Mercedes-Benz Forum banner

Headliner prep question

2K views 9 replies 5 participants last post by  Shawndh 
#1 ·
Hello all. I just removed the headliner from my 2000 E320 wagon to replace it. I got all the foam off but now it has a sticky residue on it. I was thinking it would prpbly help to stick the new on on but now I'm noticing that it's actually oily feeling. Has anyone had to clean this stuff off the headliner before? What did you use to clean it? I can't find any DIY online where this sticky mess is mentioned.
 
#3 ·
Hey Shawn:

That's a question you might find guidance best from a good Auto Upholstery shop.

My neighbor has such experience and they can really tell you the best approach.

After consulting with him, showing him my 'falling down in my ears' headliner cover (the firm foam base, covered with the sticky goo you describe being very much in place), and hearing the amount of work he outlined, I opted to just use the 'HELP' circle plastic headliner retainer buttons - they are wide circles that 'screw' into base material - in a decent looking pattern.

We painted them silver to match the headliner.

(They come black. Which is weird, no car has a black headliner - Go figure.)

Anyhow, it came out decent looking. I just had to use straight pins at edges.

I see you're in Atlanta. Humid, just like here. It's what causes the glue to come apart.

But my neighbor said the right way to do it was to completely remove the headliner base from the car - a big job as you have to remove a ton of upper bits & pieces - most of which are plastic & some of which WILL break upon removal.

Anyhow, once out, base piece which is like 12 feet long is placed upside down side facing up, then an entire new surface - that as a sort of visible outer fabric, wedded to an internal padded core (thicker than what was removed) must be applied with a special spray adhesive.

(I did ask if I could simply use can of 3m spray adhesive to re-stick fabric. He said won't work on several levels, glue would show thru thin material, you'd never get it even, and for it to look even, it must be the material, as new thickness, not as old degraded stuff. Makes sense but not until someone explains it like that....)

Then trim & re-install. He said most shops would do for $ 350 to 600, takes all day & hope they don't break parts that cannot easily be found again.

Right after that, I did my 3 hour fix.

If you're a strong DIY guy, maybe a local upholstery shop would agree to install correct color materal onto the base portion with the correct material & you handle the R & I work ?

If mine has further trouble, that's what I'll do.

Hope this helps.....Cheers....David in East Texas
 
#4 ·
Thanx for the replies guys. I checked in the R129 forums but I couldn't find anyone describing my particular issue. Just to clarify, I've already pulled he entire fiberglass headliner out of the car. That wasn't that bad on the wagon, but I did take a few short cuts to avoiding messing with the airbags in he rear. I'm just going to reupholster the main piece, not the pillars and other side pieces since they look pretty good. I have already purchased some nicer headliner material but I want to make sure the surface is prepped properly before I try to adhere it. All the foam has been removed already but It's that sticky/oily residue that's's left behind on the fiberglass that concerns me. I'm not sure if the 3M Super 77 will stick to it. I'll test it when I get home tomorrow and try to post some pics.

It almost feels like old syrup or tree sap all over he headliner. It's weird. I have not found anyone else to mention this.
 
#6 ·
I sent him a PM but he did that like 8 years ago. I don't know if he had the same issue. His headliner looked pretty clean. I'm going to try some degreaser and whatever else I have in the shed to try and clean it off. I figure if scotch tape won't stick to it, the glue won't stick to it either, so I have to get it off.
 
#8 · (Edited by Moderator)
Hi Shawndh, I got your PM but have hit or miss time to log in here ever since the password change.
That foam rubber backing deteriorates in two ways one is a fine dust the other is the sticky oily mess you describe, and yes I have encountered it both ways. I would recommend cleaning it off the head liner shell with 3M adhesive remover, it will take a lot of rags to get the surface free of all the residue. Be careful as the adhesive remover is very flammable, and not so good to breath the vapors either, so well ventilated work area. Product Tin Tin can Metal Material property


It is important to use a good quality high temperature spray contact adhesive to glue your headliner material to the shell. Like any contact cement/glue/adhesive apply it to both surfaces allow it to dry to a tacky condition, then line it up carefully and roll it on smoothing the material as you go. I did mine rear half first then front half you only get one shot at sticking the material to the shell so you may want to do a few practice runs to see how the material will handle as you roll it on.
 
#9 ·
Yacht Master,

Thank you so much for replying to my message. I will look for this 3M adhesive remover.

I have purchased Permatex high temperature (170 deg F) headliner adhesive since that was the only thing I could find that specifically says it is for high temps. The only 3M headliner adhesive available is the Super 77 (150 deg F) and the 3M headliner adhesive. The 3M headliner adhesive does not have a number or a temperature rating listed though. Those are the only adhesives I can find locally. Any experience with any of those? I don't know which one to go with.
 
#10 · (Edited)
I finally got the headliner installed. What a PIA! I'm not exactly happy with the results because I cut the sunroof opening too short to wrap it properly. Also, I found the surface of the headliner and the 3M 90 difficult to adhere together. And all the contours in the headliner were difficult to form with the new headliner that was harder to stretch and slightly thicker.

I ended up just putting the headliner material over the vents in the sunroof shade/cover per the upholstery shop. After 17 years, those things were so brittle, there was no way you could remove them without breaking them.

Then, the rear sides were difficult to deal with because they were intertwined with he airbag curtain and the material I chose was too thick to work around the airbag curtain cover recesses. I could just tell it was going to be a lot of work, look bad, and possibly mess up the airbag system, so I did not redo them yet. I have to figure something ese out.

Overall it looks good if your not looking at details, and I am happy about the weird smell being eliminated from the old headliner material breaking down. Also, I fixed the sunroof rattle by re glueing the metal frame to the headliner. But I have a feeling that it will start sagging again in a year or less. Next time, I will just pay the pros to do it. It just wasn't worth my time.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top