you do get the headliner to a paint and clear stage I would I might try to paint it body color or black and get some signature under clear, so long as they can win eventually. I'll be check in in on this and thanks.
