Hi guys, I am replacing my headliner, I bought the material from A.S Trim, its a light grey, not a 100% match but probably 97% and given the age of the original, it's acceptable.
Here's a few pics of before:








I have to get rid of a few of the bits that have stuck to the base board that a result of a previous repair attempt. Then I planned taking a template of the original lining and sticking it in situ like pasting wallpaper on a ceiling, which I may add, I have done before.
Just wondering if there is an easy way to get the headboard out from its current position, without having to dismantle the rear mirror and its assembly? I think the side panels at the rear are just held in place by a push fit and should come away without removing and screws or bolts, just curious in case there is an easy solution. Always like to have alternatives.

 

There are a few screws that need to be removed, the coat hanger, a screw behind the seatbelt where it goes inside the trim, and a screw in bottom of the hand grip in the trim side of the rear seat. You'll also have to remove the T50 torx holding the shoulder belt at the side sliding adjustment.
After you've freed the side trim and removed the lights and sunvisors then you can release the little metal tabs and wriggle that little puppy out of there.
Some say you need to remove a seat, some say not, but personally I did and even then it was tight fit. Turn it around inside the car, and bring it out at a 45 deg angle rear end first, and don't forget to lower the door window, it might help.
Good Luck.

 

Thanks for the info White Bear, did you remove the lights and rear view mirror? Or did you just manipulate the board backwards and out of its housing? I did not want to remove the lights and mirror as I saw some had cracked the windscreen during the process.
Thanks again for the contribution.

 

I re-did my headliner in micro-suede but should be similar process, to get a tight wrap without wrinkles in the corners or air gaps you will need to make multiple relief cuts in the fabric edge that wraps around the headliner, without the relief cuts the material wont mold into the curves well and will pull up before the glue fully cures. I can't imagine it will come out looking right unless you remove the headliner from the car and do the glue job outside the car with the right spray glue.

You don't need to remove the mirror but you do need to remove the plastic light console with the airbag sensor. Disconnect the battery just to be safe and dont reconnect until the job is done. The console is held on by clips. There is a good chance you might break a clip doing this or crack the plastic so be careful. Mine took a lot of force to remove, so you may want to get some plastic trim removal tools if you want to be extra safe.
I glued the material on in sections starting from the middle out, so as to stretch it tight and avoid wrinkles. Getting the headliner back in without damaging the headliner is challenging so take your time to position it just right and protect any areas it might scrape against.
I did not need to remove a seat, I went in from the passenger side with both seats fully reclined, You need to contort the headliner a bit to make it fit. I did it solo but it would be a huge help to have someone else holding from the outside. Headliner material is more delicate than microsuede so removing the seats might be a safer bet.

 

As Waterloo says, (I was in London at Liverpool St station a few years ago waiting for a cab. The lady waiting in front of me got her cab, climbed in saying "Waterloo" the cabbie asked "The station?" Quick as flash the lady replied "A bit late for the ....... battle!"
With a roar of laughter the cabbie took off. Got to love a mind like that...)
Well, as he says, there is no need to remove the rear view mirror.
Regards,

 

Thanks for the comments Waterloo and White Bear. I did take the biscuit out, was quite a job and even with the door open and window down it was difficult. Got a bit of a crease in the middle, but hopefully it will not be too noticeable. First attempt was a bit of a disaster as it was solo, and on a windless day it still managed to get moved out of position. It went on creased so had to be removed. Thankfully I have enough to have another try, just waiting on the spray glue which should arrive by the weekend. I will try this time from the middle and work out over as suggested and wifey has promised to give me a hand so hopefully achieve the right result. Pics to follow.

 

Efforts so far.
As you can see I used the original as a template and marked out on the big side. However it was still to small when I tried to fit it from the rear to the front. This time I will not cut a template, as I have already made a dry fit and think it will be best as has been suggested, to fit from the middle outwards, stretching as I go. I may even do it in stages a quarter or half at a time spray gluing as I go.

Getting the board out without creasing it is almost impossible, I got a small crease on the middle which I hope will not be noticeable when its finished. Is it really possible to get it out without damage, even removing the seat or seats to me wouldnt make much difference, the door aperture is just too small, made no difference with door fully open or window down. Look how close the board is to the door mirror, no amount of jiggling, pushing or pulling made any difference. Hey ho next step to follow.....it may be a new headlining at £170

 

Mine also got some creasing in it after i had to compress it some to get it out but they do not show at all and the headliner had more than enough integrity after it was re-covered. Getting it in without compressing too much is going to be the hard part because you might cause wrinkles in the headliner material, micro suede is really tough material so it was not an issue for me but take it real slow cause headliner material is very sensitive.
If you damaged it too much removing it, that it actually lost too much integrity (which I doubt) I still would not buy a new headliner, you can use some sort of fiberglass liquid hardener or maybe even a masonry hardener/waterproofer-sealer brushed on to the headliner should re-set the headliner when it is absorbed into it and cures, I've done something similar in the past on bent up material that lost integrity which was very close to the stuff your headliner is made of.
Here is how mine came out

 

Hi waterloo, I could have got the persuade for about another £25 but tried to keep it as original as possible, having said that yours looks great! You did the sun visors very well too. I will see how it turns out with what I have then decide which way to go. Good shout about the repair, its not that bad really but I just thought to mention it. Thanks again for the info.