Upper Garnish Center Pillar Question

[Gerrha]

My upper garnish center pillars are covered with what looks like oak-colored felt cloth. I suppose all of them are, in one color or another. The oak color is NLA, so how would one go about cleaning this material? Has anyone replaced their old felt rather than clean it?

 

[SNLC]

Doesn’t clean well at all, steam clean is about the best option.

You can have them recovered in a fabric that is much easier to clean.

Under the factory fabric is a patterned plastic, other markets (non-US) they just came as plastic with no cover or fabric. 1000x easier to clean like that.

Cheers

 

[truthdetector]

Use Folex to clean the fuzzy headliner pieces, it works wonders. If you have the piece out of the truck, you can also rinse with a lot of water, which helps the process.

Folex 36 oz. Instant Carpet Spot Remover Carpet Cleaner FSR36 - The Home Depot

Folex Instant Carpet Spot Remover quickly removes the toughest spots and stains from carpets, rugs and upholstery without rinsing, vacuuming or waiting to see results. Amazing surfactant action powers

www.homedepot.com

 

[Gerrha]

Doesn’t clean well at all, steam clean is about the best option.

You can have them recovered in a fabric that is much easier to clean.

Under the factory fabric is a patterned plastic, other markets (non-US) they just came as plastic with no cover or fabric. 1000x easier to clean like that.

Cheers

Thanks for the reply. Maybe you can help me with something that I am still uncertain about.

My LC is a 97 40th. It is supposed to be the oak interior color scheme, and I am sure the PO did not change anything.

For example, the pillars we are talking about here with the felt surface, look to be a lightish to medium brown to my old eyes, sort of cardboard box color. When I look in the parts list, the LH side is part # 62412-60050 with either an A0 suffix for ivory color or a B0 suffix for light gray color. There is no oak color at all. Do you know what is the story here?

 

[Gerrha]

Use Folex to clean the fuzzy headliner pieces, it works wonders. If you have the piece out of the truck, you can also rinse with a lot of water, which helps the process.

Folex 36 oz. Instant Carpet Spot Remover Carpet Cleaner FSR36 - The Home Depot

Folex Instant Carpet Spot Remover quickly removes the toughest spots and stains from carpets, rugs and upholstery without rinsing, vacuuming or waiting to see results. Amazing surfactant action powers

www.homedepot.com

Thanks, I will try it since mine are both oddly stained.

 

[Irish Reiver]

Just to add to what @SNLC mentioned about the pattern hiding under the felt, I happen to be in the process of re-doing my headliner because the SFPO decided it would be a great idea to paint the headliner black on a windy day with only 1/2 a can of paint. My only option was to re-cover the headliner. I also ordered more fabric to do the door pillar garnishes. I am not completely sold on the result so I may, at some time in future remove the new covering and spend a day with a can of acetone and bring them back to basic plastic.
The photo below shows a little of what lies beneath the felt. The material in the background is my new headliner material - the color match is almost perfect.

 

[majdomo]

Use Folex to clean the fuzzy headliner pieces, it works wonders. If you have the piece out of the truck, you can also rinse with a lot of water, which helps the process.

Folex 36 oz. Instant Carpet Spot Remover Carpet Cleaner FSR36 - The Home Depot

Folex Instant Carpet Spot Remover quickly removes the toughest spots and stains from carpets, rugs and upholstery without rinsing, vacuuming or waiting to see results. Amazing surfactant action powers

www.homedepot.com

2X on Folex for headliner clean up, particularly for dirt or grease. Use a microfiber or lint-free towel to gently scrub.

