Headliner glue question

So, I am getting some moisture in my car and it caused my stock amp to fritz out so I was pulling out interior parts and decided this is a good time to re do my headliner. I have removed it and I was wondering what the best type of adheasive would be. I have heard contact cement and I have also heard 3m spray glue or other spray glues. I just want to get the new fabric glued in and the headliner installed and not have to deal with it again. So my question is what is the best type of adheasive? Thanks in advance.

3M spray glue, the orange one. Something like super 77 I think, I'll go look in a bit and give ya the exact name.

Originally Posted by bimmerbarbie

3m spray glue, the orange one. Something like super 77 i think, i'll go look in a bit and give ya the exact name.

+ 1

I went to a fabric store and found contact cement in a spray can meant for headliners, so I got that. I was going to go with the super 77 3M but I will give this a shot. a friend of mine said that 3m wouldnt hold up. but who knows. I guess I will find out. Thanks for the response!

3M makes the BEST adhesives. from tape to glues. they know what they're doing

I just used 3M Heavy duty spray adhesive for mine. I also tried the Permatex headliner that did not work as well. Give the 3M about 5 minutes to set up before installing your material.

You want to use 3M FoamFast 74. I used the 3M Super77 (which is supposedly their all purpose glue, and by everything listed on the bottle it should have worked fine, perhaps human error...) and I knew the next day I would have to do it again.

A tip as well, when you are laying the fabric down and what not, work in small sections, from the center/up/down, and then out. If I had known this I probably would have been fine, but I tried spraying the entire board and laying down the fabric in one step and smoothing it out, FAIL! many hours later I had a satisfactory headliner done (as you can see in my thread) BUT it is not perfect, I will be redoing it.

Thanks for the advice, I have just heard bad things about 3M spray adheasive for headliner glue, from my ex girlfriends uncle who had an upholstery business. He said to use contact cement. but he also said that I would have to get a compresser and a sprayer to apply it. I was at a fabric store at saw a can that said spray contact cement for headliner. so i figure this outa do the trick. Where is the best place to get matching headliner fabric? I like what Hyphe did with the black but I want my visors and pillars and sunroof/gasket to match. Also how hard is it to re do the sunroof fabric?

Originally Posted by Nline6

Thanks for the advice, I have just heard bad things about 3M spray adheasive for headliner glue, from my ex girlfriends uncle who had an upholstery business. He said to use contact cement. but he also said that I would have to get a compresser and a sprayer to apply it. I was at a fabric store at saw a can that said spray contact cement for headliner. so i figure this outa do the trick. Where is the best place to get matching headliner fabric? I like what Hyphe did with the black but I want my visors and pillars and sunroof/gasket to match. Also how hard is it to re do the sunroof fabric?

The sunroof is not hard at all. I did all my pillars, roof and sunroof and it took me about 6 hours from start to finish, while I had the flu.

The sunroof material sticks to a separate sheet metal backing, so no need to remove any form or what not. Just peel it off, and make sure you cut it larger than the hole or you will end up with some sections showing. Cover your seats and spray the glue on, and then apply the material. It is the easiest part of the entire process IMO. I found it to be easier to partially open the sunroof to get in every corner. The rubber gasket that runs the perimter of the sunroof can easily be pulled off. Here is a tip: take that rubber gasket off and remove all old material, and than go to a walmart, target or shoe store and buy black edge dressing. It will cover that gasket beautifully and no need to use material, that is if you are doing it in black, if not than you are on your own. Have the sunroof all the way open when you try to re-install that gasket, it will be much easier. good luck and have fun.

you can go to the dealership and buy all the visors, handles, gaskets, etc in black, I don't know for how much, have yet to do this as well.

Nothing about this project is hard, everyone who wants to do it should.

Contact cement would work, but for even application, a compressor and sprayer would be needed.

Originally Posted by bimmerbarbie

3m spray glue, the orange one. Something like super 77 i think, i'll go look in a bit and give ya the exact name.

+1

It was the Super 74 that works best (thanks Steven, I couldn't remember which it was) on the headliner and the contact cement is what worked absolute wonders on the door panels. Seeing as it worked so well on a more difficult area, it should be even better for the headliner. Just follow the directions and let it tack up, then let it cure properly.

Just joined and was wondering....how do you even remove the headliner? I have sagging cloth and the sunroof is horrible.

It's actually pretty easy. It has screws holding it up at the sunvisors, and each of the Oh Sh!t handles. Aside from that, just pull the door trim (and window trim) out of the channels it rests in, then the headliner comes right out.

You do need to be careful where the B pillars are, as if you aren't you can break the headliner board. This project is easier to do with a coupe (like you have) than with a sedan, as the coupe doors are larger to get the headliner out.