Jaguar Repair: Series 3 XJ6 headliner, backer board, lumber supply

Question
Howard,
My XJ6 was supposed to be going in to the body shop Monday for new floor pans, but they have put me off. So tonight, instead of removing carpet and seats as planned, I'm drinking beer and staring at the old headliner I removed, thinking of how you mentioned knowing a trick for the sunroof section. I will say, I planned to hire this work out, but welcome your guidance. I can say the backer board for the headliner is in awful condition, and I have it hanging by a screw from the wall in my shop. When I removed it, I found someone had previously attached 1"x2" lumber, with generous adhesive to the bottom of the sunroof unit, just rear of the opening, etc; and it was a big mess. Do tell me anything and everything you can to either incourage, or discourage me to take this job on myself as it seems I have a few weeks more with the car here at home.

Thanks!
Michael

Answer
Hi Michael,

The headliner board is flimsy and easily broken. I have had some that were sagging just behind the sun roof but not bad and I was able to bring it up by leaving some of the cover material in excess at the sun roof but removing the foam backing in that area and gluing that material up over the edge of the opening of the sub roof at the back of the sun roof opening and that material held the board up in place. Yours may have been broken in that area and needed additional support.

You may not understand about the covering of the sun roof until you remove the original to see what Jag did. It is a piece of canvas sewn on to a formed piece of plastic and that piece of plastic is what is screwed on to the sun roof bottom piece. On different ones I did I tried making a new piece out of canvas and other heavy cloth material and they all sagged when damp weather and tightened up in dry weather. I was going to try to do one like the fabric cover of a aircraft wing but found a method that worked well for me.

I took a piece of thin aluminum flashing I purchased from a lumber supply company and cut out a piece and bent one end over to replace the plastic piece and examined the area above to be sure I had clearance and drilled small holes and used sheet metal screws to secure it to the sub roof. You have to be very careful where you put the screws. I also used some glue too so as not to get any vibration and noise from wind turbulence.

Be sure to remove a strip of foam backing for all edges of the cover material so as not to make the material too thick when folding over the edges. Especially around the sun roof opening where you need to put the bead material. I even covered the old bead material that way by removing the foam backing and adding a cover over the bead.

It is easy to remove the foam but you need to practice on a scrap so you can see how to remove just a strip on the edges. Just spray the foam with carb cleaner and the glue softens and can be pulled up and cut off where you need the material in tact but the foam removed.

If you have never done these before be careful not to spray the glue close and direct at the foam backing of the headliner material as it will wet the foam and the headliner cloth and destroy it. I learned to spray the glue from a distance and at a adverse angle so as not to wet any area and make the cloth wet. I have never watched a auto trim shop do it but I first lay the head liner material on the head liner board as it will go with plenty of over hang, then I role the material up in a role. No hole in the material for the sun roof yet. I put clamps on the edge of the material to the head liner so it don't shift and spray contact cement from a distance on the head liner and the exposed part of the role and let it set for a minute or two and carefully role the material (with glue on it) on to the head liner with glue but leave a little glue showing and continue that process until you have went all the way across the head liner. Then you will need to remove the clamps and lift that part up and glue it as you did the rest.

Then I spray the edges with carb cleaner directly on the fabric side where you want to remove foam. Even though I wet the fabric I noted that when I peel away the foam and cut off what I don't want, the fabric dried with no stain. Thus I had a strip of fabric around the edges that I can fold over to glue on the back side of the head liner.

The sun roof area is not glued to the head liner. It is striped of the foam around the edge but left loose until the headliner is installed and then it is glued to the metal sub roof of the car and the bead put on over it to secure it in place. If you are careful, it will look factory done.

If you have never done all this, you should practice with scraps to be sure you can do it with the full piece. I don't know how trim shops do it but this is how I have done several and they have worked out well.

That is the best I can tell you as I am not an expert in trim work.

Howard