How To Repair A Sagging Head Linner

The sad truth is that no matter how well-made a vehicle is, parts are going to break down over time. One of the more than overlooked parts that most people don't recollect about until it starts to fail is the headliner in your vehicle's interior.Lack of cleaning and sun exposure to your vehicle's roof are the most common culprits of a sagging headliner. In this article, nosotros'll have a wait at five easy and price-effective tips for fixing a sagging headliner.

What is a headliner, anyway?

Headliners are the textile-covered materials that run along the interior of your vehicle's roof. While yous might recall the sole purpose of a headliner is to simply add another degree of style to your motorcar, truck, or SUV, the truth is that a headliner serves a larger and more practical purpose.

Headliners aid insulate your vehicle in hot and cold conditions and then that your A/C and heater can work at maximum effectiveness. Headliners likewise serve in keeping downward the vibration and racket in the interior of your car as you drive.

It's the construction of the headliner that aids in this noise buffering, and understanding how headliners are constructed is the first footstep in understanding why they sag over time and how to fix them.

Headliners aren't only a piece of material covering the metallic roof of your vehicle. They're really a form-fitted piece made up of three separate sections:

Headliners start as a piece of foam with a layer of material like cardboard or fiberglass on top. And then, a material like vinyl, leather, or fabric is laid on tiptop to consummate the finished headliner. It'due south this final layer of material that volition sag over the extended life of your vehicle.

5 Piece of cake Methods For Fixing A Sagging Headliner

Information technology'southward of import to know upfront that the simply real way to permanently set up a sagging headliner is to replace information technology entirely with a new piece. But that isn't exactly the cheapest option and many car owners will look for something a bit more cost-effective.

The methods outlined below volition suffice to get your headliner off your head, out of your line-of-sight in your rearview mirror, and back up where it belongs. However, there'due south no guarantee every bit to how long the prepare will last or how "pretty" it will be.

Merely if yous're looking for an cheap and fast solution to your sagging headliner, any of these methods will go the job washed.

1. Glue

Gluing your headliner dorsum in identify is the most obvious option for well-nigh owners. However, information technology's not always the easiest method and there are few things to consider before going this road.

Commencement off, y'all should really merely endeavor the mucilage method when you starting time notice your headliner starting to sag. If y'all can stop the process early and get any sagging portions stuck dorsum in place with gum, you can head off a much bigger issue earlier it starts.

The outer layer of your headliner would have been glued in identify, originally, and over time, that glue will suspension down.

While any portion of your headliner can sag, it usually starts around the front of your vehicle where the peak of your windshield meets the roof. This area exposes to the about UV rays, and then it's normally where the sagging will first.

If you notice this expanse of your headliner starting to hang, head to your local motorcar parts store and choice up a can of headliner adhesive.

Our favorite is the Permatex Body Store Headliner Agglutinative. It's a professional-grade product that goes on smoothly and volition securely hold a sagging headliner back in place. What'southward more, it's specially designed to withstand particularly clammy conditions and farthermost temperatures.

To employ a spray adhesive to secure your headliner in place, the process is pretty simple. Yous simply apply 2-iii light coats to the materials that are to exist bonded, allowing about 5 minutes of dry time between coats. When yous've applied the final glaze, wait five more minutes, and so press the textile back in place, taking actress care to avoid wrinkles and air pockets.

ii. Thumbtacks

The thumbtack method of re-securing a sagging headliner is definitely the most unattractive method, merely if you're only looking to get your headliner back in place in a hurry, information technology's probably the fastest and cheapest method on the list.

There'south actually no special method or scientific discipline behind this particular route:

Simply stock up on some thumbtacks and get-go fastening your headliner back in place. Call up, yous should have a heart layer of cardboard or another like textile in your headliner's construction, and you'll be pinning your outer fabric to this middle layer.

