HPE headlining

[spud]

Hi all,

Has anyone here removed the headlining on an HPE? Mine is stained and saggy which is bad enough but coupled with the fact that the cloth is absolutely vile makes it even worse. Why did Lancia/Fiat use such a horrible drab cloth? I'm thinking of removing it in order to replace it with a more pleasant cloth or possibly even vinyl.

I once recovered the damaged headlining in an old Triumph by gluing some new material over the top of the old. Sounds like a bodge and I suppose it was but it worked and looked phenomenal. I used extra strong spray glue (not merely carpet adhesive, much stronger), laid on my back and stuck it up in situ. I've since sold the car but it stayed put for nearly a year, right through a hot summer, and I don't doubt it's still up there. I could resort to doing this but, as it's a Lancia, I'd rather do it properly by removing the old headlining completely.

Any pointers or should I just dive in there and start tugging...?

Andrew.

[MattNoVAT]

I've not done an HPE but I have re-installed a vinyl roof in my coupe.

There are a few things I've learnt from that.

1. The glue does not have to be ultra strong, its there to hold the material in place, the push fit edging is the bit that really holds it all in nice and tight.  Carpet glue is all I used and its still held in place with no sagging etc.

2. Buy a big pack of medium sized plastic clothes pegs (These will be your friends)  Alternatively nick them from your washing line. (My wife went just a little bit potty when she saw all her pegs holding my vinyl roof in place.  They are like having 25 extra pairs of hands    They clamp just at the right strength without causing any distortion.

3.  Take your time, glue shortish lengths at a time, if you have a sunroof then start from the sunroof aperture and work outwards.

4.  Take your time! Do either front first back second or left first then right second. Don't work round in a circle!

5. Take your time! and don't be afraid of the task, it's not as daunting as you'd think.

6.  Did I mention you should take your time over it?   

[spud]

Hi all,
I've just finished doing this job and it's turned out quite nice! I used a heavily grained black vinyl and it looks 100% better than the cloth original. When I removed the cloth the dust that came down with it was unreal- it was just everywhere! Most of it came from the foam that was stuck here and there to the roof- it was disintegrating into a fine orange dust and just kind of lying in the cloth. Once I'd got the cloth down it was a case of scraping the remaining foam off the roof (yawn yawn... took ages) and then cleaning up with some thinners to remove every last trace of it. Then I installed some sound deadening from 'Silent Coat':

http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/products/silent-coat-mat-bulk-pack.html

This seems good stuff, not cheap, but then anything good never is. I then put this stuff all over the inside of the roof:

http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/silent-coat-noise-isolator-4.html

Both of these products are self adhesive. After test sticking some vinyl to an offcut of this stuff I discovered that you have to rough up the surface of it to make the glued vinyl adhere to it. Once this was all done I installed the vinyl. I used this glue:

http://www.vikingtapes.co.uk/3M_Products/3M_Adhesives/3M_Contact_Adhesives/3m_scotch_grip_10_adhesive.htm

Top quality stuff- it ain't coming down! It's bonded so well to it it's virtually become one with it!
The HPE has one metal rod running through a stitched loop at the back of the roof- I got a friend with a sewing machine to stitch this part for me. The rest of the vinyl is held up, as Matt says, by glue around the edges of the panel and the door seals, side rear window seals, sunroof seal, grab handles and interior lights.  
All in all I'm very pleased with the results. Now that I've done it once I think I could do it better second time around but I'm the fussiest ba$tard in the world so I'm just being ultra picky- it really does look great! I'll post some pics when I get a chance. It was as difficult as I expected but it's an improvement beyond measure over the drab, ugly original. So, if you think you'd like to replace your headlining then give it a go!

Andrew.

[MattNoVAT]

Hi Spud,

Well done on tackling it, its not as scary as you'd think once you get going.

So any extra tips?

Any pictures of the results..?