I'm helping a friend put a new headliner from classic ind. in his car. It has no instructions. We got as far as getting it hanging by the bows but can't seem to get it pulled tight on the sides or ends. Can anyone give a little insight on this?

71rs;

Headliners are not easy!!

Here are some tricks that I've used (and heard of).

Take it all apart and then sand and paint the bows. Then before putting it back together, wipe the bows down with Ivory bar soap. It sounds crazy, but what you are trying to do is make it so that the material slides freely over the bow.

Make sure that you have the correct bows in their correct location.

In most sedans (and I'm not sure if this applies to a Camaro) there is a "hook" that catches one of the bows. It's centered within the roof when looking from side to side. This hook is the starting point for pulling the other bows tight. In other words, you don't start from one end and go to the other.

Plan on using some form of heater!! I'm talking about the industrial version of a hair dryer. Use this to make the material more pliable (strechable?).

The best spray contact cement (and only one I will use) is 3M's super 77!!!!! You can buy it at a fabric supply shop and pay tons or just get the same thing at Home Depot. Nothing comes close. Just use a light spray on both surfaces, then let it "dry" to a tacky surface. Once the two pieces are brought in contact, that's it. (in other words, you can't reposition it) (as an added note, contact cements will soften foam rubber and if you are glueing that, you have to go real light)

I hope this all helps!

------------------
Wes. Vann
Technical Reference Section

and get ahold of some clothspins. (the wooden kind used to hang laundry) they work great for the sides while the glue dries.

I used some small long nose type vise-grips on the corners, I found that this held the headliner nice and taught, moreso than the closepins.