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As many of you know the factory sunroof and headliner fabric on our car will sag over time. This has been the case with mine for well over a year now, I was considering doing it myself but decided not to. Luckily there is a reputable shop about 5 miles from me that I checked out today. They were changing the fabric on a Maserati convertible when I arrived. They also had MB's in there too and I really liked the look of the work environment. I would generally not let anyone touch my car, but I might give these guys a shot. The guy could tell how serious I was when making sure that everything would be put back together properly and told them not to rush the job as it's not my daily. The regular charge is $380 for the sunroof and headliner. I kept thinking Alcantara while I was there, I asked and he nodded. He said add $75 for material that had the same feel to Alcantara which I have pictured below or $250 for the real deal. I will prob do the extra $75, I just hate having buyers remorse so I will think on it for a few. Please let me know your thoughts and what you would do. I really need some input! I'm thinking the SYN Dark Graphite.
Just glad this will be getting done soon!! I have not done any type of upgrade on this car for years.
I got a quote that was extremely good (about $100) if I remove the top and bring it to them myself. I frankly don't trust anyone disassembling my interior on that level except me. Anyway, he said if I remove the headliner and bring it to him he'll do it in a couple hours for $75 if I just use a soft, felt-like material since the original material will be nearly impossible to copy. $20 for the sunroof panel.
my initial thought was to make it look cleaner by going with black felt, but sat in the car and realized my sunvisors and handles are all the same grey as the headliner covering. problemo. i'll just have to try and color match as best as I can.
I got a quote that was extremely good (about $100) if I remove the top and bring it to them myself. I frankly don't trust anyone disassembling my interior on that level except me. Anyway, he said if I remove the headliner and bring it to him he'll do it in a couple hours for $75 if I just use a soft, felt-like material since the original material will be nearly impossible to copy. $20 for the sunroof panel.
my initial thought was to make it look cleaner by going with black felt, but sat in the car and realized my sunvisors and handles are all the same grey as the headliner covering. problemo. i'll just have to try and color match as best as I can.
Funny, I got in my car and looked right at the sunvisors too. I can tell this will not be an easy decision. I also hear you on the not trusting anyone removing the headliner, in all honesty this is making me really hold off. Is the job that difficult? I have never tried.
Funny, I got in my car and looked right at the sunvisors too. I can tell this will not be an easy decision. I also hear you on the not trusting anyone removing the headliner, in all honesty this is making me really hold off. Is the job that difficult? I have never tried.
i've never tried it but I've read from multiple people that it's not really that difficult if you know what to do ahead of time. there are a few write-ups online with detailed instructions. the issue is that all the panels you have to remove are somewhat delicate and easily bent or broken (the pillar covers and various plastic clips which are replaceable).
another big reason for doing it myself is savings. borrow mother-in-law's toyota highlander and use it to carry them my headliner and it shaves at least $300 off the price!!
Mine is holding perfectly well since the 4 years I have owned the 43. I don't know if anything has been done in the past, but looking at the material, I doubt anything has been done there. Perhaps this sagging thing arrives on vehicles which live in the sun all the time. Again, when not in use, mine is in a closed and protected (from the elements) area.
98 C43, 15 Alfa 4C LE, 18 Tesla Model 3 DM Perf, 08 Duc S1000, 02 Duc 998, 98 Duc 748, 01 Miata
Mine is out and sitting in my bonus room. Started sagging a few months ago and I pulled it out. The sunroof cover was a PITA and the super secret trick to get the headliner out of the car is to remove the rear seat lower cushion and then recline your front passenger seat down into the space previously occupied by that cushion. You will then have enough room to get the headliner out of the passenger side front door.
Scroll to the bottom of the third page in this thread for a how to on a W210. It is nearly identical to ours.
By the way, haven't spent a lot of time on it, but I won't have mine redone until I can find someone who can match the factory headliner. I actually like the lighter color with black trim pieces.
the sunroof cover in my C280 was super, super easy. open sunroof half way, pry the front edge of the cover until you hear the plastic clip(s) pop loose, open sunroof all the way back, push up on sunroof cover and it pops right up out the top of the car. I assume it's still the same on the update model??
