It's not the sky that's falling
October 7, 2022 12:50 PM Subscribe
...it's the fabric in the minivan coming loose from the top. Any ideas how to keep it up there?
Here are some pictures. Hopefully the link works!
So the fabric lining the top inside of the minivan is coming loose around the edges. It's still being held up near the center by those plastic disks, but there seems to be little else holding it up. Stapling it wouldn't work, since it's fabric and underneath it is foam. Glue also likewise probably wouldn't work, and besides that would get messy. Simply taping it up would damage the fabric and also might not even hold it in place after long, unless it's duct tape...which again would damage the fabric.
I've thought of creating a stiff cardboard scaffolding of sorts, with 2 pieces going lengthwise from the sun visors back, taped to the handles up top so that they won't fall, and having thin pieces taped to them going across like a ladder with those thin strips taped to the center disks. However, I think that might be heavy... and again because it's tape holding it up it would likely fall. Obviously don't want anything falling while we might be driving.
Anyone have any ideas?
(in case it matters, it's a Chrysler Town & Country)
Here are some pictures. Hopefully the link works!
So the fabric lining the top inside of the minivan is coming loose around the edges. It's still being held up near the center by those plastic disks, but there seems to be little else holding it up. Stapling it wouldn't work, since it's fabric and underneath it is foam. Glue also likewise probably wouldn't work, and besides that would get messy. Simply taping it up would damage the fabric and also might not even hold it in place after long, unless it's duct tape...which again would damage the fabric.
I've thought of creating a stiff cardboard scaffolding of sorts, with 2 pieces going lengthwise from the sun visors back, taped to the handles up top so that they won't fall, and having thin pieces taped to them going across like a ladder with those thin strips taped to the center disks. However, I think that might be heavy... and again because it's tape holding it up it would likely fall. Obviously don't want anything falling while we might be driving.
Anyone have any ideas?
(in case it matters, it's a Chrysler Town & Country)
Is the foam underneath thick enough to hold upholstery twist pins? From my experience taping things in the interior of cars, the tape adhesive eventually fails because of heat or cold, usually right when you need it not to.
posted by corey flood at 1:00 PM on October 7, 2022 [3 favorites]
posted by corey flood at 1:00 PM on October 7, 2022 [3 favorites]
I believe that I have read that spray glue works for this, though how you get the can up in there to cover enough area is better left for someone more brave to experiment with.
(I, too, have a car that's old enough to be losing its headliner -- a 2005 Camry, in my case.)
posted by wenestvedt at 1:17 PM on October 7, 2022
(I, too, have a car that's old enough to be losing its headliner -- a 2005 Camry, in my case.)
posted by wenestvedt at 1:17 PM on October 7, 2022
Many moons ago we used a stapler on a Buick wagon. It worked, sort of, but it was not beautiful
posted by chocotaco at 1:28 PM on October 7, 2022
posted by chocotaco at 1:28 PM on October 7, 2022
You might just check around local body and upholstery shops and see who does headliner repair.
posted by Lyn Never at 1:38 PM on October 7, 2022
posted by Lyn Never at 1:38 PM on October 7, 2022
When this happened to my 1998 Saturn wagon, I ended up pulling the whole thing off because it was disintegrating, which was gross. Then I replaced it with a cheerful cotton print of umbrellas. I used spray adhesive and staples and tacks and possibly duct tape. Lying on your back wielding spray adhesive is not actually fun and I would heartily recommend a full face mask if possible. It was a kind of constant work in progress: parts would fall down and I would get them stuck up again just in time for other bits to fall down. It never ever worked perfectly but it was better than the disintegrating foam headliner, so we lived with it. And I did like looking up and seeing yellow cotton with umbrellas on it.
