Do not use 3M Super 77 for headliner adhesive (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

overton

SILVER Star
Joined
Oct 25, 2004
Threads
351
Messages
2,176
Location
Iowa
Website
www.myfj40.com
I have in the past used 3M Headliner and Fabric Adhesive and it works well to secure a new headliner in your FJ40. I got talked into trying 3M Super 77 and it does NOT work well for this job. Two days later and the headliner is sagging and I'm doing this over.

38808_hero_copy.jpg
 
The best stuff I have found, that does not release in the hot Texas sun, is Weldwood Contact Cement from Home Depot in the quart cans. We put it on both surfaces with a foam brush. Holds great.
 
That is the trick with super 77 as well . You need to do both surfaces let them tack a bit then stick them together . It doesn't work if you only spray one side .
 
Got tired of mine sagging despite re-gluing, and had an upholstery shop replace my headliner with marine carpet and I like it much better. My 40 is not a resto anyway.
 
How did you get the old stock glue off? I am in the process of stripping off the 40 year old glue/foam from the fiberglass top and having no luck at all. Carb cleaner turns it into an unholy mess and soap has no affect at all. So far just scraping it off is the only thing that works but that would take days to complete. ???
 
How did you get the old stock glue off?

I don't know how the upholstery shop did, but that's one reason why I was happy to pay them to do it. :)
 
3M makes a pad that chuck in your drill. It is a paint removal pad (has lot of holes in it kind of like coral) that is moderately stiff. It will ball up the old glue and make it release. Be careful though because you can penetrate the inner layer of thin fiberglass mat and then you get into the intervening layer of thin insulating foam. I still rubbed a little lacquer thinner on the old glue and it helps to soften it up for the abrasive paint removal pad. I did my top off the truck, with the top upside down on sawhorses. After cleaning most of the residue off, I used epoxy primer over everything and painted the inside surface. When it was time to put the indoor-outdoor carpet on as headliner, I moved it into the soft grass and had my light-weight wife walking inside the top gluing it in with the Weldwood Contact Cement in the red and white cans from Home Depot..
Prepped top interior.jpg
Installing indoor outdoor headliner.jpg
Headliner finished.jpg
 
Yep, contact cement is what I used yeeaars ago, then it too, failed after about twelve years. Now I look up at contact cement smears, no headliner.
 
I worked professionally with the old solvent based contact cement for many years. It is heat sensitive, so if you are in an area that has long hot summers you will be better off with something else. I started using the water based contact cement shortly before retiring, but I don't know how it does around prolonged heat.

Don
 
What DougAustinTx said. Paint removal pad, though I used one that fitted on my angle grinder. Easy does it.

About to do it again because I used crappy spray adhesive and automotive carpet that I did not like. Will use contact adhesive and proper headliner material this time.
 
Last edited:
So, Greg, would you recommend the 3M Headliner and Fabric Adhesive? It gets good reviews on-line.

I have in the past used 3M Headliner and Fabric Adhesive and it works well to secure a new headliner in your FJ40. I got talked into trying 3M Super 77 and it does NOT work well for this job. Two days later and the headliner is sagging and I'm doing this over.
View attachment 1098433
 
I have had good luck using 3M Hi-Strength 90 Spray Adhesive. I went through the whole list of other adhesives like other brands, 3M 77, water based, brushed on etc. with mostly poor results. The 90 seems to hold up the best in the high heat areas. Naturally what you spray it on makes a difference too. Like is it painted, old glue, metal, fiber glass...
Also I suspect that the critical time for all of these glues is the first week or so of drying. Try to keep it out of the heat,(sun), while it is still giving off the gas from the solvent in the glue.
 
I am restoring a fiberglass top also. I see a poster here user a carpet like material, as a headliner and a replacement headliner to mimick the original is available from SOR. What else has been used?
 
I used the 3M headliner adhesive, NOT the 77 and it worked great!!
 
Are you sure you do it right way. I have been using it many times and it really good. There other brand good too but my choice is 3M.
I use this one for my car 3M 38808 Headliner And Fabric Adhesive. You should find may more products on amazon or this one What Is The Best Headliner Adhesive In The Market?

The 3M Headliner Adhesive works great! I have not had any issues with it. Just don't use 3M Super 77.
 
I am restoring a fiberglass top also. I see a poster here user a carpet like material, as a headliner and a replacement headliner to mimick the original is available from SOR. What else has been used?

The don't think the "original" OEM headliner material is available from Toyota these days. Specter Off Road, Cruiser Corps, Cool Cruisers (and probably about any other auto upholstery business) can supply perforated cream colored foam backed headliner material. It's not an exact match but it's very close to the OEM material. Using this will preserve the value of your Land Cruiser if you're concerned with re-sale.

As far as "what else has been used" goes, I've see it all including tuck and roll pleather! Gray or cream carpet like material and several darker colors however the darker you go, the darker the cabin gets. Some folks choose to paint or LineX the cap in white and be done with it.
 
Last edited:
I am restoring a fiberglass top also. I see a poster here user a carpet like material, as a headliner and a replacement headliner to mimick the original is available from SOR. What else has been used?
After fighting with the sagging/drooping headliner, and the old brittle dusting of dried foam and adhesive, on the drive to and from the Solid Axle Summit I decided to pull the headliner and look for alternatives. Surprisingly, the vinyl material is still in very good shape after 41 years. I turned the headliner foam side up and vacuumed up the remaining foam (of course I used my garage shop vac). We were in Santa Fe to meet @Reznugget and his wife at the annual Indian Market and afterwards I decided to check out Hobby Lobby and Lowe's to see what might work to replace the foam. Hobby Lobby sells foam sheets in 2mm, 3mm, and 5mm thicknesses and 12" x 18" sheets, but I thought it was too dense and require unnecessary labor. At Lowe's I found two types of floor underlayment, a white foam sheet like the kind some stereos and computers are wrapped in, and some foil-backed material that provides sound deadening, heat barrier, and cushioning (the last attribute isn't needed, unless maybe you're @DougAustinTx's wife :)). I haven't cleaned the small amount of remaining foam off the fiberglass cap so don't yet have any experience with it, but it looks like it'll work fine. It's 2mm thick, which should be adequate and thin enough to work with in the corners.

Shop FloorComfort 100-sq ft Premium 2mm Flooring Underlayment at Lowes.com
 
No headliner issues for me after I sprayed tintable raptor liner on my top!!

20170208_180829.jpg
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom