What's new
CK5
Register an account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members.

Headliners ; type of cloth and repair suggestions

S

scpaul

1/2 ton status
Joined
Oct 2, 2016
Posts
278
Reaction score
30
Location
central area of S.C.
The headliner in my '90 Jimmy has had the cloth has separate from the backing board. The cloth is probably too old to reuse and it reminds me of the type of cloth that T-shirts are made of and it's the light blue/gray color.

I'm interested in advice in the easiest way(s), possibly another type of material (no shag or fur from the '70's please) and can I get the thin insulation (foil on 1 side I think) behind the backing board without it looking bad or bulged at the edges or center? I had thought about the real short pile dense carpet like they put in office bldg. hallways to dampen noise and for more roof insulation, but I'm afraid that it'll look bad/strange.

I'm thinking that I'll use one of the spray glues, put the cloth on the backing board without stretching it very much or at all. Are there any special glues or materials that do real good and should I worry about the spray glue being permanent? Apparently the original wasn't.

I've never had to do anything at all with a headliner, so any advice or suggestions will be appreciated.

Thanks again everyone, Paul
 
I did mine by going to Jo-Ann fabrics. They had like a dozen colors of foam-backed headliner material in there. (They also have automotive vinyl and stuff, so the store isn't just for ladies.) You need to confirm that the cardboard backer is still good, but usually they are OK. Clean all the old crumbling junk off the cardboard, get the material cut a bit oversized, then spray the adhesive liberally. You don't want the "regular" spray adhesive in the car parts store, you want the heavy duty stuff (I know there's some good stuff in an orange can, I just can't remember now who makes it).

You can also buy headliner kits - at least online - that are sort of the same thing. A K5 roof is similar to a truck, so the same kit may work for both (not sure). (It's the Suburbans that take the material).

There are some old threads on this that give part numbers and pictures and stuff. Search to see if they're still around.
 
Easiest way to fix it is buy a new piece of foam backed headliner material and clean the board and glue it on,not a difficult job at all,take the board out of the truck,much easier to do on the bench,the aerosol adhesives in a can will not last,I went to Home Depot and picked a quart of contact adhesive and brushed it on,both the board and new material,and let dry till tacky,I got a little carried away with mine when I did it,pics following
 
scpaul said:
The headliner in my '90 Jimmy has had the cloth has separate from the backing board. The cloth is probably too old to reuse and it reminds me of the type of cloth that T-shirts are made of and it's the light blue/gray color.

I'm interested in advice in the easiest way(s), possibly another type of material (no shag or fur from the '70's please) and can I get the thin insulation (foil on 1 side I think) behind the backing board without it looking bad or bulged at the edges or center? I had thought about the real short pile dense carpet like they put in office bldg. hallways to dampen noise and for more roof insulation, but I'm afraid that it'll look bad/strange.

I'm thinking that I'll use one of the spray glues, put the cloth on the backing board without stretching it very much or at all. Are there any special glues or materials that do real good and should I worry about the spray glue being permanent? Apparently the original wasn't.

I've never had to do anything at all with a headliner, so any advice or suggestions will be appreciated.

Thanks again everyone, Paul
Click to expand...

The original adhesive probably didn't fail, the foam breaks down on the back of the headliner fabric. I agree with going to Jo-Ann Fabrics. They had a pretty good selection when I did mine. The carpet you mentioned would probably be a pain to get fastened securely. Spray adhesives are fine if you buy the right kind. There are different grades and some will fail. The main thing is to get the old backer prepped right and get all the old deteriorated foam off. I think I probably gave the old backer 2 coats of adhesive. I also used some peel and stick sound mat on the roof before I buttoned everything up, but can't say how much it helped.
 
I once saw a Suburban that had indoor outdoor self sticky carpet tiles for a headliner...it actually didn't look that bad!...owner found mice nests above the original headliner backer board and it was soaked with poop and urine,he used the remains of it to trace out a new one made of thin masonite board,then stuck the carpet tiles too it..
 
driney said:
Spray adhesives are fine if you buy the right kind. There are different grades and some will fail. The main thing is to get the old backer prepped right and get all the old deteriorated foam off.
Click to expand...
Yeah, mine's been up there like 8 years.
 
