Fiberglass headlining... any experience?

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george man

Active Member
Posts
110
Location
Devon
Hi guys... I'm looking to replace the damp old cardboard style headlining Base and know that lots of cars out there have fiberglass headliners... does anyone have any experience with this in a defender? Thanks
 
These ???
I have no experience of them however. I've heard they can draw a lot of condensation.
 
how bad is it as I've just repaired the one out of my 110 and re-trimmed it because the new ones were around 500 quid plus.
cheers Ian
 
RAPTOR IT just took the inning off the old front front head lining cleaned it and then raptor lined it looks ace
 
Well the one i have is incredibly saggy... the actual backing not just the fabric! At the moment i am drying it out and thinking it may be possible to make a mould out of it then cast a fiberglass one to replace it...
I intend on re-trimming the fiberglass shell to prevent condensation. I just wondered if anyone had come across anyone using them?
 
Mine sounded similar, I smeared fibreglass paste, it comes in a tin with hardener, over the weak bits and used extra fir tree fittings to support the middle droopy bits. I think it would be difficult to take a mould off the existing liner successfully imho.
The link above to LaSalle has good stuff but it's pricey, I used one of their front headliner in my S3 years ago and it was very good.
 
Are the LaSalle ones made of a fiberglass base?
My first step is to try strengthening the existing one to see if that makes it more usable... If that doesn't work i'll try casting my own!!
I wondered if there was anyone out there selling fiberglass ones as they would probably be cheaper than the standard ones... more solid too!
 
I won one on eBay a few days back for £50 I thort id take a chance it was local and allot cheaper than a standard one

I've fitted it with a little bit of sanding cutting and giggling etc it looks pukka and is very easy to clean

Longevity wise I can't say but so far so good
 
I'd worry about raptoring one that it would keep it wet?

As for fiberglass, same thing, but couldn't you build up fiberglass sheets on on side of the lining, and then take away the felt sort of bit? May have to cover it in something first, so the fiberglass did not stick. Even cling film might work.
 
I repaired a roof on a RRC some years ago, took off the remains of the foam with a brush and hoover and then brush coated PVA 50/50 with water to soak in, then a stronger PVA mix on top of that. Next day it was really nice and firm, made recovering much easier. Even able to sand it down in places to get rid of sticky-up bits where the old liner was so ragged.
 
I bought a fibre glass rear headlining for my 1996 90 Station Wagon (now sold) a few years ago from a supplier whose name I forget - but it wasn't La Salle I recall. I think it was £180.00. I fitted it myself but I wish someone had been on hand to assist as it can be cumbersome to position the last side in to position - some tensioning is required to get it in to place and definitely wear gloves because there will be some blood otherwise. Also, you will have to cut out a section for the interior light (if it's a rear you are talking about) and also drill holes for the securing push in plastic studs which secure it. I always thought it would rattle but it didn't.
 
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