DIY HT Head Lining
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From: Gold Coast
DIY HT Head Lining
DIY any Hard Top Headliner: this in NO WAY resembles a professional job, it turned out ok and suites my purposes…..
Firstly you need to understand that the writing of this DIY is totally from memory (so I didn’t take a lot of pics and never thought that I would be ever asked how I did it), I did it some 10-11 months ago before the likes of s2kpwned created his professional HT liner,
link: https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=755011
and Evan from Finer Liners is in the investigative stages of creating his HT liner.
link: https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?act=S...0#entry18073973
Secondly, This is my modest HT liner that in NO way resembles a professional job, it serves wholly for the DIY’er like myself. I may scrap mine and get the s2kpwnd or Finer Liner HT liners in the future.
Materials needed with approximate cost (maybe $180) where I remember:
1) Sewing sizzors (Had already)
2) Roll of strong string. (had lying around)
3) 15 pieces of wire. ( Free, I used plastic coated wire twisties from the packaging of
my daughter's toys)
4) 200gm Selleys KWIK GRIP GEL (non drip) ($10)
5) pattern paper, large sheet of paper or newspaper taped together. (Free I used newspaper
taped together)
6) Piece of vinyl or upholstery material of choice for the interior lining, large enough to
amply cover the area to be lined twice. ($60)
7) ½ inch upholstery foam large enough to cover the area to be lined once. ($20)
8) 1x length of fastener/joiner as per below. (can’t remember cost)
9) Width of HT sized lengths x3 of 1 inch wide aluminium. (can’t remember cost)
10) 30 large sized random plastic buttons. (can’t remember cost)
11) length of auto trim about the circumference of your HT lining area.
The major concern of my DIY was the how to secure the roof lining to the HT. I could have used Velcro but would it hold up to hot weather or come loose.?
Through trial and error, I was lead to decide to use strips of plastic fasteners/joiners that builders use to join gyprock, or I think in the states they call it cement board or dry wall panels. Used to line inside of house walls. The plastic fasteners/joiners come in long lengths, so you cut this to lengths of approximately 3 inches. In all you need about 10 x 3 inch lengths.
Pic:
A) Firstly mark/trace out the pattern area that you want to line, using the pattern paper of
5) above list of materials. Easiest to have HT upside down on carpeted floor.
B) Once you have the desired pattern cut out, now this template is what you work off. Cut
the foam to this template.
C) Cut an over sized piece of vinyl or material that your lining with (6 of the materials list).
Wrap the foam and Kwik Grip contact glue the vinyl to the foam (one side edges only).
This serves as a base from whereby to begin.
D) Use this base to now spread out the buttons to be place on the foam side of the base. I
placed 3 at the front, 4 at 1/3 along, 4 at 2/3 along and 4 about 2 inches from the rear
window end. That’s 15 buttons so far. Now use the other 15 buttons to string and tie
together through the entire base, from the vinyl side to the foam side. Effectively you’ll
now end up with a one sided vinyl/material foam base, with 15 buttons either side
upholstered in. Tie the buttons in real tight dimpling the base. Note that none of this will
be seen once installed.
E) I then had an upholster sew in the 3x aluminium braces (cost $50) ( 2 can be seen in the
pic, the other is 2 inches from the rear window end of the HT) Note that the layers go
like this; 1) vinyl/ material that is the visual lining 2) aluminium braces 3) the
vinyl/material face down, foam up base with the buttons in place.
The sewn seam lines go all the way through the 3 layers.
The double vinyl/ material and foam, thus firming up the shape of the entire lining. Also serves as a triple layer insulating effect. The sewing actually tightens up the entire lining and makes it a lot stiffer because the vinyl is tightened by the seam lines and the aluminium braces. This all acts to firm up the entire lining from the inside of the HT. In this way in hot weather you don’t get any sagging of the vinyl/ material and effectively there is no “contact glue bubbling”, on the side of the HT that can be seen.
Now its time to set up the fastening for the HT installation.
The inside buttons serve as the base for me to contact adhesive the fasteners/joiners to, average length say 3 inches. Also the inside buttons are wired to the plastic 3 inch fasteners/joiners as an added precaution. I cut grooves in the 3 inch plastic fasteners to secure these by wiring with the twisties to the buttons. 3) of the materials list.
Next you contact adhesive the plastic fasteners/joiners to the inside of the HT. Start from the front and work your way back.
Finish off by making up the vinyl/material foam backed pieces to fill in the gaps of the rest of the HT in areas of choice, like a jigsaw puzzle.
pic:
Finishing off the edges with auto/upholster trim. I modeled the design off the OEM HT lining, when its all up and in place the aluminium braces and concaving of the whole piece seems to help keep it up.
