[genelambe]

Pbody, on Aug 17 2007, 08:53 AM, said:

it was the General Trim Adhesive # 08088

Fabric was wool felt, weighs almost nothing

Did it in the basement so it was 70* and regular humidity

Welcome aboard i think you will find that anyone here will help you in any way that is possible,enjoy your stay with us...Gene

[russ93spirit]

I have had success two times in a row using the 3M heavy duty spray glue made for headliners. used it with foam-backed fabric, and I did not let it sit as long as directions said before I joined the fabric to the board. I did small sections at a time.

[Marcos]

I did the headliner on my lebaron coupe last year. I used the 3M adhesive for heavy weight headliners, and I used the foam-backed headliner material from Joann Fabrics. So far it's holding up well, but there were a few bubbles from the start. A few things I observed that I will take into account next time (and there WILL be a next time, I'm pretty sure)

The headliner board on mine was pretty absorbent. It kept soaking up the adhesive and leaving the surface barely moist. I used up most of the can of adhesive on the board, leaving little for the fabric. (you're supposed to apply to both surfaces, then allow to dry slightly before pressing together.). Next time, I will buy 2 cans of adhesive. My coupe, with the cutout for the sunroof, has probably one of the smallest headliner surface areas of all the EEKs.

The board material has aged and is brittle and gives off a lot of fibers when you brush it to remove the old adhesive. I'd like to find some sort of thin "doping" compound to apply to both surfaces of the board to help reinforce it, and also make it slightly less absorbent, so that more of the adhesive will remain closer to the surface, creating a stronger tack.

With the limited working time, the relatively low adhesion I experience, and the difficulty of working with the brittle headliner board and it's deep curves, it was hard to get good application of the fabric, hence the bubbles. If/when I do it again, I think I will purchase a large, thick sheet of plastic, like the kind used for dropcloths, fold it in half and tape up the sides, to create a giant ziploc bag. When I apply the fabric to the board, I will slip it inside, seal up the last edge, run a tube inside and vacuum it down with the pump I use for A/C work. This should create a nice even pressure across the board surface, that I can leave holding for several hours/minutes (but not too long). This should eliminate the bubbles hopefully. I just need to make sure the plastic doesn't bunch up and leave unsightly marks or wrinkles.