Headliner Replacement

[needmovies]

Hi Guys. First of all, I'd like to apologize in advance for this long post. The headliner in the back in my 2003 A4 is starting to sag pretty bad. I'm thinking about getting it replaced and I was wondering if I could get some advice.


Here's a couple questions I have in mind:
1. Should I get it fixed by a pro, or should I DIY? - I have minimal DIY experience, so pro would probably look nicer (less chance of breaking trim clips too). Although I don't have a spare car for when the car is in the shop, so a DIY on a weekend seems like it would be ok too. (I saw a great DIY guide too somewhere)

2. If I DIY, how bad do you guys think it'll be? Will it be something that a DIY noob would be able to figure out? Anyone experience doing this?

3. How much should I expect to pay when getting it done by a pro? by the dealer? non-dealer? (labor/parts)

4. Any one know of a good place to buy OEM (or OEM looking) fabric? - I'm only planning on replacing the top and want it to still match the pillars.

5. If OEM fabric is impossible to get (or very expensive), what would be a good affordable "upgrade"? - I'm thinking of getting the top and the pillars replaced with black fabric since I have black interior, but then I'd have to either paint the handles/dome lights/trim or buy prepainted black ones

6. If I decided to paint the plastic trim parts (if I went with black fabric), any suggestions for a good paint to use? What about the symbols on the dome lights and sunroof control? Any suggestions on how to do that? (stickers or stencils or something?)



Again, sorry for the long post. I've only had this car for one year, and this is the first major repair for this car so far so I'd like to get it done right while not spending too much.

Thanks

[agentsmith988]

I'm actually waiting on a headliner to be arrive from vwparts4sale.com via Greyhound right now (they take forever to ship, but it was included in the price of the headliner - which I got for $250).

The swap looks pretty straightforward, just a lot of interior parts to remove. I'm going to reference this DIY:
http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...r-removal-swap

I called the dealer to get a quote on a new headliner and got somewhere between $600-900 for just the part itself. Went to a couple local upholstery shops and got quoted upwards of $600 to have it pulled and re-wrapped (although I've read of other people in other areas getting better deals... so it's still worth you checking in to).

The black interior was available on the S4, so if you could find one being parted out, that would be your best bet if you wanted to make the change. However, I am yet to see anyone successfully repaint their plastic trim pieces and look close to acceptable in my book.

When I tear the old one out I'm going to tear the crapped up fabric off my old headliner and try re-wrapping with something like plaid fabric just for kicks with the help of some 3M Super 90

[shuebox]

I had mine wrapped for $120 locally and installed myself. While I had the parts out I painted everything black to match the new headliner as well. Its a pain to get it back on but def worth it when you're done!!

[igo4uga0586]

I got mine done at a local shop for $100 with a 9/10 match to the OEM fabric

[ShogunR32]

I got mine done at a local shop for $100 with a 9/10 match to the OEM fabric

Now thats the best price I've heard of. Right now I have a "hybrid" headliner setup. The bottom is OEM s4 black(pillars etc) with black s4 handles/domelight/visors. The only part I need to replace/wrap is the top center/sunroof. Im thinking about doing it in a dark red suede.

[needmovies]

I'm actually waiting on a headliner to be arrive from vwparts4sale.com via Greyhound right now (they take forever to ship, but it was included in the price of the headliner - which I got for $250).

The swap looks pretty straightforward, just a lot of interior parts to remove. I'm going to reference this DIY:
http://www.audizine.com/forum/showth...r-removal-swap

I called the dealer to get a quote on a new headliner and got somewhere between $600-900 for just the part itself. Went to a couple local upholstery shops and got quoted upwards of $600 to have it pulled and re-wrapped (although I've read of other people in other areas getting better deals... so it's still worth you checking in to).

The black interior was available on the S4, so if you could find one being parted out, that would be your best bet if you wanted to make the change. However, I am yet to see anyone successfully repaint their plastic trim pieces and look close to acceptable in my book.

