Renewing my interior.. Instructions & photos.

[Espresso]

Well I finally got around to start recovering my headliner board.
It is a simple process as just about anyone can do it. Tools are simple, nothing really special is needed.
I am aslo covering my A & D pillars.
Here is a list of materials & tools I used.
1. 3 yards of Black Upholstery Microfiber from a 60" bolt. It has to be 60" as the 45" would be too small. if you just do the headliner 2 yards is fine.
2. 3 cans of 3M Super77 spray glue
3. Upholstery Shears
4. 1 extendable razor
5. 4" or 6" rubber body filler blade... Or use your hand
6. Metal brush.
Totoal cost of materials..
Micro fiber $21, Spray glue $27, Shears $6, Razor $1, rubber blades $1, metal brush $.050

Tools.
1. Misc sizes of Flat head(slotted) & phillips head screw drivers.
2. Your hands
Removal....
1. I started (working from front to back of car)by moving the passenger seat ALL the way back & then tilting it all the way back(in that order) removing the rearview & overhead lights Rearview comes off with a HARD tug. The overhead is removed by popping off the light covers & pushing on the small silver tabs with a tiny screwdriver....unplug harness.
2. Remove the sunvisors. Small screwdriver to pop open the covers. Use the phillips head to remove the screws.
3. Oh s**t handles.
Small screwdriver to pop off the screw covers. Use phillips to remove screws.
4. Remove the F & R door weather stripping, then the B-pillar covers( the covers between the front & rear doors where the seatbelts are). Grab the front of the cover & pull. When you see the clips it is self explainitory as to how the come off.
5. Rear light... Use small slotted screwdriver & pop off the light. Unplug.
6. Pull off the rear D pillar covers. They will not come all the way off, But just get them loose.
7. Go back the the front of the car & remove the A Pillar covers. They come off by pulling towards the center of the car & then back.
By now the headliner has fallen on you.
8. The liner will come out through the passenger front door. It takes a bit of moving around but it will work.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/misc079.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/misc080.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/DSCF6322.jpg
New post(Removing the material)VVVVV

[Espresso]

Removing the liner is EASY....Just rip it off. Once it is off you have a few choices. Either keep the metal brackets that hold the lights onto the headliner there or remove them. I chose to keep them on & put material over them. It provides a bit of a tighter fit & cuts down on squeaks.
As for removing the foam. I used my metal brush. I do not need a show quality smooth finish on mine, so I went about it crudely, but it still came out good. Note that I DID NOT use foam when putting on the new liner.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/misc076.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/misc077.jpg

[Espresso]

Adding the material is pretty time consuming. Do it slowly & THINK & it will come out good. Mind you I didnt add foam, so obviously will not be adding that into this write up.
Once the old foam is stripped off to your liking. Lay the headliner board on a flat surface... I used my wet bar area..LOL(good space away from the kitchen & acess to hot water for cleaning up oversprayed glue). Mind you find a decent OPEN area to do this as the overspray from the glue will get everywhere.

Start from the front & work to the back. Using pretty much ONE whole can & spray pretty heavily onto the board. Let it sit for about 5 minutes. This is where a senond person will come in handy....
Starting from the front center & working OUT lay down the fabric. It will be a b**ch around the sunvisor corners but if you put a slight fold into the fabric where the rearview mirror goes you should have no problem. Work all the way to the back not minding the sunroof(if you have one). You can either use your body blade or your hand.
Once you get the fabric into the sharp groove where the factory has the felt to vynly transistion(this is where the body blade comes in handy). Make sure you press the fabric good to the sides
& crease it over the sides.
Once it is pretty dry(after about 15 minutes). Cut X's where the sunroof & all other holes are. You do this so you can fold the fabric easier. Work SLOWLY & you will realize how it needs to be trimmed to fit perfect( I cant give away ALL the info, this way you can actually LEARN, by doing & not reading).

This is as far as I got so far today. Tomorrow I am removing the sunroof panel(easy ) & redoing that along with the pillars & sunvisors. I'll update as I get more photos & mor eprogress. But I should be done by tomorrow.

1st... Draped over the fabric
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/misc082.jpg

2nd... Started to smooth & form it
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/misc083.jpg

3rd.. Cutting & shaping the edges for wraping
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/misc084.jpg

4th.. Almost done. Just waiting for the glue to dry before doing the edges. This way, if something is wrong. I can pull it up easier to fix it.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/DSCF6321.jpg



More info later.

[Nelson Lago]

Last time i check their was an A,B and C piller never herd of a D piller

[NISMOPOWERED]

start at the windshield with A and go back. hatches and vans have D's. Nice write up, how hard would it be to remove the sunroof shade while your at it?

[Markland556]

nice tutorial.
sunroof shade comes out as follows:
-pop up sunroof, with shade closed
-push rubber accordion flaps in from the top of the car.
-slide roof back.
-pull shade up and out.