98 C43, 15 Alfa 4C LE, 18 Tesla Model 3 DM Perf, 08 Duc S1000, 02 Duc 998, 98 Duc 748, 01 Miata
Originally Posted by Sulaco
the sunroof cover in my C280 was super, super easy. open sunroof half way, pry the front edge of the cover until you hear the plastic clip(s) pop loose, open sunroof all the way back, push up on sunroof cover and it pops right up out the top of the car. I assume it's still the same on the update model??
Probably very similar. The sliders were giving me a lot of fight and I didn't want to bend or break anything. You can see what I'm talking about in the linked W210 article.
I've done at least 25 headliners in w202 so far... it's not a difficult job, only time consuming since you have to remove all the interior trim and such...
If you're doing the headliner covering, that's two men job and key is a good clean-up of the old residue sponge-like material and the use of an quality adhesive.
I've done at least 25 headliners in w202 so far... it's not a difficult job, only time consuming since you have to remove all the interior trim and such...
If you're doing the headliner covering, that's two men job and key is a good clean-up of the old residue sponge-like material and the use of an quality adhesive.
where do you need 2 men?
how do you clean up the old spongey stuff? I'll be removing mine myself, cleaning them up, taking them to the upholstery shop to get recovered, then installing myself. I have to save $$$. it will be a few months before I can do it, but I like to plan in advance...
When you lay the new material onto the headliner base you need two men. You glue the headliner and the back of the material, let it get tacky then one holds it up while the other guy keeps it in line and presses onto it inch by inch. This way you don't get creases or misalignment.
It's also easier to be two when you mount the headliner back in its place: headliner has three clips towards the back and the rail at the sunroof, all these need to be slid in place at the same time.
The spongy stuff can be cleaned with a hard brush all the way down till you see the fibers that make up the headliner base.
When you lay the new material onto the headliner base you need two men. You glue the headliner and the back of the material, let it get tacky then one holds it up while the other guy keeps it in line and presses onto it inch by inch. This way you don't get creases or misalignment.
It's also easier to be two when you mount the headliner back in its place: headliner has three clips towards the back and the rail at the sunroof, all these need to be slid in place at the same time.
The spongy stuff can be cleaned with a hard brush all the way down till you see the fibers that make up the headliner base.
are there any chemicals or solvents I should use with the brush?
It's a major PITA when the headliner fails in these cars.
I removed all the seating, center console, steering wheel, and some of the sunroof assembly. Not only does the foam turn to mush and drop the vinyl, but the metal sunroof frame, and the two rear clips also disassociate from the headliner card.
The foam gets everywhere when you try to remove the headliner card. Vacuum it up, and try not to rub it on any surface. Water seems to dissolve it, but there may be residue. I used a scraper to remove the damaged foam from the card. It seems to be made of some sort of fiberglass, with a little resin.
The major issue is the adhesive needed. The spray can stuff will not hold up. I think I spent $60 on a gallon of the Weldwood high temp stuff, along with a cheap Harbor Freight spraygun.
I also had to re-attach the sunroof frame, and the rear mounting tabs. I removed the old adhesive as best I could. It had turned rubbery, and was hard to remove from the card. I brushed on the same adhesive to re-attach the metal hardware.
The C pillars are difficult to remove. Use a good light and pry them with a screwdriver to look behind them to see how they come off. Remove the door edge rubber to do this.
It's a major PITA when the headliner fails in these cars.
I removed all the seating, center console, steering wheel, and some of the sunroof assembly. Not only does the foam turn to mush and drop the vinyl, but the metal sunroof frame, and the two rear clips also disassociate from the headliner card.
The foam gets everywhere when you try to remove the headliner card. Vacuum it up, and try not to rub it on any surface. Water seems to dissolve it, but there may be residue. I used a scraper to remove the damaged foam from the card. It seems to be made of some sort of fiberglass, with a little resin.
The major issue is the adhesive needed. The spray can stuff will not hold up. I think I spent $60 on a gallon of the Weldwood high temp stuff, along with a cheap Harbor Freight spraygun.
I also had to re-attach the sunroof frame, and the rear mounting tabs. I removed the old adhesive as best I could. It had turned rubbery, and was hard to remove from the card. I brushed on the same adhesive to re-attach the metal hardware.
The C pillars are difficult to remove. Use a good light and pry them with a screwdriver to look behind them to see how they come off. Remove the door edge rubber to do this.
Sounds like a b***h of a job! I'm going to live w/ it for right now and will not take it to the shop. Thx for posting this!
07-28-2014, 05:18 PM
