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Coated headliner with resin, not enough hardener, still tacky

Johnny V

Johnny V

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Jersey Shore
Hmm....I might have a problem...we’ll see in the morning.

I hope you guys can help.

I’m coating the headliner with resin. I used the whole can thinking I could coat the headliner in 10 minutes...but I think I put too much hardener in and got about 1/3 done when the resin stiffened up.

So I purchased more resin and used less hardener with half the can...but I think now I used too little as after three hours it’s still tacky.

Am I in the dog house?

I used Bondo's green can resin.
 
If you put some hardner in it, it should harden. A good warm day and some time may be needed, but it should set up sooner or later.
 
Johnny V said:
Hmm....I might have a problem...we’ll see in the morning.

I hope you guys can help.

I’m coating the headliner with resin. I used the whole can thinking I could coat the headliner in 10 minutes...but I think I put too much hardener in and got about 1/3 done when the resin stiffened up.

So I purchased more resin and used less hardener with half the can...but I think now I used too little as after three hours it’s still tacky.

Am I in the dog house?

I used Bondo's green can resin.
Click to expand...

Just curious. Why were you doing this?
 
Thanks old man I appreciate you expertise...I can sleep a little bit better tonight and maybe cross my fingers for good measure.

Why am I’m I doing this?

My ‘89 Laredo’s headliner material was coming off big time. It has been recommended on NAXJA to coat the headliner with resin before applying adhesive, fabric or painting as the headliner can become very fragile and brittle with age.

Sure enough when I pulled out my headliner it was falling apart and cracking in some spots. That’s why I’m doing the resin before I paint it with speckled gray paint. I also have a sun roof so there is less structure to the headliner.
 
Johnny V said:
Thanks old man I appreciate you expertise...I can sleep a little bit better tonight and maybe cross my fingers for good measure.

Why am I’m I doing this?

My ‘89 Laredo’s headliner material was coming off big time. It has been recommended on NAXJA to coat the headliner with resin before applying adhesive, fabric or painting as the headliner can become very fragile and brittle with age.

Sure enough when I pulled out my headliner it was falling apart and cracking in some spots. That’s why I’m doing the resin before I paint it with speckled gray paint. I also have a sun roof so there is less structure to the headliner.
Click to expand...

:idea:
Thanks, sounds like a good idea.
 
Good news!

Old Man and AJ were right on!

This morning I pulled the tacky headliner out of the shed and let it sit in the sun all day and sure enough it's tough as nails now. Had a beautiful sunny day here in NJ. Smelled like crap though, so I'm going to let it air out until tomorrow, then give it a light sanding, primer and paint...and maybe install it too!

I'll shoot some pics also.

Thanks guys.

John V
 
In most areas the coat was just enough to seal it. But on the front corners where the mirror holes are and areas that were cracked, bent or ready to fall apart I applied a thicker/couple of coats...around 1/32"+.

I moved the headliner into the shed tonight and it definitely has more substance to it. It doesn't look pretty at this prep stage, but either did the Sistine Chapel.
 
Thanks Grizzley! I entered the Egg drawing...hope all goes well with the family.

Luckily NJ is having perfect weather for Jeep work.

Now on to unlatching the hood and buying a new hood release cable.
 
Thanks AJ!

There were a few spots in the rear area where only one coat of resin was applied, and even with two coats of primer and speckled paint the pattern of the old glue and surface imperfections show. So I'm recommending two coats of resin at least. Make sure the resin fills in all texture and surface is smooth to the touch.

I went through two cans of resin but only used 1-1/2 as the first batched cured very fast and lost 1/2 a can - see picture. When Bondo says mix in small batches and don't add all of hardener to the full can...they mean it! I think it can be done with two cans of resin.

The speckled paint really does hide well. The paint is a warm gray that matches my seats and other interior parts. Seems like my jeep's interior has many different shades of gray so it all matches.

Total cost was about $50.00 in materials.

Not as cheap as covering in fabric, but this should last many times longer than any fabric.

Any questions?

Thanks again for all your help guys.

Best,

John V.
 
Last edited:
I have to admit, it looks a lot better then I thought it would. Good job!
 
Looks great....how hard was it to remove the headliner? Broken hood latch....mine broke so I ran the rest of the cable out the front of the grille and attached a makeshift handle, works fine.
 
Looks good. I remember seeing speckled grey paint as the factory headliner but they stopped doing that I dunno. I had to steam clean my headliner because it smelled like cigarette butts.

My dad at one point in his life had a fibreglass kayak building company. On days when the weather wasn't cooperating he set up a bunch of floodlights. The chemical reaction really does depend on certain frequencies of light. A lot of epoxies are this way, even stuff like Bondo or JB weld i think, to get it to set try putting it in the sun or under a halogen light.
 
Johnny V said:
Thanks Grizzley! I entered the Egg drawing...hope all goes well with the family.

Luckily NJ is having perfect weather for Jeep work.

Now on to unlatching the hood and buying a new hood release cable.
Click to expand...

I'd almost wonder if it wouldn't have helped the stiffness to add a layer of fiberglass cloth. I like the simplicity of the whole idea. I'm sure it'll clean a lot easier than the white denim I used.

Thanks for entering Johnny! Hope you win, wait, we'd lose another XJer to the swb crowd. :D Use it for you daily driver, hahahaha.
 
dizzymac said:
Looks great....how hard was it to remove the headliner? Broken hood latch....mine broke so I ran the rest of the cable out the front of the grille and attached a makeshift handle, works fine.
Click to expand...

Actually it took me longer to remove the headliner than install it. I was navigating in uncharted territory when I removed it. In hindsight I should have removed the trim from the back and worked my way forward...I did the opposite which became a big struggle removing the trim as one channels into the other. Also there was trepidation with the whole process...so I took my time. So to answer your question...about two+ hours removing the headliner and a little over an hour to install.
 
Grizzley said:
I'd almost wonder if it wouldn't have helped the stiffness to add a layer of fiberglass cloth. I like the simplicity of the whole idea. I'm sure it'll clean a lot easier than the white denim I used.
Click to expand...

If I had to do it again I'd recommend adding fiberglass cloth....especially if you have a sunroof as the area around the opening is very weak.

This was my first time working with resin so I wasn't sure of the whole process. The headliner and it's surface was very fragile and the resin made a huge improvement.

Grizzley said:
Thanks for entering Johnny! Hope you win, wait, we'd lose another XJer to the swb crowd. :D Use it for you daily driver, hahahaha.
Click to expand...

You are welcome! Does the hood release work? I'll take it!

Best,

John V.
 
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