E30 Zone

The headlining in my touring had been sagging for a while as the fabric had separated from the foam so I thought I'd have a go at a cheap fix.



It was pretty bad and starting to obscure rear window.



I had some spray glue kicking around and just needed to work out a way of getting the glue on the headlining. The glue was suitable for fabric, underfelt, carpets etc. Over-spray (and my hands) could be cleaned off with lighter fluid.





I started peeling away at the edges around the hinges for the tailgate and around the rear doors. I also popped the roof lining out of its support clips on the roof to give a little more finger room when peeling back the cloth..















I made an access area big enough to get my arm and the spray can inside to get the glue right inside. I was on my own and could not actually take photos of this part. I didn't let it go tacky although it took a little while to get all the foam part of the roof lining covered in glue so some of the glue was wet and some was tacky. My hand and arm were covered in glue by the end of this and the lighter fluid helped get the glue off.

With four access areas for the spray glue I sprayed it around (not very) carefully or at least trying to get it evenly spread on the upper foam part of the headlining. I did get some bits wet with too much glue but these dried clear and are not noticeable and can be cleaned with light fuel.




It was then simply the case of using a paint roller firmly and my hand (with a wash mitt on) and smoothing the lining back into the corners. The lining seems to have shrunk slightly and does not reach to go back 100% in that part of it has not reached to touch the roof in order to actually glue back but it's 95% stuck.





I sprayed glue around the edges of the doors to glue it back from where I had peeled it down. Also made sure there wasn't too much glue left on the edges of the door aperture so the door seal wouldn't stick on it. Then pushed all the door seals back in right (the hardest part of the job but still easy).

I really hope it works as it was pretty easy to do. I will post back next week if it all falls down!

Looking good mate,,
you must of been high as a kite

Nice one! Thankfully never had to tackle one myself, but that looks to have done the trick.

good job , i often wondered wat glue to use as contact adhesive would seep through or stain poss i have small area bout 1" x 2" starting in a corner may try this wen gets more severe thanks

Certainly a great improvement - keep us informed of how it lasts.
This was a job I was going to have to attempt on my wife's red touring in the near future, but thanks to the attention of a flying Porsche, I now no longer have to!

o22ie wrote:Looking good mate,,
you must of been high as a kite

Oh yes, I really was high, and was slightly disappointed when the job was over. But then I got to sniff the lighter fluid cleaning up

Sorry to hear the red touring is being retired Brian.

The glue doesn't seem to seep through at all unless you spray way too much in one area but then it dries clear and can be wiped off anyway. It's never going to be perfect as the old bobbley bits of glue, like bogies, show through a little bit to give a feel of wood chip wall paper.

toby wrote:

o22ie wrote:Looking good mate,,
you must of been high as a kite

Oh yes, I really was high, and was slightly disappointed when the job was over. But then I got to sniff the lighter fluid cleaning up

Sorry to hear the red touring is being retired Brian.

The glue doesn't seem to seep through at all unless you spray way too much in one area but then it dries clear and can be wiped off anyway. It's never going to be perfect as the old bobbley bits of glue, like bogies, show through a little bit to give a feel of wood chip wall paper.

Woodchip bogies and as high as a kite, think ill rip mine down just for that!

sounds good doesnt it

Hope it works for you,Toby! Do not wish to be a prophet of doom but...I have this problem on my boat,I tryed all sorts of glue,but by the next weekend it was droopy again! This summer I have stripped the lot out,cleaned the underside of the roof down with paint stripper to a clean surface and glued new foam and fabric in.The matirial came from Woolies,who supply the classic car world with trim stuff.I would think that enough for a touring's roof would cost about £20...

Hi Toby, great thread

Have, no, HAD the same problem. I was thinking of cutting the lining to get inside but after looking at your thread i went in through the boot light after removing it ! ! ! . . .

Gave it a good soaking in a similar contact adhesive spray and left to go tacky then stuck it back.

