I am shopping around for headliner material for my wagon. The FAQ says to use 1/8 material not 1/4 for vehicles with sunroofs, which I have. I see some sites have 3/16 material for a good price. Has anyone had experience with the 3/16 material?

wlsheadliners that sells 1/8 and 3/16 says it works great, but I would like a second opinion.

I a thinking of going with yourautotrim.com that sells 3/16 for $9.00 a yard.

Also, how many 18 Oz. cans of the 3m general trim adhesive (8088) do I need to do a wagon with sunroof?

Thanks!
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Paul NW Indiana '89 740 Turbo 140,000

Went to check my receipts. I'm pretty sure it was 3/8 but the shop didn't write that little detail down....

I used 3 cans (all of them gone) on a sedan with sunroof (you don't use the spray on the sunroof).

Make SURE the glue is tacky before applying.

Also, using some pieces of seat foam works very very well for removing the old material's foam backing. I didn't use a brush because I had the cardboard backing plate, which can be glued carefully together with contact cement if you break it.

Also.... I had a heck of a time with the seats in, which may not (but may be) a problem for you in a wagon. I had to stop and pull out the seats with the backer on my head.....

Good luck and happy bricking,
Will
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1990 740 Turbo, on its way to stock specs, maybe beyond

I'd guess it was 3/16. The 1/4 that should not be used is equal to 2/8th so 3/8 is even %50 more than the biggy.

Surprisingly on the online sites I looked at I did not see 1/4 as an option. Mostly 3/16. One site had 1/8 for more money. I wonder if 3/16 has become the headliner standard in stead of 1/4?

Did you use tape on the backside of the sunroof panel instead of adhesive spray? If so what Kind. I have some 3M Very High Bond double sided tape I was thing of using on the sunrrof.
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Paul NW Indiana '89 740 Turbo 140,000

Looks like some success with 3/16. Has any one used it with a sunroof? With 3 cans of adhesive the ipd kit isn't looking like such a bad deal.

I used the IPD kit with the 1/8" material. It came with 3 large spray cans of 3M adhesive, and I used less than two cans. My wagon has a sunroof, and the IPD instructions were good. BE SURE YOU DON'T CUT THE SUNROOF HOLE BEFORE TOU PUT THE HEADLINER BACK INTO THE CAR! I did, and had to scrounge for a wider trim, because I cut the opening about an inch too close.

Also, I second the note about cleaning off the old foam well. It's not difficult: I used a stiff nylon-bistled scrub brush, vacuuming as I went.

Be careful in removing the plastic trim: those old interior parts get brittle!

All in all, it was well worth the effort; it looks 100% better, and I quit getting orange foam dandruff!

Harry

Hey Paul,



I got my headliner material at yourautotrim.com. I used the 'Light Beige' 3/16" material. It looks really nice, and I had trouble using it. However, my car does not have a sunroof. I think you should be able to use the 3/16" material. It works very smoothly. I used the 3M #8090 Super Trim Adhesive. For a wagon with a sunroof, I would get at least 8 cans of glue. I used four for my sedan, and thought I could have used more. Two coats on both the headliner fabric and shell uses quite a bit of glue. Perhaps others will say what it took for them... This is where I got my glue:


http://www.tcpglobal.com/3m/itemdetail.aspx?itemno=MMM+8088

They had the best price I could find at the time, about a year ago. I used the 8090 glue myself, they also have that, its a bit more expensive. If you haven't seen whats involved in doing this, take a look at IPD's instructions. Its a good guide to what you'll have to do.

http://www.ipdusa.com/uploads/sku_files/13287_INST.PDF

Having a wagon makes doing the headliner a bit easier, paradoxically. Its quite hard to get the headliner out of a sedan. You may want to take out the seats for extra room. I think you'll need 4 yards of material. Make sure you get the headliner shell well cleaned of the old foam, since the glue will not adhere to it. It makes a heck of a mess.


Good luck,

Jon 'Uncle Olaf'

I had trouble using it

Please elaborate.

Not that it makes a big difference, but did you think you got the best color. I was leaning toward ordering the "Sand Beige" color.
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Paul NW Indiana '89 740 Turbo 140,000

Hey Paul,



I meant to say I had no trouble using it. Sorry for the confusion. The material works very smoothly, just make sure you place it where you want it, since its hard to take it up. Here's some photos of my headliner after getting it in...









You can see the color and see what you think. I thought it was a pretty good match. Sorry again for the confusion.


Regards, Jon 'Uncle Olaf'

Here they are:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30371014&l=7d983e67fd&id=1207936220

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30371015&l=fd857f4c50&id=1207936220

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30371016&l=59927653f9&id=1207936220


My attempt to embed the links failed. Hopefully this should work.

Cheers, Jon

Also looking at the 3/16". Was wondering what color matches the best from yourautotrim.com?

I did my sedan and used 1/8 and one can would have been enough if I had not had to re-mount. The problem with the thicker material is with the sun roof clearance when opening. Perhaps someone else has used 3/16 and can tell you if any problems. The most difficult part is fitting the sun roof and the outside corners of the sunroof without wrinkling. The material stretch is forgiving, so not a difficult job.

Gary