How to reglue hardtop headliner

[McGyver]

***I never took pictures of the final product, but it came out well and its been almost a year since i did it with no sagging. when i head back to my mom's house this coming weekend i will take pictures of it in her garage.***



So if you bought a hardtop and the headliner is sagging, you have probably been told that fixing it will cost roughly $600 for a new headliner and that the OEM one can’t be reglued because of the foam backing. Well the good news is that’s not true.

Supplies:
-2 cans of 3M High Tack spray glue $40
-News paper or brown paper bags
-Masking tape


Tools:
-Philips Head screw driver
-Vacuum
-Butter knife


Procedure:
1) Remove the “Oh shit” handles



2) Pull back the headliner from the front, sides, and rear window leaving the just the stuff on the pillars attached.






3) Vacuum thoroughly! You need to get all of the deteriorating foam off the liner and the top so the glue can stick. You can see the difference between vacuumed and how it was.






4) Here’s how it should look before you glue



5) Carefully mask off everything you don’t want glued or sticky



6)Apply the glue according the the manufacturer's directions





7) Having someone hold the headliner, work from the back to the front while moving from the inside to the edges.



8 ) Tuck the extra material under the black rubber on the sides and use the butter knife to push the fabric under the fiberglass part in the front. Work quickly to finish before the glue dries, but be careful you don’t bunch up the fabric or rip it with the knife.


9) Let it dry for as long as the 3M says to, then put the handles back on.



Suggestions:
-It will smell funky for a few days, so try to air out the car as much as possible without putting a lot of wind from highway driving on it until it is fully dried.
-make sure you don’t run out of glue too early. 1 can MAY do it, but if you run out like I did it will be a bitch getting more in the middle of the 30 minutes drying window
-you will have to press the fabric onto the top several times during the drying process to make sure it is on flat.
-Let the glue dry with the hardtop laying horizontal on its top.

[IminDiegoTriick]

thanks man! Im about to re do this in carbon fiber

[thereisnoyun]

you should have use this

http://www.duboisfabrics.com/product_p/glue%20dap.htm

3m stuff is not that great for headliner. esp with extreme heat. Its just not very thick adhesive. let me know how long it last.

[IronmanE30]

Nice thread, thanks! This was on the list of thing that I need to do this to the vert hardtop.

Cheers,

Jim

[///M42 sport]

I used the 3m stuff like 4yrs ago. Still intact.

[McGyver]

you should have use this

http://www.duboisfabrics.com/product_p/glue%20dap.htm

3m stuff is not that great for headliner. esp with extreme heat. Its just not very thick adhesive. let me know how long it last.

i read about that stuff, but i dont have contacts to get it and the 3m is readily available. it is however, VERY thick. especially after you use more than a whole can on the small space on a hard top (4'x6')

[RobertK]

i read about that stuff, but i dont have contacts to get it and the 3m is readily available. it is however, VERY thick. especially after you use more than a whole can on the small space on a hard top (4'x6')

I've heard the trick is to make sure you get the HIGH TACK adhesive because not all places carry it side by side with their regular spray adhesive which isn't good for dick.

[flyboyx]

you should have use this

http://www.duboisfabrics.com/product_p/glue%20dap.htm

3m stuff is not that great for headliner. esp with extreme heat. Its just not very thick adhesive. let me know how long it last.

mcgyver,

thank you for posting this. i just bought a vert with a removable hard top. on the drive from the midwest to texas the entire thing came loose and i was wondering what to do with it.

i ended up ordering the DAP product from the link posted above by thereisnoyun. well not exactly that one because i didn't see any need for 5 gallons of adhesive. i purchased the quart can and it cost about 35.00 with shipping. i elected not to get the spray cans because i think i can do a better job by applying the adhesive with a roller. i will let you know how it turns out.

[IronmanE30]

mcgyver,

thank you for posting this. i just bought a vert with a removable hard top. on the drive from the midwest to texas the entire thing came loose and i was wondering what to do with it.

i ended up ordering the DAP product from the link posted above by thereisnoyun. well not exactly that one because i didn't see any need for 5 gallons of adhesive. i purchased the quart can and it cost about 35.00 with shipping. i elected not to get the spray cans because i think i can do a better job by applying the adhesive with a roller. i will let you know how it turns out.

