Headliner Tear. What to do??

[Big_John]

Anyone have luck repairing a headliner seam?

Here's what happened, I was cleaning it up today and the threads in the seam right over the driver seat decided to pop. The headliner is in great shape otherwise and after I cleaned it, it looks great. I used my newly bought Tornador cleaning gizmo, which I really like and then did this on the final wipe down. It is just the threads, the fabric feels good and did not tear.

I haven't talked to anyone in the business about it yet. I know a guy that's great with headliners, but he's a bit flakey. I'm thinking the right person could resew the seam right in place. I really don't want to replace it.

Any thoughts?

 

[crv]

You know how to sew?

 

[MONC440]

All you need is a good hook needle and the right thread. You can get them at hobby lobby. If it was just the thread that failed you can use the same holes. I have repaired them. I have also repaired my boat seats the same way. Your neck is going to hurt by the time you get done. Lol

This is a video of a boat seat repair that is similar to the technique I used.

 

[Just Carbs]

It's a pain.
I used the curved needle and square stitched it. The part of the stitch that runs left and right along the direction of the seam so it's hidden. Like a square sign wave. That description is clear as mud, right?

And skinny rubber bands with little hooks made from paper clips to bring the pieces together the entire length of the seam, so as not to tear out the fabric when pulling the pieces together with the thread.

The sitting in the seat and sewing overhead method? That lasted about one minute. An 8-foot long 1x12 board over the padded windowsills for laying down on my back worked just fine.

But it's like playing whack amole. Three weeks later, another opened up when I rolled the window down at 70 mph.

 

[Big_John]

Your neck is going to hurt by the time you get done.

The sitting in the seat and sewing overhead method? That lasted about one minute. An 8-foot long 1x12 board over the padded windowsills for laying down on my back worked just fine.

That is part of the issue. My neck is fused from C5-C7 with some added hardware. Just cleaning it was tough. Some sort of Michelangelo Sistine Chapel rigging might work, but I'm leaning towards having a pro do it.

 

[Samplingman]

That is part of the issue. My neck is fused from C5-C7 with some added hardware. Just cleaning it was tough. Some sort of Michelangelo Sistine Chapel rigging might work, but I'm leaning towards having a pro do it.

I was gonna say, just looking at the pic you posted was hurting my neck. Then I was going to say Duct Tape, but I knew that was too obvious.

I’m guessing those existing thread holes are going to explode if you try to do it yourself. Isn’t the headliner under tension from the bows? How will you keep it taught while sewing? This is one instance where the “mister cheapo” in me would think that a professional job would be money well spent.

 

[HWYCRZR]

If your material is stable, it can be re-sewed. As others mentioned if the thread has rotted in one seam the others may not be far behind. To fix properly you should take it all the way out. Each seam likely has a bow attached, so need to make sure when you re-stich that the bow sheath is sewn in as well or it will droop. If you take it out you can re-sew all the seams. The key being that the fabric still has a number of years of life remaining. If not at that point you will be close to the price of a new one.

 

[413]

Is is a good tread for "don't touch the old headliner"
sorry it happened to your nice car. This has happened many times to folks with original cars. Don't touch it, don't clean it, hands off.

Nobody is going to look at the headliner anyway. They have to bend down and look up.

Go flush the brake fluid instead of cleaning the headliner.

 

[HOT FURY]

If your material is stable, it can be re-sewed. As others mentioned if the thread has rotted in one seam the others may not be far behind. To fix properly you should take it all the way out. Each seam likely has a bow attached, so need to make sure when you re-stich that the bow sheath is sewn in as well or it will droop. If you take it out you can re-sew all the seams. The key being that the fabric still has a number of years of life remaining. If not at that point you will be close to the price of a new one.

AGREED! zooming in on the pic you can see the thread is fraying and breaking causing your issue, you fix one spot the next weakest spot is going to tear under tension

 

[Big_John]

Is is a good tread for "don't touch the old headliner"
sorry it happened to your nice car. This has happened many times to folks with original cars. Don't touch it, don't clean it, hands off.

Nobody is going to look at the headliner anyway. They have to bend down and look up.

Go flush the brake fluid instead of cleaning the headliner.

Brake fluid was already flushed...

Eh... No guts, no glory.... The headliner either needed to be cleaned or replaced.

 

[67_300_Convertible]

@Big_John you are always such a help to everyone on this site that I hope you get the help/ideas you seek to get this resolved quickly.

 

[57fury440]

I would try a place that does interiors/headliners. I don't have a problem with my neck, but I'm sure I would after trying to stitch that back together. The 72 Barracuda we have still has the original headliner and I would want to keep it if it had the issue you have. Even if a new one was cheaper, on a car that is mostly original, I would prefer the original.