some earlier threads indexed in the STICKY under 'headliner....'

 

Thanks for the suggestion Raymond , that looks too hard for me to do , I will have to find a shop that seems competent .

 

yes, the thought of having to do this frightens me, too. Yachtmaster was the one who
provided a photo intensive thread documenting his efforts. I believe he had medical
background and likely possessed the apropos skill set to pull that off. I would need
a much larger garage to have a dedicated, weeks worth of methodical attention to
give to the project. Good luck getting your headliner repaired !

 

As the title says , the roof lining in my E300TD is billowing in the wind .

I know ............. run the climate control ............. leave the windows closed !

It's a nice wagon with low miles and I want it to stay that way .

What holds the lining up ? and is there a fix available ? Does anyone have experience with this. View attachment 2749866

Thanks for your thoughts .

No fun, that !

I 'fixed' ours buy using the "headliner retainers" they're like a wide plastic washer that has a 'screw' that goes into the headliner foam backer (which is plenty thick).

They come black, so we sprayed ours silver color to match headliner.

Used awl to pre ream the hole for placement (also aids in not wrinkling headliner fabric).

Of course being ADD I had to align all holes so the pattern was uniform. You only really notice them if you look up....and all was solid from the backrest of front seats forward so really we only did the rear 2/3rds of the headliner.

Along the edges we used straight pins to hold the edges firmly in the correct positions.

This was 5 years ago and still solid as day 1. I wanna say I read a thread where a guy showed this precise method.

It would be better for sure to remove & recover it all together - the real rub comes in that our cars are quite aged and the myriad of plastic pieces that require removal many will break - and from what I understand, cannot be had again as production ceased long ago.

IF one had ready access to lots of donor cars in a wrecking yard, this may not be such a big deal.

Hope that helps - David in Texas

 

The foam padding and cloth are bonded with upholstery glue. There are DIY kits that come with spray nozzles to spray in between the two, and try and reattach them. Only downside is all the old glue is left so the new bond wont last as long.

 

DON'T do this! It will end up looking like sh*t because you will not be able to get a nice even coat. The glue can/will also seep thru the liner. There is only one way to fix it if you want it to look nice...................a completely new headliner.

I did what David in Texas did. It helps stabilize the situation if you catch it early. Hopefully it won't get worse. I have three W210s and I'm not going to replace the headliners!

 

Not the solution for our 20+ year old headliners, but an alternative:

Amazon.com: KUFUNG 60 PCS Car Roof Headliner Repair Kit, Auto Roof Snap Pins Retainer Design for Car Roof Flannelette Fixed, with Installation Tool and Fit Truck, SUV, UV, Car (Beige Grid) : Automotive

Buy KUFUNG 60 PCS Car Roof Headliner Repair Kit, Auto Roof Snap Pins Retainer Design for Car Roof Flannelette Fixed, with Installation Tool and Fit Truck, SUV, UV, Car (Beige Grid): Clips - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

Amazon.com: OTUAYAUTO 60PCS Car Roof Headliner Repair Kit - Auto Roof Snap Rivets Retainer Roof Flannelette Fixed Buckle with Installation Tool, for Truck, SUV, UV, Car (Grey) : Automotive

Buy OTUAYAUTO 60PCS Car Roof Headliner Repair Kit - Auto Roof Snap Rivets Retainer Roof Flannelette Fixed Buckle with Installation Tool, for Truck, SUV, UV, Car (Grey): Clips - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

I will spare no expense fixing anything mechanical, but cosmetic things are secondary as my cars are daily drivers. I do replace things that are reasonably priced (and relatively easy) like mirror rubber gaskets, cowl vents etc. I draw the line at headliner replacement and clear coat peeling/oxidation (regular waxing/detailing doesn't help ).

 

I drew the line at headliner replacement too. Lots of plastic bits that are old and brittle to break. Mine's a daily driver and I used a staple gun.