posted by mygothlaundry at 1:41 PM on October 7, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by mygothlaundry at 1:41 PM on October 7, 2022 [2 favorites]
I checked on this when the headliner for my van started failing. It's a several hundred dollar job because headliners are not as simple as they look. When the ceiling of my van starts looking like mountains from orbit, I'll bite the bullet. But for now, I don't even want to think about it.
posted by CollectiveMind at 2:16 PM on October 7, 2022
posted by CollectiveMind at 2:16 PM on October 7, 2022
From experience in a different make of vehicle: new adhesive isn't likely to help for long. Adhesive just holds the fabric against the foam backing, and the foam is (most likely) disintegrating. You can glue it in place temporarily, but the foam will just keep disintegrating and you'll have the same problem again very soon.
The only way to avoid throwing good money after bad is just to get the headliner replaced.
posted by fedward at 2:20 PM on October 7, 2022 [1 favorite]
The only way to avoid throwing good money after bad is just to get the headliner replaced.
posted by fedward at 2:20 PM on October 7, 2022 [1 favorite]
I had a 1988 Celebrity I bought for $500 in the 90’s with this problem. My father fashioned scaffolding that ran over the material using some sort of plastic strip, almost like the plastic boning that gives a strapless bodice structure, but about an inch wide. The strips went across the car, from drivers side to passenger side, not front to back. They were tensioned in pretty tight because they were bowed and maybe attached to something right above where the doors closed. There were half a dozen of them that ran the length of the car and it worked really well. The car didn’t have AC and windows down was not a problem. It also didn’t look too terrible. Sorry I don’t have more info, but I’m hoping this could help with the scaffolding idea.
posted by August Fury at 4:42 PM on October 7, 2022
posted by August Fury at 4:42 PM on October 7, 2022
I fixed mine easily, and apparently permanently, using those weird T shaped pins you see in office supply cabinets but you don't know what they're for. I shoved them into the foam fairly parallel to the roof (they're much longer than the foam is thick) in a pretty diamond grid pattern and not one has fallen out. It looks kind of like a fancy quilted upholstery covering now.
My car turns 20 next year! I installed these pins maybe four years ago. I am amazed by how perfectly it worked.
Glue doesn't work, don't try it.
posted by fritley at 7:59 PM on October 7, 2022 [1 favorite]
My car turns 20 next year! I installed these pins maybe four years ago. I am amazed by how perfectly it worked.
Glue doesn't work, don't try it.
posted by fritley at 7:59 PM on October 7, 2022 [1 favorite]
This is an everyday problem here due to the hot climate. The issue is that the foam between the fabric and the fibreboard of the headliner itself is breaking down and the fabric falls off. Gluing it back won't work, no matter how good the glue is because it's not the glue that fails.
Here, there are lots of specialist headliner repairers, like this one. They don't replace the headliner itself, they take it out of the car, scrape off the existing foam and replace the foam and fabric, all in about 1-2 hours and for a couple of hundred dollars. If you can't find one like this, try car upholsterers or similar. if you're handy, you could do this yourself - you can buy the foam-backed fabric and use spray contact adhesive.
In the meantime (or, like me, forever), you can use thumbtacks to hold the fabric up where it doesn't hang down completely. Unlike fritley, I didn't put them in with a pretty pattern so they looked awful, but it worked.
posted by dg at 9:57 PM on October 9, 2022
Here, there are lots of specialist headliner repairers, like this one. They don't replace the headliner itself, they take it out of the car, scrape off the existing foam and replace the foam and fabric, all in about 1-2 hours and for a couple of hundred dollars. If you can't find one like this, try car upholsterers or similar. if you're handy, you could do this yourself - you can buy the foam-backed fabric and use spray contact adhesive.
In the meantime (or, like me, forever), you can use thumbtacks to hold the fabric up where it doesn't hang down completely. Unlike fritley, I didn't put them in with a pretty pattern so they looked awful, but it worked.
posted by dg at 9:57 PM on October 9, 2022
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Mid at 12:58 PM on October 7, 2022 [3 favorites]