How to Replace Your Car's Headliner

Install a Car Headliner Yourself

Your car's headliner is that piece of fabric above you head. It may be sagging, stained, or worse. Luckily it's easy to replace yourself. Follow along as I help you figure out how to replace the headliner in your car.

I have a vehicle I'm prepping to sell and the headliner is in rough shape, but it's an easy do it yourself job that will help you maximize the selling price.

A potential buyer is going to knock your price down if the headliner is shredded, or maybe you're tired of the headliner scraping your head every time you get in. Did something explode in your car and spray the headliner? Did someone use the headliner for target practice? You don't have to go to an upholstery shop to get it replaced.

Materials Required:

• Headliner Glue
• Headliner Material
• Sandpaper 
• Epoxy glue

Tools Required:

• Screwdriver to remove A pillar panels adjacent to the windshield, dome light, and any plastic panel touching the headliner.
• Torx bit to remove seatbelts. This may not apply. I had to remove the top seatbelt bolt so that I could loosen the B pillar panel.
• Depending on the vehicle you may need a panel puller, but a flat head screwdriver or pliers also work.
• Electric sander to remove leftover foam from the headliner. This can also be done with a hand sander. 
• Hobby knife for any holes in the headliner like at the dome light
• Panel pull for plastics snaps, if applicable

Removal
A warning, some headliner boards can get very brittle with age. You may end up shredding the headliner board getting it out, which is going to increase the price significantly.  Be careful removing everything, never force any parts.

The first step is removing interior panels. I'm working on a Chevrolet S10, so the specifics will differ for your vehicle but the broad idea is the same. Remove the screws from panels and lay out panels and screws on a towel or flat work surface to keep up with screws. You don't want to lose them.

Take pictures of panels and screws to help you keep up with which screws match each panel.

I had to remove two screws for each A pillar panel. For the rear panel, I had to gently unsnap the seat belt bolt cover, remove the seat belt bolts with a torx bit, and then remove six or eight screws for the extended cab panel.
The interior light was two more screws.

Your headliner may have plastic clips that are tension fit in to the body of the car, in this case I had to slide the headliner forward to release the clips. You many need to use a panel puller, pliers, or a screwdriver. Be careful and gentle.

My truck had clips glued to the backside of the headliner at the front of the cab. I couldn't see them, but had to slide the headliner forward to unlock the clips.

Be careful and progress slowly. Never jerk any parts, start with low pressure. If the parts don't move, check for obstructions and gradually increase pressure. Try to determine if there is a specific area where it's stuck.

I ripped the hidden headliner clips, but epoxied them back in place.

It's going to be tricky removing something so big, but slowly twist it and turn it and work it out the door.

Replacement 
Rip off the headliner, If it's sagging, most of the work is already done. You'll be left  with a layer of foam. I used a electric sander to quickly remove it. Be careful, you don't want to sand through the board. I used an air nozzle to clean off the board, but shaking or wiping works too.

The existing headliner was in rough shape.

Rip off the material.

Sand off the old foam.

If you ripped off any clips like I did, now is the time to epoxy them back in place. I also cracked a corner of the headliner. I aligned the cracked edges, taped it from the interior side, and used epoxy on the back side to reattach it.

Clean the board well with air or wiping it down with a dry cloth. Lay out the new headliner material on the board. Once it's oriented correctly flip half over. We will install it half at a time to ensure we cover the board. I used paper to block the finish side of the headliner from any stray spray glue.

Lay out the material.

I used specific headliner glue. You can't use 3M 77, it will release. The roof of the car gets extremely hot which will melt weak glue and cause the headliner to sag earlier than it should. Get the right glue the first time.

Spray the glue left to right on to the headliner board and the back of the headliner, Do a second coat, and then for the third coast, spray up and and down. You want good coverage and this three pass method ensures it. Let it tack for fifteen minutes. You will use nearly a whole can for a small to medium sized sedan. For an SUV, you will probably need two cans of glue.

Spray half at a time.

This step is critical. Start at the center of the headliner where it meets the board and roll it over the board. Starting from the center and working out helps prevent wrinkles. If you don't press it down hard, you can pull it up and restick it if you need.
Press it down from the center out, using a sweeping method with your hand. Don't worry about wrapping the edges yet.

Work from the center out, pressing down the headliner.

Once it's in place, flip over the other half and repeat the process. Once the headliner is in place, cut excess material, allowing for a one inch perimeter of material. Spray the back of the excess and fold it over.

Trim the excess material.

Spray the backside of the excess and attach it to the back of the board.

Use a hobby knife to cut holes for the dome light and other openings. For each opening, cut a small hole in the center and then cut back to each corner to form four triangles. The triangles fold back to prevent any raveling edges. You can glue these if you want, but it's not necessary.

Let it sit for a day or so then reinstall it in the car. It's the same process as removing it, but in reverse. Hopefully you kept up with all the screws. If you took pictures, use those as a reference.

Your car now has a brand new headliner you did it yourself for a fraction of the cost.