When I tear the old one out I'm going to tear the crapped up fabric off my old headliner and try re-wrapping with something like plaid fabric just for kicks with the help of some 3M Super 90

wow $250 just for the fabric. is that OEM (recycled OEM I guess based on the site). I've been reading around the other day and saw a couple of posts saying they got labor + parts for around $250, although they probably weren't OEM

that's nice DIY btw, I was reading that the other day and it gave me the idea of doing it myself :D

I had mine wrapped for $120 locally and installed myself. While I had the parts out I painted everything black to match the new headliner as well. Its a pain to get it back on but def worth it when you're done!!

that's not a bad idea either. one of my worries about diy is wrapping the fabric on the board and getting wrinkles/bubbles in it. plus, this would let me use my car while they work on it

just wondering though, what paint did you use. and also, how did you handle the symbols on the buttons for the lights/sunroof control (assuming you painted them as well)?

and this is probably asking to much but I was wondering if I could bother you for some pics of the painted pieces

I got mine done at a local shop for $100 with a 9/10 match to the OEM fabric

nice deal, is that remove/install + wrapping + materials? just curious as well, what's the 1/10 for? color a bit off? texture?




thanks for the tips guys, lots of great info on here so far

[Daecarus]

The price I was quoted to change my headliner to black was $350. It's not an OEM material but it looked pretty high quality. Changing out the grey pieces to plastic will probably require an S4 though so I'm waiting...

[needmovies]

The price I was quoted to change my headliner to black was $350. It's not an OEM material but it looked pretty high quality. Changing out the grey pieces to plastic will probably require an S4 though so I'm waiting...

does the $350 include the materials/fabric? also is that just for the roof or for the pillars as well?

sorry for the noob question but, would the ALL S4 pieces fit in the A4? I'm guessing handles, visors, and misc trims would fit ok. I'm wondering if the sunroof controls and wiring would fit nicely too without too much modding


Also another noob question, I've read a lot about people using S4 headliners in the A4. Are they using just the fabric and gluing this to foam + a4 headliner board? Or are they using the whole S4 board+foam+fabric?

I was just browsing the classified and found a couple guys parting out their S4, got me really really interested to get my interior done in all black

[agentsmith988]

wow $250 just for the fabric. is that OEM (recycled OEM I guess based on the site). I've been reading around the other day and saw a couple of posts saying they got labor + parts for around $250, although they probably weren't OEM

Nah, it was $250 for the rigid backing wrapped in the OEM fabric (the entire component was just pulled from another totaled vehicle). I wanted it to just be a simple and straightforward swap out.

From what I've experimented with, it looks like a ton of elbow grease to get the old foam adhesive off the headliner to get some new fabric on there. I'd have to pull it all off as it's a deteriorated mess... So I'll swap them out, and save the cleaning/re-wrap of my current one for an imaginary day in the future that I actually have time.

[needmovies]

Nah, it was $250 for the rigid backing wrapped in the OEM fabric (the entire component was just pulled from another totaled vehicle). I wanted it to just be a simple and straightforward swap out.

From what I've experimented with, it looks like a ton of elbow grease to get the old foam adhesive off the headliner to get some new fabric on there. I'd have to pull it all off as it's a deteriorated mess... So I'll swap them out, and save the cleaning/re-wrap of my current one for an imaginary day in the future that I actually have time.

nice. I'd guess it's probably the shipping that bloated the price up that much

[Daecarus]

does the $350 include the materials/fabric? also is that just for the roof or for the pillars as well?

sorry for the noob question but, would the ALL S4 pieces fit in the A4? I'm guessing handles, visors, and misc trims would fit ok. I'm wondering if the sunroof controls and wiring would fit nicely too without too much modding


Also another noob question, I've read a lot about people using S4 headliners in the A4. Are they using just the fabric and gluing this to foam + a4 headliner board? Or are they using the whole S4 board+foam+fabric?

I was just browsing the classified and found a couple guys parting out their S4, got me really really interested to get my interior done in all black

I haven't done it yet so I can't answer in great detail, but I can tell you that the shop told me most of the money was for labor and that the materials themselves were pretty cheap. Just what I was told.

[igo4uga0586]

wow $250 just for the fabric. is that OEM (recycled OEM I guess based on the site). I've been reading around the other day and saw a couple of posts saying they got labor + parts for around $250, although they probably weren't OEM

that's nice DIY btw, I was reading that the other day and it gave me the idea of doing it myself :D




that's not a bad idea either. one of my worries about diy is wrapping the fabric on the board and getting wrinkles/bubbles in it. plus, this would let me use my car while they work on it

just wondering though, what paint did you use. and also, how did you handle the symbols on the buttons for the lights/sunroof control (assuming you painted them as well)?

and this is probably asking to much but I was wondering if I could bother you for some pics of the painted pieces





nice deal, is that remove/install + wrapping + materials? just curious as well, what's the 1/10 for? color a bit off? texture?




thanks for the tips guys, lots of great info on here so far

The 1/10 is because the material is a little more.... soft. If you press on the headliner it feels different than than the original headliner, and the pillars. But for $100 bucks I cannot complain.