 

[Gerrha]

Just to add to what @SNLC mentioned about the pattern hiding under the felt, I happen to be in the process of re-doing my headliner because the SFPO decided it would be a great idea to paint the headliner black on a windy day with only 1/2 a can of paint. My only option was to re-cover the headliner. I also ordered more fabric to do the door pillar garnishes. I am not completely sold on the result so I may, at some time in future remove the new covering and spend a day with a can of acetone and bring them back to basic plastic.
The photo below shows a little of what lies beneath the felt. The material in the background is my new headliner material - the color match is almost perfect. View attachment 3785858

Wow, that is kind of ugly. Must be some sort of glue that was the original adhesive for the cloth. Hopefully there is a solvent that will cut through it and not damage the plastic. I may have to go that route too.

And, I too have a headliner problem. I am stumped about what I will do there. It seems the PO maybe left a window open over a period of time and chipmunks or mice started living on the upper side of the headliner between it and the metal of the roof. They not only left a hell of a mess with empty acorns etc., but also gnawed on the headliner itself...

 

[SNLC]

Just to add to what @SNLC mentioned about the pattern hiding under the felt, I happen to be in the process of re-doing my headliner because the SFPO decided it would be a great idea to paint the headliner black on a windy day with only 1/2 a can of paint. My only option was to re-cover the headliner. I also ordered more fabric to do the door pillar garnishes. I am not completely sold on the result so I may, at some time in future remove the new covering and spend a day with a can of acetone and bring them back to basic plastic.
The photo below shows a little of what lies beneath the felt. The material in the background is my new headliner material - the color match is almost perfect. View attachment 3785858

I think they are so much better as just plastic, super easy to clean.

Cheers

 

[SNLC]

Wow, that is kind of ugly. Must be some sort of glue that was the original adhesive for the cloth. Hopefully there is a solvent that will cut through it and not damage the plastic. I may have to go that route too.

And, I too have a headliner problem. I am stumped about what I will do there. It seems the PO maybe left a window open over a period of time and chipmunks or mice started living on the upper side of the headliner between it and the metal of the roof. They not only left a hell of a mess with empty acorns etc., but also gnawed on the headliner itself...

We have had headliners wrapped (and reinforced) in a more modern headliner fabric that is much easier to clean. Color matching is very close to original, you would need to find yourself a good local auto upholstery shop for this option.

What you see in IrishReivers pics is indeed factory glue. We have seen this glue bleed through the original fuzzy (felt?) fabric and show as stains. That is generally a hot humid climate thing. I have a European HDJ80 Cruiser and it only has the fuzzy on the headliner, all the pillar trim is just plastic. So Toyota definitely sold them this way.

I once had a 91 80 which is all vinyl headliner and pillar trim. The vinyl was stained, it was what I called "smog stained", seemed like the Cruiser had been driven for decades in a big city with the windows down. It cleaned up beautifully and looked new when I was done. That's the difference between early vinyl and what more base models got outside the USA. The fuzzy fabric is for top trim and 1st world markets, it doesn't age well once we crack 20+ years in my opinion compared to the older vinyl or just plastic.

Cheers

 

[Malleus]

Just to add to what @SNLC mentioned about the pattern hiding under the felt, I happen to be in the process of re-doing my headliner because the SFPO decided it would be a great idea to paint the headliner black on a windy day with only 1/2 a can of paint. My only option was to re-cover the headliner. I also ordered more fabric to do the door pillar garnishes. I am not completely sold on the result so I may, at some time in future remove the new covering and spend a day with a can of acetone and bring them back to basic plastic.
The photo below shows a little of what lies beneath the felt. The material in the background is my new headliner material - the color match is almost perfect. View attachment 3785858

Regrets to OP;
Did you source this headliner yourself, or did a shop do it for you?

 

[Irish Reiver]

Regrets to OP;
Did you source this headliner yourself, or did a shop do it for you?

I got a recommendation for a headliner supplier from someone here on mud but I can't find the invoice and can't remember the supplier. I am pretty happy with the headliner but would not recommend using the same material on the pillars. The material thicker is thicker than what Mr. T used and it interferes with the smooth running of the seat belts. I will be retrofitting all the pillars to the original plastic over the weekend.