[Espresso]

Sunroof shade removal(with headliner out)..

All you do is take out the rear most 3 bolts on each side(10mm). Phus up a bit on the shade so that it clears the 2 hooks that prevent it from sliding all th way back & then just slide it out through the rear of the frame.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/misc104.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/misc107.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/misc108.jpg

[Espresso]

Doing the front A-pillars are a breeze. Took about 15 minutes each...taking my time(it's taking longer for the pics to upload & type this then it actually took to do it).
Carefully take off the old material & take note of how it is cut & molded to the plastic. Once off just lay it down & cut a piece of new fabric roughly the same size. With warm soapy water, clean the pillar(I did one at a time so I could compare the two & have pics, so it took a bit longer then usual). I used a old scrubber sponge to help get the old glue off, it came off REAL easy.
Once clean & dry Spray the entire front face of the pillar(do not forget the 2 sides that have a small lip on them). Let the glue tack up a bit( IT IS IMPORTANT TO DO THAT). Then just lay down & smooth out the fabric with your hands.
Once it is fairly dry(you do not want the fabric to be moving on ya). You can finish triming for the wrap around. I left about 1/4" of material for the long sides about 1" for the curved corners. Start on the sides first & do the corners last, making multiple "pie cuts'. I find it easier to overlap fabric this way.
Thats about it. The important thing to remember here is. LET THE GLUE TACK UP FIRST. If you try & lay the fabric with the glue soaking wet, it will not stick & or dry properly.

Pillar with old material removed..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/misc092.jpg

Clean/Not clean difference...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/misc093.jpg

Laying the new fabric...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/misc095.jpg

Skip to done..LOL
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/misc099.jpg

Old vs New..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/misc100.jpg

Material comparison....
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/misc097.jpg

[Espresso]

Sun roof shade & sun visors are next. These are more difficult pieces. Especially the visors. I am not finished yet, so in this post it is just the removal of the old material.
For the see though panels. I just pushed them out with my hand. They pop out fairly easy.
Like the pillars, the material can just be ripped off the panel. You will notice the "foam still there along with a "mesh" type fabric. Well that comes off to. It is harder glued on then the fabric so it is kinda a pain & pretty messy to get it off, but it will come off. I am also eliminating the "see through panels" & the handle so it is going to be a bit easier then if I was to go around it. I do not have the handle off yet, but am about to do it, so i'll be careful & post how to do it later.
The sunvisors. Are styrofoam with the vynil seamed around it. Just cut along the seam(DO NOT CUT TOO DEEP) & it will come off like opening a clamshell.
The piece on the visor that has two screw holes DOES come out. Just gotta twist it & PULL. It will pop out.

Sunroofshade & visors..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/misc112.jpg

Look firmilar??
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/misc117.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/misc118.jpg

Back"top of shade..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/misc116.jpg

Just push it out..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/misc122.jpg

What the shade looks like "striped"
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/misc126.jpg

Cutting & lifting off the sunvisor material..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/misc119.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/misc121.jpg

[alphanumeric]

this should be a sticky.. or a new thread with a link to all the other do it yourself mods, this ones good. I will prolly do it now that I know its easy

[ja2k]

Originally posted by alphanumeric
this should be a sticky.. or a new thread with a link to all the other do it yourself mods, this ones good. I will prolly do it now that I know its easy

I concur. The write up is greatly appreciated Espresso.

[DynoXG]

This is a great write up Expresso. Especially since places charge a fortune to do it.

[Espresso]

Headliner sunroof shade & sunvisors are finished. Now working on the B-pillars. I can tell you righ tnow that they are NOT made to be used with NON-strechable fabric. What a PITA. No pics of them yet, but man. All is good except the very top where there is teh deep 90 deg curve.
Anyway. Here are pics of what I have & brief description.

For the mirrors on the visors, they pop out using a screwdriver. Be careful, & pry slowly because there are many places where they are glued. Not much explaining to do on the visors, because there is ALOT of cutting & trimming that needs to be done. Just go slow, think it through & you'll get it. I was going to sew mine, but considering I am getting new visors with monitors in a few months, I just overlapped the fabric..

As for the sunroof handle. It is 2 pieces that are clipped together. I pryed from the top...SLOWLY & one at a time they started to unclip. I decided to reuse the handle. I bought some Krylon FUSION BLACK & painted the handle & sunvisor brackets.

