Help with headliner

Rebuilding an 1989 XJ Wagoneer, and frustrated w/replacing headliner. The cardboard ones I tried from donors in junkyard, but even with extra adhesive they still fall down. Is the fact I'm using old, non rigid Any ideas? headliner the culprit? Haven't been able to find a brand new headliner board.

There are tons of writeups on the net. Did you make sure to clean the headliner well first? Particular types of adhesives are recommended also. The material can't just be reglued over the old foam.

First off, All the renix era headliners I have seen do not use cardboard. They use a fiberglass mat that is somewhat hardened with resin.

Yes a good one is not terribly easy to find. I hit the JYs for one for a month before finding a good one. I then peel back the foam backed fabric. I use a scrub brush on a pole and some compressed air to get the crumblies off.

Invariably I need to do some patching up around the visor holes. I back the top side with duct tape, then take some of the fiberglass mat and use a bit of resin to rebuild that area.

I have even been known to shave a thin one to two inch wide, 16th inch thick piece of oak and glue it to the back side of the fiberglass to keep the sagging in the middle down to acceptable limits. I actually steamed the wood and arched it, then let it dry over several days to give the bow support.

My XJ is 31+ years old and looks like new inside and out. Being a wheeler, one of my skills/hobbies is fabrication/body work/paint.

old_man said:

I actually steamed the wood and arched it, then let it dry over several days to give the bow support.

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Now that is awesome.

When I redid mine, I found a perfectly matching tan-color felt at Walmart, couldn't find it anywhere else. Pulled out the old fiberglass and stripped off the old liner. Sprayed it heavily with the generic 3M adhesive spray, probably 1.5 cans worth and laid on the new fabric. It came out really nicely, except I stretched the new liner a bit too tight over the edge of the fiberglass, causing it to lift and separate around the edge of the ceiling, about an inch above the plastic trim where everything curves. I got meticulous with a staple gun and tape measure along that line, and it came out looking kind of industrial and cool. I don't really care though because it's just my offroad beater, and looks a hell of a lot better than it did before.

It's lasted over a year just fine, but I fully expect it to start failing at some time in the future. After I replaced it, I read about a guy who bought some kind of boat fiberglass resin/sealer and coated the base; once it hardened it created a much better surface for the fabric to adhere... that's what I'll be doing in the future.

While you've got it all apart it's also a good time to run CB/antenna/rear lightbar wiring/etc. up there.

Did you use the felt with the foam backing? That is what I use.

Thanks for the comments all. I'll try another one from junkyard. I thought I cleaned/removed enough old material from the old fiberglass board and use different adhesive, and load it up. Wires are in place for lights, and insulation is too. Back to the yard....... one more try.
I'm focused now on prepping the car for roller painting using Rustoleum.

old_man said:

Did you use the felt with the foam backing? That is what I use.

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No, I saw that but it was a much lighter color than I wanted. Also a bit more expensive and when it comes to appearance stuff, my jeep is cheap.

I actually reinforced mine with wood strips too. I used thin strips that were leftover from bow building. I think they were around .050 thick so I didn't have to steam them. I used Titebond III let it dry overnight and it held it very well on the back of the headliner and increased the strength dramatically. Epoxy would work better but I didn't have extra when I did it.

Yet to reinstall it because I need to replace my seats and waiting to see what color I need it to be. but it doesn't fold up anymore.

Looking for headliner material?

Go to JoAnn's fabric or similar. Unless you want to do your interior in camo, they should have headliner fabric with the foam backing. As Waynerd says, clean off all the old foam backing and crusty adhesive off the old headliner. The headliner fabric will show every pebble and gouge and drive you crazy. Make sure the board is close to perfect.

Heavier fabric will be harder to keep up. Also, don't use "generic" adhesive. Use 3M 44...it's $20 a can and you'll need 2-3 cans to do it right, but it will last forever.

I also used the headliner fabric from JoAnn's. I also used their headliner adhesive. Bought three cans, but only needed 1 1/2. The cans were normally $20.00, but they have all sorts of discounts and coupons. So I paid $8.00 a can for two of them and full price on the last can. My headliner in the XJ made it through the Maryland summer heat and humidity just fine.
I used the other headliner adhesives from Advance on my GMC and only had good luck with one of them, I could not remember which one, so I used the JoAnn's this time. I would recommend it and will use it again.

thx again. Will try back at a local charlotte JY. If anyone within 50-60 miles of charlotte has one, take it out and I'll pay you for it.