If you want to add a fleck of flair to your repair, construct a pattern out of your tacks. Simply other than that, this ane is a pretty direct forward set up.

three. Twist Pins

If y'all're going to go the road of tacking your headliner back in identify, our recommendation is to get with specially made twist pins that are specifically designed to utilize with upholstery. It's definitely a footstep up from the gas-station-thumb-tack method.

These special upholstery pins are synthetic with a corkscrew design to the pivot and so that as you push button the pivot in place you twist and the pin locks whatever fabric you're holding in place much more than securely.

What's more, the heads of the twist pins are clear, so your "fix" will be a little less obvious to any passengers in your motorcar.

Plus, once you've secured your headliner in place with these pins, you actually don't have to worry almost them coming loose equally you would with traditional thumbtacks.

Some other perk of using this method is that these clear-headed twist pins are adequately inexpensive and can be institute on whatsoever major online retailer'southward website.

iv. Double-Sided Carpenter's Tape

Double-sided carpenter'southward tape is one of the most useful items you tin can possibly accept in your toolbox. The possible uses of this record are virtually endless. One of those fixes is helping to secure a sagging headliner in your car.

Using the record is easy enough. You lot simply cut off the length y'all need and stick the strip to your first item that needs to exist bonded.

Then, you peel off the removable bankroll on the strip you just put downward and secure your 2d item in place. You can repeat as much as needed and rest like shooting fish in a barrel knowing that a roll of this stuff is a relatively modest investment.

Even so, this particular method won't piece of work in every situation where you accept a sagging headliner. Yous demand to accept some kind of "edge" to work with in order to get the tape down and performance properly.

In other words, if your headliner is sagging around the edges of your vehicle's ceiling, or if you have tears in the fabric that you tin hands get a slice of tape behind, you should be fine.

On the other hand, if your headliner is only sagging in the middle and you have no fashion of getting behind information technology, you're not likely going to be able to secure it with tape (or spray adhesive, for that matter) and you lot'll probably need to look at the pivot method as a solution.

v. Steaming

As we mentioned to a higher place, the reason that your headliner sags in the first place is that the original manufacturer'southward glue will start to suspension down and neglect. Our final method for re-securing your headliner is to "rejuvenate" that original, factory gum.

To do so, get yourself a pocket-size steam cleaner. Running the applicator of the steamer along your headliner can really "re-cook" the glue if it'due south not too far gone.

Test a small portion of your sagging liner with this method and if the mucilage still has some tackiness, y'all can work the unabridged headliner back in identify.

When yous've run the steamer across your entire headliner, utilize a (make clean) paint roller to curl the liner back in place, pressing firmly as you go then the glue sticks. The roller volition likewise aid prevent any wrinkles and creases.

It's important to retrieve that this method is definitely a temporary fix. If the gum has failed once, it will likely practice so again. Simply if you need a quick gear up and don't have the budget for an entire headliner replacement, it'southward a neat selection.

Final Thoughts

A sagging headliner is an annoyance that will eventually plague every automobile possessor if they hang onto their vehicle long plenty.

Only, as y'all've seen, a sagging headliner is relatively piece of cake to fix. The about important matter to do is evaluate where and how bad your liner is actually sagging and selection a method that fits the outcome because, as you lot've seen, not every fix will work in every situation.

Regardless of which method you go with, though, you can be proud knowing that you've deployed an effective and budget-friendly repair all by yourself!

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Tyson Hanks is a freelance writer who provides content on everything from conservation bug to digital marketing and pretty much everything in between.  He'due south an avid car lover and apprentice garage mechanic, and he can ofttimes be found in his ain garage grinding, welding, and wrenching on his rat rod and the various motors he has strewn nearly.  He also writes horror fiction and has been published in many anthologies and magazines over the years.  His debut novel, Greetings from Barker Marsh was published in 2022.  Tyson has a available'south caste in marketing from Southern Illinois University. Visit Tyson's website at world wide web.tysonhanks.com for more data near his personal projects or to inquire about hiring him for your ain writing needs.

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