headliner help
 

hey guys so im trying to apulster my 79 zx head liner and well i went to a couple of shops and they tell me to use suede instead of Vinyl what do you guys think.
They claim that vinyl is too heavy and that it will sag again with time and heat. While the suede is said to last longer because its lighter... Do you guys agree or should i go with vinyl. if you guys have any experience or personal history with these lets me know please. thanks guys

I redid mine in vinyl while back, but the car has not seen sunlight in a while, I still like it and I would rather have the vinyl then suede.

http://carphotos.cardomain.com/ride_...0010_large.jpg

yeah i prefer the vinyl too, looks much nicer, but my car is black and it sees the sun constantly so i dont want to drop money on a constant if its not going to last me, i think suede is a bit tacky.. damn i dont know what to choose haha:102:

Synthetic suede is nice. I think it's also called Alcantra. Vinyl shouldn't be a problem either though as long as you clean the headliner and don't use a foam backed vinyl. There is very little direct sunlight on the roof anyhow. Even if you have to replace it in ten years it's really not a big deal.

My 83 has a cloth liner. It may even be a synthetic suede. It's not real suede and not vinyl but it looks fine. I think either will look fine but vinyl is a good look. Vinyl can become brittle over time even if it doesn't see sunlight much. I know that because my door panels are vinyl and I recently needed some repair work around the edges of the panel in the door jam and the vinyl was too brittle to work with. The car has always been garaged and never kept in the sun.

My vinyl is in great shape after almost thirty years on both ZXs. I doubt with modern vinyls you are going to have any issue on the roof for a very very long time..... If you're concerned just use some Optimum or 303 UV protectant on it - simple.

I say velvet... :D

I got a sheet from a fabric store for ~$15. Use some good 3M spray adhesive, wrap the edges tight, and call it good. If you want to go the extra mile, get a slab of thin foam (like 1/4") to put underneath it to act as a pillow... that's what I did for my radio console. It would also dampen the outside noise (rather than reflect it from a smooth surface).

http://memimage.cardomain.com/member...8_256_full.jpg

Guys, how did you remove the plastic trim piece that goes at the rip of the windshield, behind the rearview mirror? I have ny windshield out and an doing some rust clean up and want to get in there.

It us brittle and seems attached in two places but I don't want to force it and snap it.....

I believe that the trim piece actually has four screws that hold it in place. They are under the headliner. Just pull the edge down and look through from where the windshield should be. If I remember they are in about an inch or so. Once those are out the strip can be removed fairly easily. It is old and brittle plastic so take it easy on bending it too much.
Just took a peek at one I have as a spare. It does have four mounting screws. The ones at the windshield posts are in about 7 inches from the post toward the center. The next two are in about 15 inches from the post toward the center.
Hope this helps.

Thanks bix61!


That sounds crazy to me - that I'd have to remove the headliner/puncture it to remove that trim piece? Visualizing it now, I'm having trouble understanding how one would mount/remove it piece while the windshield is IN the car - no angle to pull it froward and out - unless it's designed to only be removed/replaced with the hadliner out.

Hmmmm...maybe I'll just leave it in there since my headliner is in great shape.

Thanks for checking and the reply - appreciate it!

It is kind of crazy! But I had the headliner out anyway along with the windshield to do exactly what you are doing. Rust removal around the glass and chrome. Left the windshield out until I got the car painted and put extra primer and paint over my KBS rustproofing base coat.

I think it could outlast me now.

You can pull the headliner down enough (carefully) to get at the screws. They are back in about an inch or so.

You can pull the headliner out - you do need to remove panels around it but not at the windshield. I've since done another car with micro fiber to match the fuzzy material they used on the visors, etc. Turned out very nice.

Thanks guys!

I just took a look and I see there is trim along the top of the doors - just pulls out, along with a piece in the back just before the hatch, and then some plastic trim where the hanger hooks are, in between. Does ALL this have to come off, along with the dome lights and visor mounts - and then you just slide the entire headliner piece BACK to pull it away from the piece I want to remove?

Update - I was able to get the trim piece off without breaking it.

I removed the 2 trim pieces above the door glass - just pulled off.

I removed the screws for the visors

I removed the 2 "oh snap!" handled from the rear (2+2 model)

I removed the rear panel just before the hatch

I removed the screw in the center dome light.

After all this, I could tug the entire unit back about 1/2 inch to an inch, and pull it out from the plastic trim above the windshield - then I unscrewed the 4 screws there and ta-da - it's out!

Good news is there is ZERO rust under there!

Thanks again - these plastic parts make me so nervous!!