Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Headliner Restoration


The headliner of my Grand Wagoneer was as saggy as the cast of Cocoon. It was just a bit floppy in the back and I could abide by this. But when it started grazing against my head as I was perched on the delicious corduroy(the etymology for this word is cloth of kings) it got a bit bothersome. So, I decided to redo it.

First step was removing the two cardboardish panels. This was the work of five minutes and a phillips screwdriver to take down the visors and coat hooks.

Once out, before you put on any fabric, you need to clean off the old, deteriorating foam. This is an odd job. Some people suggest a wire wheel on a drill. I felt that was too aggressive. So, poking around the tool box I found the three-inch hand held floor scraper I last used when removing the old linoleum from my house. It did a peach of a job taking off the old foam but not damaging the fragile twenty year old cardboard.

The results? Well, I bought the fabric, the pattern will be a surprise, and was about to start the job when my wife stumbled upon me. She saw me throwing fabric and scissors around and suggested I pay a pro to do the job. I agreed. There was no way I was going to cover the 4 foot wide by 9 foot long roof without a wrinkle.

Ok. I pick up the pieces in a few days. All I can say is, yacht club on wheels.

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