Fix Your Sagging Headliner

If you own a classic car or just have an older car that might be in need of some TLC, there are a number of different quick DIY fixes that you can easily tackle yourself to breathe new life into that old car. One of the most common issues that older cars experience is a sagging headliner. Not only does a sagging headliner distract you as a driver, but it just looks plain old ugly. Luckily, a sagging headliner is nothing that can’t be tackled by a patient set of steady hands and a few simple tools. If you would like to learn more about how you can start taking your vehicle’s maintenance into your own hands and start saving thousands of dollars over your car’s lifespan, come into your local U-Pull-&-Pay today. Our DIY specialists will help you get all the parts and information you need to become an expert DIY mechanic.

What Causes A Sagging Headliner

When your headliner starts to sag, it is usually from a combination of a few different factors. The combination of the force of gravity over time mixed with the deterioration of the adhesive can cause unsightly sagging spots or even the deterioration of your whole liner. Moisture, heat, and humidity can all drastically affect the speed at which your adhesive deteriorates and can cause your liner to shrink and begin to pull away from the edges. When these issues start to arise, you have a choice between two options. You can decide to just rip the whole thing out and drive your car without a headliner, but this is not particularly aesthetically pleasing and will make your car louder from the cab and substantially colder in cool weather. The better option is for you to take a few minutes to repair or replace your headliner depending on its current state. You can easily fix this simple issue by trying a few methods.

Add Headliner Pins

Headliner pins are small corkscrew-shaped pins that affix your headliner to your roof to keep it in place and stop it from sagging even more. All you need to do for this to work efficiently is to place these pins evenly across the extent of the sagging area. The only downside of this type of repair is that these headliner pins will be easily visible and can detract from your car’s overall look.

Use Fabric Glue

If the sagging area is small enough, you can use simple fabric glue, spread evenly across the surface of the affected area, to quickly reaffix the sagging headliner. This obviously only works on easily accessible areas like corners and siding, but if you use a thin enough layer of fabric glue, this technique will leave no visible residue behind.

Try A Steam Cleaner

For larger repairs or repairs that aren’t easily accessible, you can try using a steam cleaner. By moving slowly across the affected area, you can heat up and add moisture to the glue behind the headliner. You can then use a credit card or nylon roller to push the headliner back into the now sticky glue behind it. This technique may or may not work depending on how old the glue is or how much glue is left.

A sagging headliner is one of the more simple DIY fixes that you can take on as an at-home mechanic. If you want to learn more about how you can start taking care of your car’s maintenance yourself or need parts for your next DIY project, come into your local U-Pull-&-Pay today.