Headliner issue, advice needed.

[luvsspeed]

I haven't driven the S in a few weeks. I go to drive it today and see this (makes me feel like I'm driving an old caddy or buick). It has been parked in a covered car port, so it hasn't seen any water. What are the chances that I can (1) inject adhesive back between the headliner and the fabric, to make an un-noticeable repair. (2) Have a upholstery repair it or am I stuck with option (3) buy a new headliner and install it?

[audi49]

An upholsterer should be able to redo you headliner, to match (or closely match) original fabric... probably about $300.
Have you checked the fabric closely for any water stains from past leaks?

[luvsspeed]

An upholsterer should be able to redo you headliner, to match (or closely match) original fabric... probably about $300.
Have you checked the fabric closely for any water stains from past leaks?

Last time I checked back in jan I didn't see any, and it hasn't really seen any rain since then. However it has been humid.

[RPMtech147]

If you have patience, you can repair it in the car.


Get a giant can of Spray adhesive, the Strongest HOLD Possible and it MUST have a "Straw" on the bottle. I recommend using a Tiny roller like this.

Pull the rear dome lamp assy and the fabric should come down. About 80% of the glue can be easily sprayed into the headliner from this hole. The real trick here is patience. You need a lot of glue, but not so much that it comes through the fabric too much. Do small areas at a time. Id say 45degree spreads with your middle being the hole from the dome lamp....

YOU MUST LET THE GLUE DRY FOR ~15 MINUTES BEFORE APPLYING PRESSURE!! If you don't the glue will not be tacky enough and you'll have really bad sagging spots.

For the areas that I was not able to get sufficiant glue I cut a tiny slit into the headliner so I could pass the STRAW through the hole. You cant see the slit, I promise.

In the rear corners there's parts that are too 'deep' and the fabric wont hold. I used two small tors srews to fashen them up. Don't drill a f*cking hole your roof please.

[luvsspeed]

If you have patience, you can repair it in the car.


Get a giant can of Spray adhesive, the Strongest HOLD Possible and it MUST have a "Straw" on the bottle. I recommend using a Tiny roller like this.

Pull the rear dome lamp assy and the fabric should come down. About 80% of the glue can be easily sprayed into the headliner from this hole. The real trick here is patience. You need a lot of glue, but not so much that it comes through the fabric too much. Do small areas at a time. Id say 45degree spreads with your middle being the hole from the dome lamp....

YOU MUST LET THE GLUE DRY FOR ~15 MINUTES BEFORE APPLYING PRESSURE!! If you don't the glue will not be tacky enough and you'll have really bad sagging spots.

For the areas that I was not able to get sufficiant glue I cut a tiny slit into the headliner so I could pass the STRAW through the hole. You cant see the slit, I promise.

In the rear corners there's parts that are too 'deep' and the fabric wont hold. I used two small tors srews to fashen them up. Don't drill a f*cking hole your roof please.

Thanks thats the answer I was looking for... Any brand you recommend?

[luvsspeed]

Ok well I got some 3m headliner adhesive, but with no straw. I thought I might just tackle taking out the headliner and ran into an issue. I got all the trim off and its free all the way around, but I can't get it to budge around the center area. Is there something I'm missing? Also on another note as soon as took the trim off of the upper rear glass, the headliner fabric just fell rite down. The adhesive feels like wet oatmeal. Mind you the car hasn't seen rain in months, but it has been humid as hell. What are the chances that an a upholstery shop can repair the headliner without removing it?

[Concavitor]

They are impossibly difficult to repair unless you have mad skills. Save yourself the pain and just get a new headliner. If you do it yourself is is almost certainly not going to look good.

Headliners fail due to dry rot of the adhesive foam. Once that has happened, even if you scrape the foam from the backer, the foam is also on the fabric and that portion is next to impossible to clean off. That right there will prevent new adhesive from bonding well.

Think of those areas that are sagging as dead like passed-away dead.

[luvsspeed]

They are impossibly difficult to repair unless you have mad skills. Save yourself the pain and just get a new headliner. If you do it yourself is is almost certainly not going to look good.

Headliners fail due to dry rot of the adhesive foam. Once that has happened, even if you scrape the foam from the backer, the foam is also on the fabric and that portion is next to impossible to clean off. That right there will prevent new adhesive from bonding well.

Think of those areas that are sagging as dead like passed-away dead.

Doesn't feel like mine failed due to that.. the adhesive feels wet. I rather pay to have it redone as opposed to paying $700+ for a new one, unless someone knows where to get them from cheaper?

[Concavitor]

I tried this and it results in a noticeably less than perfect job no matter how good you do it. The problem is the headliner fabric is stretched when applied and when you go to glue it back it will not go back all the way. Also, the glue may soak through the thin fabric and look like hell in spots unless you spray it onto the backing PERFECTLY. The ONLY adhesive you should use for this is 3M Headliner Repair. DO NOT USE something else like some type of strong spray adhesive!!! IT MUST be formulated for headliner fabric or staining will occur. DO NOT spray the back of the fabric if you attempt this. When you go to mask everything off if you do an in-car spot repair, mask the back of the fabric you are re-applying. 90% of the time of this job is masking. Take time to do that and do it perfectly. DO NOT USE ROLLERS... use your dry clean hands to gently roll back the fabric onto the glue. A roller is for laminates and absolutely flat surfaces. Here is the link to the headliner adhesive:

http://www.amazon.com/3M-38808-Headl...liner+adhesive

The 3M can comes with excellent instructions. Follow them to the letter. Take your time. This is very tricky.

[luvsspeed]

I tried this and it results in a noticeably less than perfect job no matter how good you do it. The problem is the headliner fabric is stretched when applied and when you go to glue it back it will not go back all the way. Also, the glue may soak through the thin fabric and look like hell in spots unless you spray it onto the backing PERFECTLY. The ONLY adhesive you should use for this is 3M Headliner Repair. DO NOT USE something else like some type of strong spray adhesive!!! IT MUST be formulated for headliner fabric or staining will occur. DO NOT spray the back of the fabric if you attempt this. When you go to mask everything off if you do an in-car spot repair, mask the back of the fabric you are re-applying. 90% of the time of this job is masking. Take time to do that and do it perfectly. DO NOT USE ROLLERS... use your dry clean hands to gently roll back the fabric onto the glue. A roller is for laminates and absolutely flat surfaces. Here is the link to the headliner adhesive:

http://www.amazon.com/3M-38808-Headl...liner+adhesive

The 3M can comes with excellent instructions. Follow them to the letter. Take your time. This is very tricky.

You are very right. I went through all the steps and issues you did and had the same type of results. At least I don't have to see my headliner hanging in my rear view mirror, so I happy with it until I replace it.