Ever happens that you get into your car and first look at the roof? No …. Because that’s not a common habit, but once you witness headliner material start sagging from the corners of the car’s roof, your eyes will get fixed on it, even while driving.
It’s quite understandable that you would never have imagined that the perfect, smooth headlining of your vehicle will one day start hanging like baggy pants but there are several culprits behind it.
Sinking Headliner Repair
The main offender is the Sun; yes the yellow ball besides causing skin burns also dries out the glue of the headliner, after you left your car with it for a decade or so, and the horrible humidity playing its part too. Other than sun and humidity, there is age factor too, alas you can’t fix it.
Not repairing is not an option, not even for lazy pricks, because; number one your hair will get static when they’ll come in contact with bulging headlining, watch out girls. Second, the uber irritating sound of floppy headlining, which will be flattering in the wind while you’ll be driving, ugh? Third, the risk of headlining falling and obstructing your view; well that’s some serious likelihood which can result in accidents and you can’t brush it aside.
So, what should you do now? Instead of scratching your head, as this won’t do any favor to the Sagging headliner, try out car-saving hacks which will aid you to get out of this nightmare. These quick-fix means will prevent the droopy headliner problem from spreading further and relax; you won’t need a diploma in auto-mechanics to fix this fuss. All these measures require are a few bucks and a few hours.
So, what are you waiting for? Check out these car-saving hacks.
How to Fix Sagging Headliner without Removing:
Watch this video
Take your car to any car repair shop to fix the sagging headliner and the first thing the mechanic will advise you is to replace it and this is not the option your wallet will happily agree upon. So, instead of jumping into a fight with your budget for the sake of your old car, try these easy peasy and pocket-friendly hacks.
Gluing:
Don’t get surprised, this oldie goldie method of fixing headliner is still the easiest and effective way to put the Sagging headliner back to its place. Unless you are way too impressed by the DIYers who suggest tricks to use hot-glue to fix the headlining. It’s better to buy specific headlining adhesive.
Look out for adhesive spray cans; they will make your glue-application task lot easier and you won’t have to mess up around with glues, gloves, and brushes. Keep in mind that regular glues aren’t much efficient in repairing the sagging headlining, so STAY AWAY from them.
While shopping adhesive for your headline, don’t let the cheap glues lure you. The attractive prices they offer are mere to misguide you as neither they will provide the desired adhesiveness, nor they will save the headlining material. Look out for the best headliner adhesive available in the store and invest on it, as indirectly it’ll be an investment on your vehicle.
Gluing is practical for partial sagging, like flaked corners or edges; by spraying there you can put the headlining back. But if unfortunately, a larger portion of your car’s headliner is hanging then this hack won’t do much favor to you, as then you have to take out the entire headlining panel, and you surely don’t want to experiment this much with your car.
Using Staples and Hair Spray:
No wonder this sounds crazy and childish to you, but this is one cheap way to temporarily fix your car, especially if you aren’t willing to put lots of money on your ancient vehicle. Stapler and Hairspray are all that’s required for this quick fix. Mind you, when I said stapler, it means stapler gun as certainly paper stapler isn’t for stapling car roofs.
All you need to do is to staple the sagging headlining on the backing board. After stapling, pick up the hairspray and spray the headlining. Now relax, have some refreshing drink till the spray is dried; once dried, remove the staples and voila, it’s done!
Sequin Pins:
Don’t let your headliner be a spoiled saggy brat and pin it back to its original place. Take help from the sequin pins; push them in through the headlining fabric into the foam of the backing board. These little pins have the ability to hold the headliner in its place, even if half of the headlining fabric has come off, they will mend it.
Unleash your inner artist and be a bit creative with these tiny pins. Arrange them in patterns like circle, spiral, diamond or square. These intricate patterns not only provide extra hold but will also give your car interiors a premium bespoke look *winks*.
Saggy Stoppers:
Not sure about sequin pins or glue application? If yes, then don’t experiment with them or else you would be left with damaged headlining fabric or car roof. Inexperienced fellas out there, clear-headed twist pins are made for you. They have also referred to as saggy stoppers, and rightly so.
They are ideal to hold back entire slumped headlining and prevent it from falling on your head. More so these economical pins won’t damage the fragile headlining board, so this is a win-win option for a no-fuss repair.
Double-sided Tape:
After stapler, the double-sided tape from your stationery comes to your rescue. If unfortunately, your headlining has detached this much that you can access it from inside, then instead of leaving it hanging there (as this will worsen the damage) fasten it back to the roof.
Double-sided tape is one handy option for this purpose, drag it out of your stationery box and stick it. This hack is more helpful if your headlining has detached around rearview mirror mounting or near the edges.
Steam Cleaner and Paint Roller:
Don’t be surprised, household items like a paint roller and steam cleaner have several other purposes to serve than just the cited uses and one of them is mending your car’s headlining. Fetch your steam cleaner from the storeroom to your garage and heat the headlining.
The heat will melt the dried glue in the headlining material. Next step is to smooth out the wrinkles and for this, a paint roller will be a clever option for you. Don’t forget that this should be an UNUSED paint roller, or else you would be left with a pink coloured car roof matching your daughter’s room’s paint colour.
Smooth out the wrinkles and creases by rolling the headlining after heating it up. Another precaution for over-enthusiast chaps; don’t let the thoughts of“should I heat more for better results” drive you; otherwise there will be burnt or shrunk headlining and double damage.
Replace the fall off Headliner:
Well, this option is always available; all it requires is a handsome amount of money. So, if you want to satisfy your free-spending nature or believe that your vintage car deserves this much money, then go ahead and buy a new headliner. This will certainly provide factory results to you, that too without any DIY hassle.
Bottom Line!
So, whether you are thinking of picking up sequin pins from the market or pondering over glue application or steamer and roller combo, the first and foremost step is to do your research. Ask your peers, browse the internet, read blogs and check which hack is ideal for your vehicle.
For example, for sagging corners and edges, gluing and steamer with a roller are effective. While if entire headlining is dropping then you should consider fixing it with knacks or sagging stoppers. Don’t let titles like easy peasy DIY ways distract you; explore different hacks because inexperience together with zero knowledge about repair hack can damage your car. And this is not something you can afford experimenting with.