Headliner questions

[scenic760]

Hey all!

I have a couple of headliner questions..so the entire headliner was sloughing off so I pulled it all down and cleaned it up. I took a sample to the fabric store to match it as best as possible, which turned out I found a pretty decent match.

Now that I have taken the board down and scrubbed/sanded it, it looks like the headliner may have been replaced at some time in the past as the headliner that came off it was fabric and the sunburn marks look suspiciously like the "snakebite" vinyl pattern? I was looking online at the usual suspects (LMC, etc.) and they all indicated a fabric headliner as well

Does anyone know what the original headliner should be? It's a 1981 GMC Suburban Sierra Classic

With that being said I have an adhesive question as well, can I brush on a layer of contact cement on the backer board ( I have a gallon laying around) and use a spray can of adhesive (3M Spray 90 or ??) on the liner material?

Thanks

 

[waterpirate]

Oem headliner backer was chip board I believe. There are several threads on here that give a good tutorial on the steps to recover your headliner for the best results. Eric

 

[ali_c20]

I used 3m adhesive and vinyl for the headliner in my K5. I took a spray with a high temperature tolerance, but I can't recall which exactly.
I removed all of the old headliner material and adhesive down to the cardboard surface and only used the 3m spray.

 

[ChuckN]

Not to hijack the thread, but I noticed mine doesn’t have a headliner at all, just blue paint, and I don’t see evidence that it was removed. Was the headliner an option/interior package?

 

[Scott91370]

Not to hijack the thread, but I noticed mine doesn’t have a headliner at all, just blue paint, and I don’t see evidence that it was removed. Was the headliner an option/interior package?

Not all trucks came with them. Just the higher trim levels.

 

[scenic760]

Oem headliner backer was chip board I believe. There are several threads on here that give a good tutorial on the steps to recover your headliner for the best results. Eric

Thanks Eric,

The backer does indeed look like chipboard, I pulled it down and scrubbed it with a scotch brite pad to get the big stuff off and then sanded it down with an orbital sander and 120 grit. I will probably wipe it down with some alcohol before I hit it with the contact cement just to make sure it's clean.

I was wondering about the original covering material because what came off it looked like run of the mill foam backed fabric but when I cleaned off the backer, the pattern that was on it was the perforated vinyl..I was just trying to figure out the correct material...

Here is a thred showing the material about 9 posts down..

Headliner Material

Where is everyone getting the foam backed headliner material today?? It would be for a regular cab truck. I need blue... No luck at our local Michaels, WallyWorld, or Hobby Lobby- They had tan, black, & gray though. -Jon in TX.

www.gmsquarebody.com

 

[waterpirate]

My oem headliner was some cheese ball fabric of sorts. when I tore it out 20 years ago I had the for sight to re install all the trim, sans the headliner. 2 years ago it made installing its lmc replacement a breeze.
Eric

 

[scenic760]

My oem headliner was some cheese ball fabric of sorts. when I tore it out 20 years ago I had the for sight to re install all the trim, sans the headliner. 2 years ago it made installing its lmc replacement a breeze.
Eric

Haha...yeah it looks like I'm doing the cheesy foam backed fabric replacement myself.. $12 a yard for 60in width at Joann fabric

I can't tell what the original SHOULD be and the only thing I could find with the snakebite pattern was non foam backed which looked like it would be painful and unforgiving to laminate on the old chip board backer..

 

[tadslc]

With that being said I have an adhesive question as well, can I brush on a layer of contact cement on the backer board ( I have a gallon laying around) and use a spray can of adhesive (3M Spray 90 or ??) on the liner material?

Thanks

Not that I am a contact cement guru but I wouldn't mix adhesives for this job.

 

[scenic760]

Not that I am a contact cement guru but I wouldn't mix adhesives for this job.

You sir are most likely the voice of reason!

I will find something else to stick together with the 1/2 gallon of contact cement I'm sitting on, haha

 

[David King]

Took mine to a local upholstery/headliner repair shop. Problem solved, looks great!

 

[SquareRoot]

Took mine to a local upholstery/headliner repair shop. Problem solved, looks great!

Pics or it didn't happen. Carry on.

 

[mrdap]

My original '81 K30 Silverado is equipped with the saddle color perforated vinyl. I believe in 1981, the Silverados were equipped from the factory with the perforated vinyl, which was used on the Custom Deluxe models.
In 1982 they switched the Silverado headliner material to the foam backed cloth, as confirmed by my original 1982 Silverado.
Same with the seats by the way.
In 1981 the Silverado seats were vinyl.
And in 1982 they started using cloth.

 

[scenic760]

My original '81 K30 Silverado is equipped with the saddle color perforated vinyl. I believe in 1981, the Silverados were equipped from the factory with the perforated vinyl, which was used on the Custom Deluxe models.
In 1982 they switched the headliner material to the foam backed cloth, as confirmed by my original 1982 Silverado.
Same with the seats by the way.
In 1981 the Silverado seats were vinyl.
And in 1982 they started using cloth.

THANK YOU! Can't beat first hand knowledge of a factory vehicle!!

Does your '81 have the "snakebite" perforated vinyl or regular pattern? I wonder if mine being a GMC has anything to do with it?

 

[Cemack]

Permatex has the best spray on adhesive for headliners. I bought my foam backed material off Amazon. It was the only place I could find it