I am getting ready to do mine also. Please take some pictures of your process and let us know how you like the roll on adheasive and any other tricks that you may figure out while you are doing yours. This is a great thread and when I do mine I will also post comments and pictures.

Cheers,

Jim

[thereisnoyun]

mcgyver,

thank you for posting this. i just bought a vert with a removable hard top. on the drive from the midwest to texas the entire thing came loose and i was wondering what to do with it.

i ended up ordering the DAP product from the link posted above by thereisnoyun. well not exactly that one because i didn't see any need for 5 gallons of adhesive. i purchased the quart can and it cost about 35.00 with shipping. i elected not to get the spray cans because i think i can do a better job by applying the adhesive with a roller. i will let you know how it turns out.

guys, I've done upholstery for 2 years now. I'm not speaking out of my ass, nor am I a super pro, since I'm only a season weekend veteran. When I say the can stuff is not thick, i've done my homework and used both products before. Trust me, when I say thick and density and weight, the 3m spray can simply doesn't deliver, its mostly aerosol.

Its like saying spraying paint with a rattle can is the same as the spray gun in a body shop. Its just not "professional durability"

In addition, DO NOT ROLL IT IF YOU CAN HELP IT. It will be extremely messy, and you will end up using alot more glue rolling, and it doesnt work nearly as well as spraying it. As for glue spraying any junk gun can do the job, anything is better than rolling. Go to harbor freight get a cheapy or even home depot.

Also for the DAP product, wait like 15 min in mild temp before applying, if you put your hand on it and its liquidy do not apply anything, it must be tacky. WHy you ask, because if its still liquidy you will push it around and create glue globs underneath. Aside from puffing up from the chemical trying to aerate.

Both side must be very tacky to nearly dry before putting together and you really only have one chance if you are using the old paper thing fabric that comes OEM, any attempt to pull them off with rip it with the strength of hte bond on DAP landou top glues.

[thereisnoyun]

oh and I forgot, NEWBIE on DAPS, STIR THE FING A out of hte can. All the crap on the bottom need to be mixed throughly, they sink to hte bottom alot.

[flyboyx]

I am getting ready to do mine also. Please take some pictures of your process and let us know how you like the roll on adheasive and any other tricks that you may figure out while you are doing yours. This is a great thread and when I do mine I will also post comments and pictures.

Cheers,

Jim

i will. if you want the product mentioned above, go to that link posted and give them a call during normal business hours. they sell it in spray and in a quart can. i think the spray was about 10 bucks each. the lady i talked to on the phone was very nice and helpful.

guys, I've done upholstery for 2 years now. I'm not speaking out of my ass, nor am I a super pro, since I'm only a season weekend veteran. When I say the can stuff is not thick, i've done my homework and used both products before. Trust me, when I say thick and density and weight, the 3m spray can simply doesn't deliver, its mostly aerosol.

Its like saying spraying paint with a rattle can is the same as the spray gun in a body shop. Its just not "professional durability"

In addition, DO NOT ROLL IT IF YOU CAN HELP IT. It will be extremely messy, and you will end up using alot more glue rolling, and it doesnt work nearly as well as spraying it. As for glue spraying any junk gun can do the job, anything is better than rolling. Go to harbor freight get a cheapy or even home depot.

Also for the DAP product, wait like 15 min in mild temp before applying, if you put your hand on it and its liquidy do not apply anything, it must be tacky. WHy you ask, because if its still liquidy you will push it around and create glue globs underneath. Aside from puffing up from the chemical trying to aerate.

Both side must be very tacky to nearly dry before putting together and you really only have one chance if you are using the old paper thing fabric that comes OEM, any attempt to pull them off with rip it with the strength of hte bond on DAP landou top glues.

thank you for the advice. i will take it to heart.

[handysmurf59]

Tried something very similar to this with the same adhesive and it fell down a couple weeks later. Just redid the entire top to suit my needs. A nice automotive carpet looks pretty good up there anyway.