[Mochatea396]

Is it normal for installing the bows in the headliner to take about an hour each??? They slide about 1/8 a time then twist the material and have to back it out 1/16 to get the twist out or it won't go any furthur. And this center rod (the one with no material grabbing bends on it?), does this attatch to anything or just float loose in the pocket? Thanks again guys.

[ascamaro]

the easiest way to put the rods in is to sand the rods first which makes them slide right in. as for the the center rod, if you look on the roof brace you will see little metal triangle tabs which the rod attatches to. GOOD LUCK

[69TAPoser]

and after you sand them, spray them with furniture polish.

phil

[Badbird]

Originally Posted by 69TAPoser

and after you sand them, spray them with furniture polish.

This is good advice!.....I'll be installing a headliner this spring/summer and I'll sand and polish my rod before I insert!

[Mochatea396]

Thanks again guys, I sanded the rust down, I didn't have any furnature polish handy so I just went with it with the sanded bows. Sanding them did help a bit, they still are a real slow go. Just make sure it doesn't twist and bunch up the material as you go, once it bunches up, it won't go any further until you undo the knoted material. The polish probably would have helped even more. I noticed someone posted that they heated the clips on the roof so the bows would snap in easier, do you think a little white grease might help or the grease might slowly deteriorate the plastic clips? Well after finally getting the bows in their pockets and the length of the pockets trimmed down, I think we'll call it a day and leave the installation "attempt" until tomorrow. Thanks again.

[rare4k]

if you have another person, let them push on the rod and you work the material both hands up off the lip of the rod, it took us about 10 min with two people and cleaned the rod on a wire wheel.

[mb302rs]

I would not use white grease ,it may wick through the headliner when it gets hot this summer.

[tony -Di]

hey my 2 cents i cleaned primed and painted my rods because they where pretty rusted i allso installed isulation in before i installed the linner

[jay'srs/ss]

I was watching the latest episode of MuscleCar today on Spike. They had a guy come in and install a headliner in the Lemans they're doing, very similar to a 1st gen F Bodies headliner with bows and all. He said to use a light coating of WD40 to get the bows to slip through the material in the holes easier.

[69TAPoser]

I'd still rather use the furniture wax vs. a grease/oil like wd40. It just seems less risky and the spray furniture wax works perfect, disappears, and won't seep into the fabric.

Phil

[Jonesy]

I didnt have to use anything to get mine to slide in. It takes some patience to get them in there. There is like a cloth loop sewn in that they slide into. I found that I had to trim this on the ends of each side to keep the headliner from puckering on the sides.

I would not use grease, WD40 or anything that is going to stain the headliner!!