So a few months ago i was inquiring about heat barrier material for my troopy ceiling. I eventually put a plan together, ordered the materials, and dove in. It came out well considering my amateur status, and i wanted to share the details in case it might help others dealing with this kind of thing.
Here's what i started with, no oem headliners, just some peeling foam backed headliner that some genius stuck to the metal with cheap contact cement. The midday panamanian sun said, "uh, i don't think so."
So began the process of ripping out the old headliner (easy)...
Removing the crossbars (easy) after watching this great video:
Removing old contact cement... i cannot stress enough how nice it was to farm this out to an ex-employee. Worth every penny, it's slow, awkward work with industrial paint remover and a scraper (forget trying to just get the glue off, paint comes with it half the time). If you've got bad knees and a crappy back, get someone else to do it.
So you end up with this:
My number one concern was having a heat barrier, not sound deadening. I decided on this expensive melamine foam, mainly because it had the highest temperature rating for the adhesive i could find (i wanted self-adhering). I do not want the tropical sun to undo all this work. Great stuff... Mega Zorbe™ - Hydrophobic Melamine Foam
So i began. Number one tip from here on out: DON'T BE IN A HURRY. Especially if you're a rookie. Measure twice, cut once. Rehearse how you're going to position the foam squares. Take your time, take breaks. This is fragile foam with insanely sticky adhesive that only sticks once. It can be a little nerve jangling, but if you take your time and rehearse without having taken the backing paper off, you'll do fine. Reading "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" can help here, psychologically. : )
So...
and...
At this point, the difference was huge. Way less heat transferring into the vehicle, and very noticeable sound dampening. This car was like driving inside a 55-gallon barrel before, now it was suddenly almost like a normal car.
Now to cover up that foam with foam backed headliner. After speaking with secondskin about my plans, i got ahold of two cans of 3M headliner adhesive spray:
Amazon product ASIN B072Q3SHVT
and a basic grey foam backed headliner: Amazon.com: Headliner Doctor Foam Backed auto Headliner Repair Fabric-Light Gray- 108"x60": Arts, Crafts & Sewing
I then cut the headliner into sections, measuring very carefully to make sure the seams would be under the cross bars. Again, take your time. I taped off the areas directly below the ceiling. With this 3m spray you really don't need to tarp anything off, the spray is very accurate and no adhesive went anywhere i didn't want it to go. Sprayed the ceiling and the headliner, section by section, waited for them to tack up (important!). Now, let's get to how i almost blew it right at the start, and now you don't have to!
I didn't know where to start sticking the headliner. i knew i wanted to start in the center, but on the flat above my head or into the gutter where the ceiling ends? Went into the gutter and things started doubling back and sticking to themselves. I retreated in a slight panic with just a little damage to the headliner and regrouped. Began again from the center, flat space above my head, and worked outward, pressing and flattening, eventually getting to the edges. Much, much better. There was a bit of material left over at the edge, so i just stuffed it down into the gutter and filled up that space a bit. Cutting a nice edge might be the pro way, but this seemed to work and is invisible. Good enough.
to be continued...
Here's what i started with, no oem headliners, just some peeling foam backed headliner that some genius stuck to the metal with cheap contact cement. The midday panamanian sun said, "uh, i don't think so."
So began the process of ripping out the old headliner (easy)...
Removing the crossbars (easy) after watching this great video:
Removing old contact cement... i cannot stress enough how nice it was to farm this out to an ex-employee. Worth every penny, it's slow, awkward work with industrial paint remover and a scraper (forget trying to just get the glue off, paint comes with it half the time). If you've got bad knees and a crappy back, get someone else to do it.
So you end up with this:
My number one concern was having a heat barrier, not sound deadening. I decided on this expensive melamine foam, mainly because it had the highest temperature rating for the adhesive i could find (i wanted self-adhering). I do not want the tropical sun to undo all this work. Great stuff... Mega Zorbe™ - Hydrophobic Melamine Foam
So i began. Number one tip from here on out: DON'T BE IN A HURRY. Especially if you're a rookie. Measure twice, cut once. Rehearse how you're going to position the foam squares. Take your time, take breaks. This is fragile foam with insanely sticky adhesive that only sticks once. It can be a little nerve jangling, but if you take your time and rehearse without having taken the backing paper off, you'll do fine. Reading "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" can help here, psychologically. : )
So...
and...
At this point, the difference was huge. Way less heat transferring into the vehicle, and very noticeable sound dampening. This car was like driving inside a 55-gallon barrel before, now it was suddenly almost like a normal car.
Now to cover up that foam with foam backed headliner. After speaking with secondskin about my plans, i got ahold of two cans of 3M headliner adhesive spray:
Amazon product ASIN B072Q3SHVT
and a basic grey foam backed headliner: Amazon.com: Headliner Doctor Foam Backed auto Headliner Repair Fabric-Light Gray- 108"x60": Arts, Crafts & Sewing
I then cut the headliner into sections, measuring very carefully to make sure the seams would be under the cross bars. Again, take your time. I taped off the areas directly below the ceiling. With this 3m spray you really don't need to tarp anything off, the spray is very accurate and no adhesive went anywhere i didn't want it to go. Sprayed the ceiling and the headliner, section by section, waited for them to tack up (important!). Now, let's get to how i almost blew it right at the start, and now you don't have to!
I didn't know where to start sticking the headliner. i knew i wanted to start in the center, but on the flat above my head or into the gutter where the ceiling ends? Went into the gutter and things started doubling back and sticking to themselves. I retreated in a slight panic with just a little damage to the headliner and regrouped. Began again from the center, flat space above my head, and worked outward, pressing and flattening, eventually getting to the edges. Much, much better. There was a bit of material left over at the edge, so i just stuffed it down into the gutter and filled up that space a bit. Cutting a nice edge might be the pro way, but this seemed to work and is invisible. Good enough.
to be continued...