Again, great idea, nothing worse than a saggy boot, oo'eeer missis ! . . .

Thanks for the comments guys.

The headlining is still hanging in there but needs a little top up at the back near the tailgate hinges.

Wilko's sell spray glue for £4 a can

I've bought some 3M craft adhesive for this, suitable for fine fabrics and foam so should be ok.

Fingers crossed

Cheers,

Iain T

Top tips: make sure all the fabric is able to stretch to touch the headlining backing before applying glue. Using cushions, pressed against the headlining with props of wood may help hold the fabric to the gluing surface.

Good luck Iain, your glue sounds perfect. Perhaps get the car warm inside to help the glue set in this coldish weather.

Mission successful

Used 3M Scotch-Weld Craft Mount from our local Hobbycraft (about £5 a can)

Sticks like shit to a blanket and doesn't bleed though.

Total job took less than half an hour.

Good idea to use a paint roller, no creases.

Cheers,

Iain T

A pritt stick works well believe it or not as it doesn't stain.

Also good if your not into sniffing thinners

OK so in the end it fell down again. It lasted about a year.

I glued it back again with different glue. It fell down again within the day. Maybe it was too hot. Maybe propping the headlining up with cushions and a bit of wood would help the glue really stick. The glue is starting to show now and it looks a bit messy.

I think it will eventually need a whole new headlining.

The problem fundamentally seems to be that the headlining shrinks and gluing it back puts it under tension so it tends to peel off again.

Bummer.

I have had all sorts of problems getting the headlining to stay up on the boat(see further up the page)Getting the surface you are gluing to spotlessly clean seems to be the answer,then the next snag was that the fabric seperated from the foam....think on touring headlining the answer would be to remove the fibreglass tray that it's glued to,then you can work on the dratted thing without having to work over your head,be easier to clean off the old glue as well..

Trouble is the headlining glues to the foam. The foam rots and then the fabric falls. Cleaning it all off would be such a mission Id rather fit another headlining if I have to actually take the whole thing out. Is a new one still available I wonder.

Thanks for this thread toby. Have just attacked mine as it was about as bad as yours if not a little worse. All has gone back up ok, now to see how long it lasts too, but am pretty much treating it as a temp measure until I decide to renew it completely.

At least I can see out of more than half my rear window again, had dropped really low



Regards,

Ian

Glad you have found it useful konfuzion.

Mine has dropped down twice. The first time lasted a year. The second lasted a day Next time I'm going to clean off as much of the old glue from the board type stuff and, after I glue it, I will prop and wedge it up with cushions and bits of wood. I think this is always going to be a temporary measure because the thin foam layer between headlining material and upper section is always rotting away and the cloth shrinks. Apparently replacing it is a lengthy two person job... I'm not sure if it is available new. It really is a pain in the arse.

I think Daimlerman's suggestion of eventually removing and recovering is the best, and it gives a choice of fabric then!

toby, my lining looks identical to yours in the first pics, i.e very droopy.
Spray glue was the first thing I tried, it lasted 48 hours, then I moved on through a number of different efforts, including no more nails spread thinly on the top fiber board and rolling the lining onto it, it was a disaster.... I think the only way is to remove the lining completely, lay it down flat and contact adhesive / sew / whatever it down, thus using gravity to take effect and assist you rather than hinder you, at least that is my plan

I'd like to try recovering it in leather but I think it would be too heavy. I know others have recovered in suede etc, but does it last? I can imagine going over a bump and the whole lot falls down under the weight of itself.

This is a good thread
http://www.e30zone.net/modules.php?name ... headlining

but no outcome...

Toby,may pay you to have a word with an expert such as dips,he seems to have tried several different fabrics. I am having terrible trouble with the boat,get one bit right and another bit falls off,bit like painting the Forth Bridge!!

I removed my headlining and stripped off the old sagging material and recovered it with some smart new black flock material. It survived a few hot days in the summer and so far is showing no signs of dropping. The worst part of the job was cleaning off the original glue/foam.