e36 Headliner DIY re-lined

[MJFX328]

p.s. I found that its easier to start from the top and spray glue right before you lay the section down. It helped me go around groves evenly. The edge near the o-crap handles and the top center are the most difficult.

[ArkticGreyE36]

I got the droop as well but is there any way I can just reinstall the stock headliner with 3M adhesive? Thanks...

[2slow4u]

Oh man, that first picture scares me. Great job!

[M3pwrofm3]

RISE THREAD RISE! I have a 325i and I am about to do the headliner as well, and i was told that you can't replace the fabric on the sun roof cassett. Is this true?

[Kihon]

This is excellent. Exactly what I'm planning to doing someday.

[Fair]

Two years later and the recovered micro-suede headliner in our E36 M3 still looks great. Hundreds of compliments.


Our E30 V8 "$2010 GRM Challenge" Project and the DSP prepped E46 both have crappy headliners

I've got an E30 and an E46, both of which we're welding non-sunroof roof panels to, and both need a recovered headliner. I'm going to use this same material and process on these, as we did on the E36 M3 before. The E46 needs the A-, B- and C-pillars recovered as well. Fun fun fun!

[joexm3]

I'm doing this DIY right now!!! gonna lay the suede tomorrow.. thanks for the tips even tho this thread is from years ago

[M3C]

Great DIY.
One question...how to remove the b-pillar cover, after removing the seat belt bolt it is still prevented by the adjustment clip. What is the trick of removing this clip?

[OneImprezziveRS]

Couple of things:

1) When I took the lining off the sunroof shuttle, all that was left was a clear adhesive sheet affixed to the actual metal frame of the sunroof shuttle. What did yours look like?

2) How did you avoid wrinkling/overlap on the weird contours (i.e. sunroof motor/light compartment, corners)? Since the fabric doesn't stretch, I couldn't avoid this.

[M3C]

Couple of things:

1) When I took the lining off the sunroof shuttle, all that was left was a clear adhesive sheet affixed to the actual metal frame of the sunroof shuttle. What did yours look like?

2) How did you avoid wrinkling/overlap on the weird contours (i.e. sunroof motor/light compartment, corners)? Since the fabric doesn't stretch, I couldn't avoid this.

I am looking to get a used sunroof lining, did you by any chance saved it?

[Rmacc]

Just did mine this weekend. No pics while I was doing it, but I'll put some up once its back in the car. I used 1/8 inch foam back suede, so it made it kinda tricky but it turned out nice.

[Dunzo]

Just did mine, including the sunroof panel, the actual head liner board proved challenging in fighting wrinkles. Unfortunately the material was not very stretchy so I couldn't wrap around the top area where the sunroof motor/switch panel is very well. But I think in the end it will not be a noticeable thing at all. Just need to finish the A-pillars now and put it back together.

[shogun]

Nice write-up. Have done it on several cars meanwhile during the last 10 years, E36, E34, E31, E32.
Looks more difficult than it is. Important is that you select the right thickness of the headliner material, especially when you have a sunroof.
1/8th inch foam back cloth headliner material is required. Most US cars have thicker material. Also the material must be stretchable for easier fitting in the curves where handles etc are.
On my website below I have more pics under fixes>>headliner, that was the first one we made on an 11/88 E32 750iL about 10 years ago, still installed and no problem.
The poblem that the headliner starts sagging is not the glue, it is the foam behind the headliner material which just crumbles after >15 years.

[DRINKE36M3]

Awesome thread thank you!

[lwebb12]

I'll have to do this to my Ti.

Bookedmarkeded.

[cheech1]

I had both of my e34's headliners replaced at a upholstery shop. First one cost me about $130, second one included repair to the rear door panels and costed $180. Well worth the money for a professional job.

When I was shopping around for pricing on the original job, I got estimates from $100 - $280. I've since gotten to know the owner of the shop that I went to, and have observed that he does very good work for minimal cost. He did the whole interior of my brother's Porshe, and it turned out cherry.

[MauiM3Mania]

PD, assuming you still have the car, how is the headliner holding up after nine years?

[D Unit]

Quick question since I'm in the middle of doing this.

How many cans of 3m 90 (or 70) do I need just to do the headliner? I already did the pillars, deck, etc.

[m3guy87]

A suggestion to anybody who is as error prone as I am or would like to more effectively remove old ahesive / foam is to use a heat gun. I set my gun to a temperature where it was hot enough to melt the glue and make it soft and gooey to wipe off with a scotch pad but not too hot to start melting the fiberglass adhesive.

[Mless5]

Quick question since I'm in the middle of doing this.

How many cans of 3m 90 (or 70) do I need just to do the headliner? I already did the pillars, deck, etc.

Plan on 2. I would not recommend "70" for such job, 90 is my choice even though it doesn't spray as well.

[shogun]

PD, assuming you still have the car, how is the headliner holding up after nine years?

