Headlining fitters

[Crowman30]

Hi,
I was just wondering if anyone knew of a good car trimmer in the East Sussex area.
My Lotus Excel has the dreaded sagging headlining syndrome.
I would be grateful for any advice.
Thanks Don.

[Hawaiis0]

Do it yourself . You will find it most satisfying

[Hawaiis0]

To follow up, if the main panels have sagged but the material is ok you may be able to re-glue.

The side rails are easily removed to get to the main panels. These are the bits off car

[MetBlue]

Do it yourself . You will find it most satisfying

100 % agree. The shapes are simple and materials are not expensive. It's probably the quickest job I've done on my car and the transformation is most rewarding.

Tony

[bash]

If you lived closer to me I would give you a hand, Ive done two now, but its a bit too far from yorkshire. Theres a couple of guides on the site, main things are; before touching the headlining take your seats out it makes it a much easier and quicker job, make sure you cover the carpets the old foam drops down as a dust but sticks like......, Use high temp spray glue from woolies who can also supply the material. The only difficult bit is doing the sun visors, but if I can do them.....
Good luck.

Bash

[Ray-s]

Agree with replies done mine twice now, first time was bad, dust and glue everywhere ..Second a breeze it's not a hard job as for visors, very fiddly, I asked round and found a local seamstress who did a cracking job on them cost me £35 worth every penny...

[mikefahey]

Agree- do it yourself, shop round for good substantial fabric. This is the second time I have done mine and the ‘Lotus’ headlining used 13 years ago had completely disintegrated and gone from grey to pink !!
I sought out some grey 3mm foam and scrim backed ‘Alcantara’ style fabric and it looks great. A day to strip out the interior, a day to remove the glue residue ( standard thinners) recovering the removable trim sections and re-covering takes a couple of days which includes using the sewing machine to make neat looking hemmed ends.
The big clue is to buy some 3mm blown foam plastic board. Use this as a backing for the roof panels. Bond the fabric to the face side, apply self adhesive Velcro to the reverse and on the roof in a matching pattern. I painted thinners onto the b plastic board. The Velcro won’t come off once bonded to this. I hope this has given you a good idea of how to accomplished the work to a very acceptable standard.

[Crowman30]

Hi,
Thank you for the advice, really appreciated.
I might give it a go myself, interested in the foam board and velcro idea.
It is only the fabric on the two main sections of the roof that are sagging, so I may leave the material on the trims.
If I cannot get a colour match on the material I might go for a shade darker. I think the original colour is described as mink.
Thanks again.

[ianhateswork]

If i`m not too late,
i would recommend the velcro panel method although the original way is the lightest. Instead of 3mm, i used 1mm Foamalite
from pyramid display materials, a tenner for an 8x4.
Its so floppy that i was having second thoughts, but once the material is glued on and the velcro attached its brill, deforming perfectly to
the shape of the roof and the side rails only have an extra 1mm do cope with. i made a panel for the rear window and left a little material to tuck into the gap by the rear glass to finish it , terrible stuff to bend as it wants to deform as soon as hot. good luck.
ian

[Skyedriver]

I like that trim for the rear, does it push into the "gap" between glass and body?
I'm in the process of retrimming but using 4mm twin wall PVC as it's a lot more rigid.

[Tanz]

If i`m not too late,
i would recommend the velcro panel method although the original way is the lightest. Instead of 3mm, i used 1mm Foamalite
from pyramid display materials, a tenner for an 8x4.
Its so floppy that i was having second thoughts, but once the material is glued on and the velcro attached its brill, deforming perfectly to
the shape of the roof and the side rails only have an extra 1mm do cope with. .

Is this what you used ?
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/334090286558 ... SwG2dg~Swu

My head lining needs replacing.

[ianhateswork]

Hi Phil,
that looks to be the stuff, you can buy it a lot cheaper if you source locally, there is a pyramid display products depot in birmingham , there is a firm like then near you for sure.
ian

[ianhateswork]

when the rear capping was covered with material i left an extra 50mm at the rear which i folded over and glued to itself before pushing it into the gap under the glass, it was a temporary solution that still there.
Its held on with a strip of velcro which runs the length of the hump on the roof. the foamalite also has a tab in its shape that tucks into the side rails--see photo.
You may find rigidity is not your friend here as the roof has a curve in it, both ways on the main panels and 4mm is just heavy.
thanks
ian

[bash]

I didnt use anything except the lining, its pushed into that gap at the factory and I used a plastic filler spreader to push it in, neither of the two Ive done has come out and they look great. Whatever works for you is the way to go but for me using other methods is making a simple job complicated.
Bash
Ps, Ive put my tin hat on, Im not criticising any method used Im just saying what I did.