Pic:
OEM lining
Selly's Contact non-drip Adhesive has served its purpose especially in the heat, also in the long term, some 11 months now. I hope this all makes sense. lmk if I can help some more.
Firstly you need to understand that the writing of this DIY is totally from memory (so I didn’t take a lot of pics and never thought that I would be ever asked how I did it), I did it some 10-11 months ago before the likes of s2kpwned created his professional HT liner,
link: https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=755011
and Evan from Finer Liners is in the investigative stages of creating his HT liner.
link: https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?act=S...0#entry18073973
Secondly, This is my modest HT liner that in NO way resembles a professional job, it serves wholly for the DIY’er like myself. I may scrap mine and get the s2kpwnd or Finer Liner HT liners in the future.
Materials needed with approximate cost (maybe $180) where I remember:
1) Sewing sizzors (Had already)
2) Roll of strong string. (had lying around)
3) 15 pieces of wire. ( Free, I used plastic coated wire twisties from the packaging of
my daughter's toys)
4) 200gm Selleys KWIK GRIP GEL (non drip) ($10)
5) pattern paper, large sheet of paper or newspaper taped together. (Free I used newspaper
taped together)
6) Piece of vinyl or upholstery material of choice for the interior lining, large enough to
amply cover the area to be lined twice. ($60)
7) ½ inch upholstery foam large enough to cover the area to be lined once. ($20)
8) 1x length of fastener/joiner as per below. (can’t remember cost)
9) Width of HT sized lengths x3 of 1 inch wide aluminium. (can’t remember cost)
10) 30 large sized random plastic buttons. (can’t remember cost)
11) length of auto trim about the circumference of your HT lining area.
The major concern of my DIY was the how to secure the roof lining to the HT. I could have used Velcro but would it hold up to hot weather or come loose.?
Through trial and error, I was lead to decide to use strips of plastic fasteners/joiners that builders use to join gyprock, or I think in the states they call it cement board or dry wall panels. Used to line inside of house walls. The plastic fasteners/joiners come in long lengths, so you cut this to lengths of approximately 3 inches. In all you need about 10 x 3 inch lengths.
Pic:
A) Firstly mark/trace out the pattern area that you want to line, using the pattern paper of
5) above list of materials. Easiest to have HT upside down on carpeted floor.
B) Once you have the desired pattern cut out, now this template is what you work off. Cut
the foam to this template.
C) Cut an over sized piece of vinyl or material that your lining with (6 of the materials list).
Wrap the foam and Kwik Grip contact glue the vinyl to the foam (one side edges only).
This serves as a base from whereby to begin.
D) Use this base to now spread out the buttons to be place on the foam side of the base. I
placed 3 at the front, 4 at 1/3 along, 4 at 2/3 along and 4 about 2 inches from the rear
window end. That’s 15 buttons so far. Now use the other 15 buttons to string and tie
together through the entire base, from the vinyl side to the foam side. Effectively you’ll
now end up with a one sided vinyl/material foam base, with 15 buttons either side
upholstered in. Tie the buttons in real tight dimpling the base. Note that none of this will
be seen once installed.
E) I then had an upholster sew in the 3x aluminium braces (cost $50) ( 2 can be seen in the
pic, the other is 2 inches from the rear window end of the HT) Note that the layers go
like this; 1) vinyl/ material that is the visual lining 2) aluminium braces 3) the
vinyl/material face down, foam up base with the buttons in place.
The sewn seam lines go all the way through the 3 layers.
The double vinyl/ material and foam, thus firming up the shape of the entire lining. Also serves as a triple layer insulating effect. The sewing actually tightens up the entire lining and makes it a lot stiffer because the vinyl is tightened by the seam lines and the aluminium braces. This all acts to firm up the entire lining from the inside of the HT. In this way in hot weather you don’t get any sagging of the vinyl/ material and effectively there is no “contact glue bubbling”, on the side of the HT that can be seen.
Now its time to set up the fastening for the HT installation.
The inside buttons serve as the base for me to contact adhesive the fasteners/joiners to, average length say 3 inches. Also the inside buttons are wired to the plastic 3 inch fasteners/joiners as an added precaution. I cut grooves in the 3 inch plastic fasteners to secure these by wiring with the twisties to the buttons. 3) of the materials list.
Next you contact adhesive the plastic fasteners/joiners to the inside of the HT. Start from the front and work your way back.
Finish off by making up the vinyl/material foam backed pieces to fill in the gaps of the rest of the HT in areas of choice, like a jigsaw puzzle.
pic:
Finishing off the edges with auto/upholster trim. I modeled the design off the OEM HT lining, when its all up and in place the aluminium braces and concaving of the whole piece seems to help keep it up.
Pic:
OEM lining
Selly's Contact non-drip Adhesive has served its purpose especially in the heat, also in the long term, some 11 months now. I hope this all makes sense. lmk if I can help some more.
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