Idea on cost for headlining replacement?

thestable

thestable

Member
My headliner is starting to come away on the rear pillars, not terribly but enough to bother me. The quick fix would be to try some fabric adhesive, but I think from reading about the foam, nothing seems to stick and the best thing to do is have it re-done.

Any ideas of who to speak to about this, how much it costs? and if there is a reasonable approach to this? I feel the car has been used as a workhorse for a good few years now so it's starting to get tired, but with a Freelander 2 being gifted to me in the near future my little A2 could soon be getting some sorting out and moved to light duties less Photography studio moving van.
 
@Kleynie sorted mine...very professional job which includes the removal and refit of the headliner. There may be other refurbishers local to you but perhaps not as knowleagable when it comes to taking apart the A2 interior. 👍
 
Replacing the headliner is the long term answer. But it is completely possible if great care is taken to reactivate the existing glue. This is done using a can of brake cleaner to melt the glue and then the material is stretched and smoothed back into place wrapping over the edge.Work the material from the good end to the sagging edge one area at a time. Once the bake cleaner dries there is no residue or stain unlike applying more glue which can easily bleed through and stain.

Wear eye protection and a mask as it is nasty stuff and do not get it on any plastics as it will change their colour.

Some on here have replaced their headliner and can probably give you a ball park figure of the costs and time involved. Are you looking at doing it yourself of having someone do it for you?
 
audifan said:
Replacing the headliner is the long term answer. But it is completely possible if great care is taken to reactivate the existing glue. This is done using a can of brake cleaner to melt the glue and then the material is stretched and smoothed back into place wrapping over the edge.Work the material from the good end to the sagging edge one area at a time. Once the bake cleaner dries there is no residue or stain unlike applying more glue which can easily bleed through and stain.

Wear eye protection and a mask as it is nasty stuff and do not get it on any plastics as it will change their colour.

Some on here have replaced their headliner and can probably give you a ball park figure of the costs and time involved. Are you looking at doing it yourself of having someone do it for you?
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DIY would be a bit too much for me as I fear I would stuff it up. It's mainly coming away in a corner where I put something too big in the car and pulled it a bit. Like a thread being pulled it's getting worse now left untouched
 
I replaced mine and made a "How To" for removing and refitting. I then cleaned off all the old glue (messy day's work) and then got it professionally recovered. See:

How-to: Removing & Reinstalling the Headliner [Headlining]

How-to: Removing & Reinstalling the Headliner [Headlining] This how-to describes how I removed and reinstalled my headlining. It includes part removal of some of the boot trims. It covers the removal of the fabric and glue but not recovering. The headlining tends to fall down when the A2 is...
www.a2oc.net www.a2oc.net

Removing, cleaning and refitting is straightforward with some basic small sockets and screwdriver bits and plastic scrapers.

The company was South West Auto Trimming in Calne Wiltshire and cost £192 inc. vat. Note they were slow and took about 6 weeks but the outcome was pretty good. See photos in How To. I also insulated the ceiling.
 
Some time ago I had this problem with "Battersea" in the front. Major panic ensued followed by a really stupid idea. Take a Prit stick and carefully apply onto the brown stuff under the fabric leave for a moment and then ease fabric back into place.

Two years down the road and it's still good and there is no sign of it.
 
Alan_uk said:
I replaced mine and made a "How To" for removing and refitting. I then cleaned off all the old glue (messy day's work) and then got it professionally recovered. See:

How-to: Removing & Reinstalling the Headliner [Headlining]

How-to: Removing & Reinstalling the Headliner [Headlining] This how-to describes how I removed and reinstalled my headlining. It includes part removal of some of the boot trims. It covers the removal of the fabric and glue but not recovering. The headlining tends to fall down when the A2 is...
www.a2oc.net www.a2oc.net

Removing, cleaning and refitting is straightforward with some basic small sockets and screwdriver bits and plastic scrapers.

