Hey yall's,
I'm gonna replace the sunroof seals at which time I'd like to clean and paint my dingy headliner. I'd hate to ruin my near mint interior so.... MY QUESTION IS: Is it possible to actually remove the headliner? It's on of those rigid plastic types not fabric. Am I insane ?????

removal of headliner is easy with the backglass out of the car,but please do not "kick"it out,it must be really warm in southern calif. and the rubber must be very flexible,if you try to do that in the midwest,you will see a shower of glass.Rear window removal is easy working from the inside of the car with about 10 flat blade screwdrivers,starting at the top middle pry the rubber away from the body opening,leaving each screwdriver in place to hold the rubber pulled down and away from the pinchweld keep adding screwdrivers at about 4 inch's apart from each other,work your way across the top and then start down the sides very soon the window with the rubber attached to it will push itself out.BEWARE keep the screwdrivers away from the glass.you are working between the body and the rubber from the inside of the car. installation is really easy with soap and a rope or a radiator hook tool.call an autoglass shop for help or advise if you dont understand. good luck

I have dreamed about getting the headliner out of my 1990 240; and, I thought -given size and scale- it was impossible. And, it seems to be. Unless, you want to kick the window out of your car... not me.

It can be painted in place... Break everything down, tape off, and paint with a new, high quality brush and thined out water-based interior paint. Many light coats put on in different directions will show no brush marks. A radical color change will not yeild the same killer results as something closer to the original tone.

Someone talked about the procedure I just mentioned last year. He noted that excellent results were obtained with a chip brush and a little foam roller.

As a decorative artist, who owns a highly respected company, and who paints on all types of surfaces, I know it to be entirely possible... as long as you prepare thoroughly (clean w/ degreaser) and take your time.

My dad swears white shoe polish is the ticket... what do you think?

Peace, Jon

It will not come out the doors in one piece in a 244, I kicked out the rear window and removed it then put the window back in (with '91 rubber)

Rick at RC imports showed me how to remove the back window, I didn't believe him 'till I saw it and tried it at Ecology. He kicked the top of the window and it pops right out (use soft soled shoes) I tried it on 5-6 parts cars and then did mine. Be sure the foot hits flat, a small contact point can crack the window. I cleaned mine and painted it black with SEM plastic paint, I never did like the white headliners in the non turbo 240s.
--
Dave Shannon
Spring Valley, California (San Diego area)
'84-245 200K+
'84-245T 190K+
'88-240 190K+
'92 745Ti 150K
'01 Jeep Wrangler Sahara 10K
www.volvo2.homestead.com

Spelled like it sounds--how did you support the headliner when it's out of the car?

Also, what kind of surface prep did you do?

Thanks!

DS (who's going to do this this summer)

I painted the headliner on an old door across 2 sawhorses, SEM makes a "plastic prep" spray to do the final cleaning. Get all the loose dirt off with your favorite spray cleaner, let dry well, spray small sections with the prep spray and use white shop towels to wipe clean, when that section is clean move on. As for the paint I used SEM plastic paint, be ready to do lots of spray/dry cycles. If I remember right it took 4 cans to do a good cover job on the headliner. Lite coats and many of them make for the best results, I did the job for the Davis meet 2 years ago and it still looks great.
--
Dave Shannon
Spring Valley, California (San Diego area)
'84-245 200K+
'84-245T 190K+
'88-240 190K+
'92 745Ti 150K
'01 Jeep Wrangler Sahara 10K
www.volvo2.homestead.com

Sounds a little extreme- are you sure removal of the seats won't give the needed clearance?

I tried that on a couple at the yards, ended up with a broken headliner both times. That will work on a 242 however.
--
Dave Shannon
Spring Valley, California (San Diego area)
'84-245 200K+
'84-245T 190K+
'88-240 190K+
'92 745Ti 150K
'01 Jeep Wrangler Sahara 10K
www.volvo2.homestead.com

I took one out of a 4 door Olds Cutlass and didn't have to remove either the seats or glass. You have to get it turned crossways then catty-corner out through the widest door opening. Back in the same way.

No, I've tried that. Not enough room. Like I said, I *think* with the seats removed, there'd be clearance...

It's actually pretty easy to remove the foam plastic liner - just remove the window moldings and dome light, and it will just about fall out. The tricky part is getting it out of the car, so it may be easier to maneuver with the front seats out.

You can peel off the old headliner material, scrape off any adhering foam rubber backing, then glue on new material. You can buy headliner at upholstery shops. One word of advice - get the spray adhesive from the upholstery shop because it will hold up to the heat. If you use spray adhesive from Home Depot or Autozone such as 3M "77" adhesive, it will come loose in the heat.

I tried, on a parts-car. Decided (after I ruined it) it's probably necessary to remove the seats first.

AWESOME,
Thanks for all the advice. I think I'll try removing the seats first after measuring twice. I'm weary about removing any window held in place by rubeer and such. If it comes to that then I will try to restore it in situ. I'll let you know the results after this weekened as this might interest many volvonians. Thanks again-- i just bought my first volvo last week and am thorooughly impresses by: the car itself, the clever people on this board, the aftermarket support, etc.. I've had a great "first-post" expereience :)
-Toby

Dave knows ALOT more about Volvos than I do, I'm really not much more than a newbie myself. I tried it, and was unsuccessful. I did think it would be possible with the seats out, but if he says no, he's probably right... Too bad, cuz my '78s headliner is falling apart- but I sure as heck don't have the guts to start kicking at my rear window..:)

On the other hand, Jon's post sounds like a good idea to me.

Anyway, good luck with it.

If it makes you feel any better I still cringe when I do it. Last month I pulled a couple of the late model rear window trims (all black, 91 and later) down at the yards and I still expect a crash and shower of glass.
--
Dave Shannon
Spring Valley, California (San Diego area)
'84-245 200K+
'84-245T 190K+
'88-240 190K+
'92 745Ti 150K
'01 Jeep Wrangler Sahara 10K
www.volvo2.homestead.com