HELP: Headliner adhesive removal problems.
 

Does anybody know a good way to get the headliner adhesive off? I have tried denatured alc. with little success, and was wondering if anyone has had the same problem as me and found a good solution.

Always Leaky,
Tyler

I haven't pulled my headliner yet, but what is the headliner shell made out of? If its fibreglass or anything besides soft plastic you could use Naphtha or even better, MEK/MPK, both available at hardware shop. Just test a small area first, that stuff will attack soft plastics, try not to breath it in, either.

Rhys Legge

I used a paint stripper wheel in a drill.
Yes, the headliner is fibreglass.

Thanks it is made out of 2 thin fiberglass sheets and a little foam in between them

thanks for the advice!

When I removed the fabric and painted the headliner in my truck 10+ years ago the old adhesive came off easily with denatured alcohol. I don't what year your truck is but mine's a '99. If yours is a later model year I suppose it's possible they changed the adhesive but that seems unlikely to me.

If you are talking about the glue and layer of foam that stays on the backing board when the fabric material is pulled away, they go to your local hardware store and get a cheap bbq gril brush. Takes that stuff right off.

I used a vacuum with the brush attachment. Took about a half hour. The glue ruined the brush however, turned it into petrified plastic. I bought a replacement brush attachment on Ebay for $10.


http://www.e28-m5.com/hlnrrmvl.jpg

I have done 3 so far. The first 2 went easy with just a wire brush. The third was a real pain and I had the same problem as you. I ended up disolving parts of that green fabric so I had to peel it off which really cased problems. I had to get the radom orbital sander and skim it a few times but that revealed the the seam folds in the corner areas. I went back and forth with latex paint and caulk to get the thing looking OK (not great)

Pro tip...while you got it out, tighten up the chord that holds the top of the map net holders for the rear seat area. They always get stretched out.

Another easy way to fix this if they're loose and you don't want to drop the headliner is to get some backpack cord holders and put them onto the middle of the cord - that way they're nice and tight. Shout out to another user on here who recommended this fix.

I bought these off ebay for under $5 - they took like a month to ship from China, though.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Cord-Lock-E...72.m2749.l2649

I should have been a little more complete in my prior post. After pulling off the old fabric I used a wire brush to remove as much of the old phone as possible, vacuuming it away as I went along. It was only after I removed as much as possible with the brush that I went to work with the denatured alcohol. That was all many years ago and I don't remember how I applied that alcohol but it was probably with old rags. I wanted to be sure that all residue of the old adhesive was gone to ensure a well-prepped surface for the Kilz and paint.