The company was South West Auto Trimming in Calne Wiltshire and cost £192 inc. vat. Note they were slow and took about 6 weeks but the outcome was pretty good. See photos in How To. I also insulated the ceiling.
Click to expand...
Blimey I love this forum!! So details!! thanks so much!
 
Brake cleaner.
Please use non permiable gloves when using it.
It can & will go through your skin and build up in one of your major organs.
You can look up info in the MSDS Material Safety Data Sheets.
 
So, on Jelly, I had a couple 9f places sagging. Bit the bullet, removed the headlining carefully, then the fun started!. The lining was removed, leaving a grungy orange foam covering the biscuit. This needs to be removed, and the biscuit cleaned thoroughly with isopropyl alcohol. The centre section was removed with a dremel, to cut through the glue. Beware, when it flies up its hot and sticks like .... to a blanket, usually on any bare skin!
Then recovered each section individually. Finally replace the centre section and secured with several small tubes of superglue.
Refit in the car, and then cover the A B and C pillar trims to match.
I used a spray contact adhesive, bit make sure 1st time as its unforgiving!
See final pics. 3 years on and still as good as new.
0757795e545475592eacecce63a96294.jpg
b6a61f86940e166c6e8c7d37bdfd3909.jpg
e0e4cf5544966a090a64b131b9e419ba.jpg


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To get back to the original question, materials n glue cost about £150. Plus gawd knows how much time!

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Last edited:
ecoangel said:
3mm backing foam? Supplier? thanks
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Foam looks about 1.5/2mm, and the material about 1mm.
Supplied by AS-TRIM
www.as-trim.co.uk
Also got the Isopropyl Alcohol and Adhesive from them. Contact Adhesive is high temp stuff in aerosols and sticks like hell. Get it right first time.
I lined the roof with self adhesive sound deadening mat before replacing the headliner. Not sure how much effect it has on car noise, but reduces heavy rain noise!

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If retrimming the headlining, are there any extra considerations to take into account if a car is fitted with side curtain airbags? As the airbag appears to emerge from between the headlining and the chassis rails, is it fair to assume no impact provided the headliner is reattached to factory specs?


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sailesh said:
If retrimming the headlining, are there any extra considerations to take into account if a car is fitted with side curtain airbags? As the airbag appears to emerge from between the headlining and the chassis rails, is it fair to assume no impact provided the headliner is reattached to factory specs?


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Click to expand...
If the B pillar covering is the same as standard, then I would think the new material would not hinder their operation. I have removed the original covering on all panels I have recovered.
That said its not a common option.

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sailesh said:
If retrimming the headlining, are there any extra considerations to take into account if a car is fitted with side curtain airbags? As the airbag appears to emerge from between the headlining and the chassis rails, is it fair to assume no impact provided the headliner is reattached to factory specs?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Evening Sailesh,

Having reupholstered headlinings in both SideGuard and non-SideGuard A2s, I can confirm that there is no difference to the procedure.

The headlining biscuit comes out, is reupholstered and refitted the very same way as the biscuit is exactly the same regardless of SideGuard or not. The only difference between the headlining biscuits is whether or not the vehicle is OSS equipped.

Hope this helps and you get your cabin looking perfect.

Kind regards,

Tom
 
On the A2 non OSS headliner the centre oblong piece is that literally just glued onto the main board as a feature? DO you have to remove it to fit material then gliuue it back in or do you just cover the whole thing in one go and tuck the headlining around it?
 
CrispyEdd said:
On the A2 non OSS headliner the centre oblong piece is that literally just glued onto the main board as a feature? DO you have to remove it to fit material then gliuue it back in or do you just cover the whole thing in one go and tuck the headlining around it?
Click to expand...
The centre section is hot glued to the outer section after both have been covered. I guess its not essential to part the sections, but with the glue I used I cannot see it being possible to get a neat job in the dip where they join.
If you want to use one piece of material, then maybe best to fill the joint with expanding foam, smooth off, then apply the material.

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