Thanks for the responses everybody. I mainly just looked at what's left of the headliner and didn't go any further. I was afraid that it would just go to pieces if I messed with it. The foam that was on the back originally must have been extremely thin. I didn't I didn't notice any foam, I thought the stuff that I could see was dried-up adhesive

Driney, you said that you used 2 coats of adhesive. Was that the liquid contact cement type of adhesive that you brush on or was it the "correct" type of spray adhesive? I just had a brain phart; how about lineoleum, my neighbor recently took some up? I guess not, that's a little tacky, even for me! I really hope that I didn't just p!zz somebody off.
You said that you put some sound insulation around the edge. Is there enough room for the foil backed insulation and I've never used it, so can somebody tell me about using it, are there different thicknesses, brands and where can I get it? I think that Summit or Jeg's probably have it, have to check.

Snowdriver, I couldn't open the pics. I'm not a full member yet.

Blue, I searched "Headliner" and got no matches. I guess that I should have put more effort into it, my fault. I hope that there are some Jo-Anne's left. I know of 2 that have closed in the past 3 to 5 years (?). I'll find a fabric or upholstery somewhere, if I have to go out of town. I love to look at gun shops when I'm out of town anyway. Great excuse!

I think that they should have used a few more screws to support the weight of the assembled headliner.

Thanks again everyone for the info. If there's anything else, no matter how small, it will be appreciated, Paul
 
I've seen that aluminum bubble wrap insulation used as a headliner on rat rods and some muscle cars that had no headliner,and it looked decent..
 
Just an FYI for people, if looking at a crew cab K30/K20 square body...it's a little difficult to find stuff to repair. At least the one on mine (1989 V3500 crew cab) did not have a "cardboard" backing on it...the entire thing was fiberglass. I had heard of guys having ok luck with buying their own "fiberglass repair" kits and then buying something close to headliner material, but I just ended up finding a local auto interior upholstery guy. Even he was a little timid as he didn't do too many headliners and mine was pretty damaged in many areas (folded on me pretty good when removing it). But he decided to give it a try and it turned out really nice (pics below).

Luckily you can purchase replacement headliners for blazers and standard cab pickups in the square bodies...may be the best option in the long run

Before:



After:

 
14142002_1378127652200678_6390575722472563701_n.jpg

14088656_1378127692200674_802544580249994155_n.jpg
I went with the foam backed cloth unit from Rock Auto. It's plastic, rather than the factory cardboard. It fit well, and for less than $200 I wasn't going to mess with the old one.



http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/...7l+350cid+v8,1061558,interior,headliner,14287
 
Kay, That does look good and it looks like the same color of mine. My fiberglass top stops just at the back of the driver/passenger's head. Its metal from there forward. I was told that GM changed the design to put some structure over the seats other than just the front window frame. I don't know weather to believe it or not, but it's supposed to be like a roll bar of some sort. I seriously doubt that it's that strong, but it's got be better than nothing. The size of my backing board looks real close to the size of a Std. pick-up.

Diesel, you say that it's like aluminum bubble wrap. Thanks, It must be pretty flexible and I can cut it to fit better, Thanks.

Y'all have a good evening, Paul
 
scpaul said:
Driney, you said that you used 2 coats of adhesive. Was that the liquid contact cement type of adhesive that you brush on or was it the "correct" type of spray adhesive?

You said that you put some sound insulation around the edge. Is there enough room for the foil backed insulation and I've never used it, so can somebody tell me about using it, are there different thicknesses, brands and where can I get it? I think that Summit or Jeg's probably have it, have to check.


Blue, I searched "Headliner" and got no matches. I guess that I should have put more effort into it, my fault. I hope that there are some Jo-Anne's left. I know of 2 that have closed in the past 3 to 5 years (?). I'll find a fabric or upholstery somewhere, if I have to go out of town. I love to look at gun shops when I'm out of town anyway. Great excuse!
Click to expand...

I probably used the 3M Hi-strength 90. It's not cheap but much better than the 77 version. It's been a few years, but I probably gave the backer a coat and let it dry before spraying both surfaces and letting them tack up. Once they touch, you can't reposition them so an extra set of hands is helpful if you haven't done this before.