[foley803]

I paid $70 in materials including headliner fabric and glue.



SunBriteII SB2334 Light Grey was a perfect match for my headliner material.

Install is fairly tricky, you have to be quick and accurate with the glue, and if it's hot outside when you're doing the wrap that 30 min tack time on the can of glue is bullshit; 60 seconds tops, then it's cemented to the board.

Mine came out good until I got to the front of the board, I got really frustrated with the rate at which the glue started drying, and I lost all concentration, eventually leading to me cutting the corners a little too short around the sunroof opening. It still pisses me off every time I look at the little slits around the opening. I may do it again someday, but it looks pretty good for a white guy trying to do upholstery.

Also make sure you keep the board clean and your hands cleaner, you'll want a wet rag around to clean your hands periodically. Don't push on the fabric either, or you'll have divots. Instead, just barely lay your hand across the fabric to ensure that it makes contact with the board. The glue does the rest.

If you plan to tackle this yourself, good luck, it's not that hard if you're prepared. I hope you like those little red foam bits though, because they will be absofuckinglutely everywhere by the time you're done. In your dash, in your hair, under the floor mats, stuck to your paint, stuck to body hair, even in your Cheerios.

[needmovies]

I haven't done it yet so I can't answer in great detail, but I can tell you that the shop told me most of the money was for labor and that the materials themselves were pretty cheap. Just what I was told.

I figured that's how the cost is going to go, fabric and foam is almost always easily available..

Maybe I'll go with shuebox's route, I'll disable the trims my self and get the shop to wrap. Shop labor shouldn't be too bad with this, I'm thinking 1 person 1 hour should do the trick

The 1/10 is because the material is a little more.... soft. If you press on the headliner it feels different than than the original headliner, and the pillars. But for $100 bucks I cannot complain.

that's not too bad, I don't touch the roof that much anyways :D

I paid $70 in materials including headliner fabric and glue.



SunBriteII SB2334 Light Grey was a perfect match for my headliner material.

Install is fairly tricky, you have to be quick and accurate with the glue, and if it's hot outside when you're doing the wrap that 30 min tack time on the can of glue is bullshit; 60 seconds tops, then it's cemented to the board.

Mine came out good until I got to the front of the board, I got really frustrated with the rate at which the glue started drying, and I lost all concentration, eventually leading to me cutting the corners a little too short around the sunroof opening. It still pisses me off every time I look at the little slits around the opening. I may do it again someday, but it looks pretty good for a white guy trying to do upholstery.

Also make sure you keep the board clean and your hands cleaner, you'll want a wet rag around to clean your hands periodically. Don't push on the fabric either, or you'll have divots. Instead, just barely lay your hand across the fabric to ensure that it makes contact with the board. The glue does the rest.

If you plan to tackle this yourself, good luck, it's not that hard if you're prepared. I hope you like those little red foam bits though, because they will be absofuckinglutely everywhere by the time you're done. In your dash, in your hair, under the floor mats, stuck to your paint, stuck to body hair, even in your Cheerios.

dude props for that fabric model number, you just made my search way shorter that I thought it was gonna be. thanks

[jc_333]

I finally found time to remove my headliner which was the easy part as removing all the tiny pieces of sticky orange foam took forever. The headliner is still pretty tact from the foam and I cant use any cleaner on the cardboard material. How clean must one get the headliner before applying new material to it?

I will use Dan Tack 2028 spray which is high temp glue and should hopefully last and avoid future sag. I would like to ask is it a must to use material with foam backing or can one go with alcantara?


Thanks!
J

[ingolstadta4]

keep an eye out on part outs. last year i picked up a b6 s4 black headliner assembly with slider for $100

[jc_333]

Finally had a local shop wrap the headliner and installed it back myself!

Feels great to have a normal headliner back in the car and not brushing against your head!

J