Here is a pic of the handle unclipped. You can see the smalll screwdriver I used & how it is clipped together..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/misc136.jpg

Sunvisors with mirros removed & a close up of where the glue points are..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/misc132.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/misc130.jpg

Misc pic of the sunvisor..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/misc137.jpg

Sunroof panel..
Spread the fabric out on the panel(make sure it is facing the right direction..LOL) & let it dry.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/misc139.jpg
Flip it over, Scrape off the old stuff & spray glue where the red is(on BOTH sides ofcourse)..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/misc140.jpg

Glueing it down..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/misc141.jpg

Read the RED..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/misc144.jpg

Should look somethign like this when finished..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/misc146.jpg

Just a look at what it would look like..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/misc147.jpg

Sunroof panel installed in car..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/misc148.jpg

[Espresso]

Headliner & A-pillars are installed. Looks SO MUCH BETTER!!
Good news is the part of the B-pillar that needs to be butchered so it can wrap around the top is almost completely covered by the door weatherstripping.
Got the drivers side pillar finished & installed. Working on the passenger side now, along with the C -pillars. In the photos I have the original gray sunvisor clips, but I put them in just to give some support to the liner. They are now painted black like the sunroof handle.
Tomorrow I should be starting the doors inserts. It's the part with the arm rest that looks like a sharks fin. I am doing all 4 doors. Going to be a PITA.

Some notes on pillars in next post.

Well..more photos..

Condition of B-pillars? As bad as the sunroof panel..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/misc150.jpg

Finished B-pillar..
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/misc154.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/misc156.jpg

Condition of C-pillars. Horrible, just horrible. Actually turning BLUE
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/misc151.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/misc153.jpg

[Espresso]

Notes on the B-pillars.
1. Removal of the seatbelt height adjust is rather easy. Do not try & slide it down. Just slightly pull open the pillar & it will pull out.

2. When applying the glue. Be CAREFUL not to get any into the seat belt height-adjust track. It can & WILL get glued stuck...trust me

3. Refering to the 90 deg bend. Well the pics speak for themselves. It is a complete PITA to form the material around it. So I just cut a seperate triangle piece & glued it into the open area. It is barely noticable once installed, which is good. But if you look close enough you CAN see it easily. It's a bit dark now, so I will snap a pic of it in the morning. I got most of the wrinkle out of it. I took this pic when I was like... SOAB!!!.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/misc155.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/misc156.jpg

[Espresso]

Headliner installed pics. Still needs a good cleaning & odds & ends fitted but overall SO much better. I will never for the life of me understand why MERCEDES uses Felt & Vynil in their cars. It is just disgusting looking & EXTREMELY cheap in my books.


More pics tomorrow..

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/misc157.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v305/ProjectCheap13/misc171.jpg

[Espresso]

Sorry, it took so long. I was finally able to upload a few more photos. I havent gotten the doors done yet, but hope to start them on Monday.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y92/Black05PT/C280%20sport/misc253.jpg

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y92/Black05PT/C280%20sport/misc256.jpg

[RemoLexi]

when I did brown suade on my door panals ... Big mistake.

First the C-pillars are next to impossible and they STILL bubbled.

dont do the door panals where people are going touch them - it will get messed up. :mad:

and the adhesive glue SUCKS it doesnt hold for shit I have to redo everything completly now. $80 gone down the drain. id rather do leather or a nice looking vinyl since both are easy to clean and may hold better. this modification really isnt for us folks in Cali ... too hot.

[Espresso]

Considering i'm in the TROPICS it doesn't get much hotter. Nor more humid. This is by far not a mod & why cannot peopel in Cali do it? Because of the color?

Bubbling was that because you didnt let the fabric get plyable enough...let it sit out in the heat for a while.

I had no troubles with mine. The biggest bitch were the B-pillars.

I have used this glue for years & never had a problem with it.
As for where people will touch them...this IS a daily driver.I expect them to get messed up. This is not my first time with interior work.

You cannot get a more friendly fabric to clean, than MicroFiber. Everything just wipes right off of it.

[RemoLexi]

well, second to last picture, do you see the fat bubbles ?

idk man, all that effort you put in is great, especially the write up. I just know that im definatly not going the microsuede way anymore. :(

the B-pillar for me was easy, just the C-pillar is impossible.

[Nelson Lago]

Two questions 1: Did you paint the hand rail (the handle above the door ) 2: How did you know how to take everything apart.

[Espresso]

I did not paint them. They are originally black.
As for taking everything apart. It is quite simple. All the panels just pull off.

With the exception of the B & C -pillars. Because the seatbelts have to come out. Plus the C-pillars where it meets the rear shelf have to be pulled FORWARD, because they are hooked together. The B-pillars can be a bit tricky going back on, because the seatbelt adjuster has to be lined back up, but it really is no big deal.



As for the bubble, there is only one small one back by the rear windshield(on the passenger side). That is because I was in a hurry. But other then that, there are none. Once the panels are installed the glue is still tacky, so I am able to move the fabric around incase things like bubbles come up from having to bend & smack on the panels to get them to pop into place. Plus it is easier to smooth out the fabric once i tis installed vs sitting on a table.
These pics were taken as soon as I put the panels in, so the glue was still tacky.