I can tell you from my E32 750iL, have done it in 2004 and it still is fine and does not drop, remember when I picked you up at the station and we drove to my home with the 750.
Have to make now my M3 headliner too, it is coming down, lasted 18 years. Probably lifetime also dpends where your car is parked and in which climate zone one lives. Without roof parked in a tropical area like your Hawai will probably reduce liftime much.

As a temporary fix I have now made it like this, was posted in the M3 forum

I just wanted to share a fix I came up with for the sagging headliner in my E36 M3. Installing a new headliner will always be the best fix, but here's a way you can temporarily (or in some cases permanently) fix the sagging without having to remove the whole liner.

Total time:
less than an hour

Tools needed:
needle-nose pliers
binder clips

step 1: Open the sunroof and remove the interior weatherstripping liner that surrounds the opening. You will then will expose the edges of the headliner backing board that once held up your beautiful headliner.
Step 2: Gently pinch a sagging piece of fabric with two fingers, and wrap around the top edge of the backing board. While holding, use a binder clip to clamp around the fabric and board to hold it up.
Step 3: Repeat this in as many places as needed to remove the sag around the sunroof opening.
Step 4: Use your needle-nose pliers and pinch together the binder clip handles (the silver things, no idea what they are called) to remove them.
Step 5: Replace the interior weatherstripping liner. The larger "fabric channel" of the liner that the headliner goes into has just enough room to fit the binder clip inside to hide them.
Viola! No more "headliner hat" every time you get in your car.
Since I completed the fix, I realized that I got a little binder clip happy and did not need to use as many. I was able to remove a lot of the clips and kept just a couple down the sides and back, and a few in the corners. This also helped reduce the rippling effect on the sunroof weatherstripping liner you can see in the last picture. Binder clips can also help fix the loose headliner fabric and board from coming off the lip above the rear window. Hope this helps.

headliner lose
http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/y...4B8BCF51FC.jpg
http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/y...BC9508C709.jpg
small binder clips, size shown here http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/y...217960DF65.jpg
http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/y...79FD394C20.jpg
http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/y...4F538AA6C2.jpg
http://i799.photobucket.com/albums/y...1FC6535ADE.jpg

[trfarchitect]

*edit, nevermind, I found another thread geared towards sedan owners.

[M3C]

What's the best source for headliner fabric that matches original one?

[shogun]

I bought my one in Germany from an online shop for my E36 M3 and did it some months ago, my M3 has original anthrazit, before I ordered 3 samples of black headliner material, all did not fit 100%, there are a lot of variances even when they call it black and also the material structure is different. So I selected the one which comes closest in color and structure.
Maybe you try Headliner Express, they have import headliners http://www.headlinerexpress.com/impo...e36-p-759.html
a bit more expensive, but they are specialized and have 1/8th inch Foam Back Cloth Headliner Material in the colours titanium grey, sand beige, black.
There are for sure other shops which might have similar offers, but make sure the material is 1/8th inch foam backed and not the thicker one like used on many US cars, then it is difficult to fit the material into the curves.
Also there are materials which are a bit stretchbale and that is easier to work with. So I recommend you to first get some samples from some sellers and see how they match to your car.

Edit: some additional info:
Mark, I got 3 samples from that fortis shop in Germany. My original color is anthrazit http://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/show...diagId=51_2040
but as you know anthrazit is having some special effect and is not just black, I got 3 samples and selected the one which was somehow best match, but not 100%. In any case I would try to find a shop in the U.S. Just found a thread where they say headliner express has the correct color, at least back in 2012 http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/sh...liner-material
Normally if it is sagging, you cannot stop it, the problem is the disintegrating foam, I have done meanwhile about 15 headliners with my wrenching buddies and it is always the same, foam crumbles away. Some use a steam iron, might help for some time, but not for ever. Here some comments pro and contra
http://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/sh...steam-fix-FAIL
http://www.bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/649174
The shop in Germany is http://www.fortispolster.de/category...fe-himmelstoff
But for sure you can find similar material in the U.S. and do not have to pay for expensive shipping from Europe.

Here some pics when we did it
old headliner removing, see the crumbled foam http://s663.photobucket.com/user/hai...tml?sort=3&o=4
cleaned and ready for the new headliner material http://s663.photobucket.com/user/hai...tml?sort=3&o=1
I also just checked what samples I got from fortis, that were
AM03 T189 03 Schwarz
SAM 155 Schwarz
SAM03 T129 03 Schwarz

In the end I selected SAM03 T189 03 Schwarz http://www.fortispolster.de/himmelst...3-schwarz.html
but as mentioned, it is not 100% the same, my original is anthrazit.

[Derek13letters]

Plan on 2. I would not recommend "70" for such job, 90 is my choice even though it doesn't spray as well.

Buy 4!! Maybe 5....dont skimp and the unused can be returned.... I live in FL... So high temp and i used way more.... But its holding up nicely.... Spray Both sides and be sure to allow it to become tacky!

Sent from my 306SH using Tapatalk