Vinyl separated from car roof. How to fix?

August 31, 2013 2:42 PM

Hi everyone. I have an old 1992 Toyota Camry. The interior vinyl has separated from the car roof, as you can see in these pictures. How do I fix this? Any suggestions very much appreciated.
posted by Alaska Jack to Grab Bag (8 answers total)

Its not really a permanent fix and it would look as good as new, but you can get spray adhesive at any hardware store and spray it between the roof and the vinyl and press it together. You will need to hold it for a while but it will fix it temporarily. When the weather is hot or over time the sprayed on glue will fail and you will need to do it again. A real fix is probably going to require a body shop.

Or you can just rip it all down and live without a headliner. The car will be noiser, and hotter or colder depending on outside temp and sun but you won't have the headliner in your face...
posted by bartonlong at 2:46 PM on August 31, 2013

Magnets? Like numerous strong magnets?
posted by Tandem Affinity at 2:56 PM on August 31, 2013

Best answer: They actually make a spray adhesive specifically for this application. It's basically contact cement.
posted by gjc at 3:05 PM on August 31, 2013

What is between the vinyl and the metal roof? My old Buick Lesabre had a cloth roof, and I pinned it up with a normal stapler, flipped open as if to staple fliers to walls. I then had fun making a pattern with the staples, and with enough staples, it held up fine.
posted by filthy light thief at 4:19 PM on August 31, 2013

The word you need is "headliner".
posted by kestrel251 at 7:55 PM on August 31, 2013

Best answer: Here is a toyota forum thread on how to repair a 92 Camry headliner.

There are some links in there to headliner kits for sale, as well as general discussion about headliner jobs. I've always found car forums to be an awesome source of information - the people there are usually happy to give guidance and advice on a job if you need help.

Here's a detailed 1990 repair guide from a headliner kit company.
posted by NorthernAutumn at 10:06 PM on August 31, 2013 [1 favorite]

This happened to me a while back. That adhesive is dodgy at best (in my opinion). I had it professionally replaced by a small business (a guy who did it out the garage in his house) for about $200 in 2002 or 2003.
posted by dhens at 10:56 PM on August 31, 2013

Response by poster: Thanks for the input everyone.

The first two responses were the first two things I'd thought of. Spray adhesive doesn't seem like it would be very secure/permanent. As for magnets, they'd have to be thin (to avoid bumping my head on them) and yet hellaciously strong (to attached securely to the metal roof through the somewhat thick, spongy material of the headliner.

I will continue to research this. Mine isn't torn or anything, so maybe I can completely disassemble the whole thing and re-assemble it.
posted by Alaska Jack at 2:56 PM on September 3, 2013