The sound mat I used was around 1/8" thick. It doesn't seem like thickness was a problem.

Autozone used to carry headliner fabric, but it was a bigger roll than you need for the cab of a blazer. don't know if they still do.
 
Right now I can't get in the Jimmy to look for myself, because it's taped up for painting the top and touching up the other spots. When you remove whatever is left of the foam that's on the backing board, can I just scrape it with a putty knife, use shoe goo, acetone, etc. Is it a gummy mess if you use a solvent or a mess no matter what you use? By the way, is the 3M 90 easy to find or is there a particular type of store that would carry it?

I keep seeing references to the K/20, K/30, are they actual GM dealer or factory designations? Could it be a "Blazer Bunch" thing for 1/2 ton, 3/4 ton, 1 ton (?), maybe a reference to the spring/axle combination under a vehicle.

I keep hearing of the problems with the original axle assemblies. Is there a list of what to replace to improve them to the point where they are as tough as another type of axle and money wise is it worth it.

I looked under it yesterday to look what's involved in the shackle flip. I know it must be me, but it looks like if you flip the rear one that it will lower it and I couldn't really see the front hanger for the rear spring, but It didn't look it would help either. Is the lift strictly from using their hangers and extended shackles?

Paul
 
The shackle flip puts the shackle below the rear most rear spring hanger,instead of above it as it was factory--this "lifts" the truck up about 4" with no mods to the springs,or blocks between the axle housing and leaf springs..
 
I just used a putty knife to remove the backing on my boards. I'm in the process of looking for new material to put back on myself. I'm not sure I'd use any liquid cleaning stuff as the headliner board is just cardboard

scpaul said:
I keep seeing references to the K/20, K/30, are they actual GM dealer or factory designations? Could it be a "Blazer Bunch" thing for 1/2 ton, 3/4 ton, 1 ton (?), maybe a reference to the spring/axle combination under a vehicle.
Click to expand...

All Blazers are technically just K5. The K10, K20, and K30 designations refer to 1/2 ton, 3/4 ton, and 1 ton four wheel drive trucks respectively.
 
Diesel, I looked at the rear brackets and they look like flipping them is going to lower the rear of the spring. I may just not be seeing the right angle and fooling myself or do you have to use their parts, which is what it looks like to me. Trying to picture it in my mind from the angle that I can see the assy. is hard.

Abram, I thought that it had to be something like that. I really tried my best to remember any model other than a K/5 or Jimmy (1500).

You might look around Lowes or Home Depot. Here they sell a press board that is for hanging tools it's about 1/8" thick. I don't know if it matters to you, but you could tape the holes (mashing or shipping tape) shut so hot/cold air can't get through. I don't know if they make it without holes. I don't know exactly how thick it is, but they sell a thin type of plywood that's well finished on 1 side and is about 5/32" thick.

You might try masking tape to just cover the board, or wipe the spots/areas with acetone, MEK, or something else that has a fast dry time and doesn't leave an oily residue that would degrade the board over time.

Well Thanks, Paul
 
I just did the front and rear headliners on my 87 V2500 Suburban. There are several online stores that sell the foam backed headliner cloth matching the factory color. Most stores have a kit which includes the proper amount of spray adhesive to put on the amount of cloth you buy. I think 3 cans came with my suburban order. $82.00 to my door a few months ago.
 
Thin masonite hardboard without the peg holes is available at about every lumberyard or home center..comes in 1/8" and 1/4" thickness..

I would coat that with paint though,because mold can grow on it and it will deteriorate if it gets soaked from condensation..
Thin Luan plywood would work as a backer too..
If you wanted to get real fancy I have seen plastic panels at Home Depot that are PVC and come in sheets like plywood,but its very costly..
This is the bubble wrap insulation stuff I mentioned...bubble wrap insulation.jpg
 
Is there anyone that has a template for the headliner of a '84 K5. My headliner is missing. I have all the trim to hold it in it's place just no backer board. This has been on my mind to do. Not sure where to start looking, til now (rock auto). Don't want to spend hundreds of dollars for a headliner though. I just need the backer board, I can do the rest.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest Posts

Top Bottom