Tin-Top Headliner Replacement

[akroadtrip]

When I bought my TinTop it was missing the headliner and the sheetmetal on the roof was nasty/rusty looking.  I decided to replace it with something better than stock.

-about 3 yards of "reflectics" foil/bubble wrap insulation (found at hardware store)
-about 3 yards of automotive headliner fabric (I found this at "Jo-Ann Fabrics")
-1 Large can of Spray Adhesive (I used 3M)
-Scissors, Razor Knife
-Flat-Head screwdriver

I Started by gluing the reflects insulation to the roof after I cut it to fit, there is about 3/4"-1" of room to stuff the excess under the sheetmetel lip so be sure to cut everything large.  I found that you have to prop something up against the roof to put pressure on the glue surface in order for it to hold properly.  The trick is to do it in sections, starting in the middle.  After the insulation was glued and dried, I started to glue in the headliner fabric.  I started with a piece that was much larger that I needed and started gluing from the center  and working out as it dried.  When I got to the edged, I trimmed off the necessary amount of excess and stuffed the remaining amount under the sheetmetel lip with a screwdriver.  Once the smell of the glue is gone, install turned out great!

 

[freeriders98]

Looks great. How well did the liner stick to the insulation? How does it seem to be holding up? I am planning on doing mine as soon as it warms up some.

 

[sv16dan]

very nice i ripped mine out and i don't think I'm going to replace it. might paint it or something.

 

[akroadtrip]

Looks great. How well did the liner stick to the insulation? How does it seem to be holding up? I am planning on doing mine as soon as it warms up some.

  So far so good, I think the insulation helped smooth out the contours of the roof and made it easy to glue in the fabric.

very nice i ripped mine out and i don't think I'm going to replace it. might paint it or something.

  I live in Alaska so, no headliner means a cold drive in the winter....

 

[sv16dan]

haha ya well its SC so you never know what u get.

 

[tucnasam]

how did it do for sound proofing if any at all? Did it help lesson some reverb? I was thinkin about a layer of dynamat then this over it to sharpen it up.

 

[akroadtrip]

There was some improvement in road noise, I also glued leftover reflectixs insulation to the inside of the rear door and around the wheel wells to lessen road noise and add warmth.

 

[troutdog]

You think it will also insulate from the sun baking you.

 

[freeriders98]

How well did you prep the roof for that? Mine still has a little bit of the old glue on it, and I was wondering if I had to have it super clean before I put new stuff on.

 

[akroadtrip]

How well did you prep the roof for that? Mine still has a little bit of the old glue on it, and I was wondering if I had to have it super clean before I put new stuff on.

Mine had an old glue look to it when I started, I didn't do any prep, just lots of glue, I didn't quite use enough because now (about 10 months later) a few areas around the ridges of the flat part of the roof are peeling off a bit.  Be sure to leave enough slack in the cloth, if it is to tight, it will fight against the glue.  Still looks good on mine though!

 

[stevencummings35]

I saw this after searching for a while trying to find a good way to put in the headliner, this way is much easier! the only thing i would advise is to use some sort of liquid nails to hold the insulation to the actual "ceiling" and then spray on glue to attach the headliner material to the insulation. Mines been up for several months in the heat and still looks brand new!

 

[augeter]

Nice job. Hope it does well for you. As I live out here on the desert and I go to Death Valley in the summer I was concerned about gluing anything to the roof. I measured the front half, from the middle of the middle support and again from there to the back. I added 1" to the sides and front/rear. This was transferred to 1/8" Luan plywood. These were painted and I bought some Grey automotive headliner which was 3M spray glued to the Luan.  I used the same insulation on the roof. After drying for a day I installed the two pieces (Oversized 1" on 3 sides) by putting one side in and then bowing the plywood inserting it in the other side and then pushing it to the front/back. Replaced the center support and all is good. This was 3 years ago and when it is 115* outside the inside roof is room temperature, usually less than 80* with the A/C on. I also insulated the floor, doors quarter panel and rear door. Everything helps.