I have the headliner falling down over the back passengers and want to get this fixed as I will be putting the car up for sale soon. I do not want to spend the 1500 for a new headliner. I found one on Ebay but shipping is not practical and since an 09 XF is more rare than a Tesla I've had no luck in a local wrecking yard.

Suggestions?

 

Google for headliner material, and recover the one you have.

There are companies that make the exact material and glue you need.

I have done it before on an XJ8. It's not a super fun project, but recovering is not really the painful part. It's getting the old one out and the new one in that is tedious.

 

Typically you can pick up some 3M spray adhesive and use that to get the material to stick. If it isn't too bad you could try to spot fix the areas that are coming down with that spray adhesive vs. getting all new material. I'm sure you'd want to pull the headliner out before trying to fix it though. If you don't want to do it then call and upholstery shop. The labor cost to get the headliner out and back in might be the majority of the cost.

 

Hate to do this, but that's terrible advice from someone that has obviously never tried what they just recommended.

The reason the material falls is not because the glue came undone and it just needs re-gluing. It's because the foam backing on the fabric has deteriorated, and if you do anything to try to glue this failed material back on it will look so much like *** that you would be better off ripping off the loose material and leaving it bare.

Also, don't take the advice of getting "some 3M spray adhesive." You must buy the right one for the job as there are many. The wrong one will eat the foam of the material, and also soak through the fabric and it will look like, you guessed it, ***.

Buy the fabric and the glue from people that sell the right stuff with the right instructions. And follow the instructions. Like this for the googly-challenged:
http://www.headlinerexpress.com/impo...d33b5b15bc9896

And please if you see someone talking out of their *** on how to fix something, say something! The internet needs you to keep it useful!

 

Have you seen OP's car and diagnosed the issue in person? NO! I think your post is a TERRIBLE post. It's like you go around on this forum and find ways to bitch at people for things you don't approve of. Seriously, look at all of your posts. The vast majority of them are negative or personal attacks on other members. If you don't have anything nice to say then keep your mouth shut. You can post a helpful response without attacking another poster. Just because you don't agree with another post doesn't mean it's wrong. OP may not be a snobby little ******* and think that gluing it back up is perfectly fine. He said he didn't want to spend $1500 so he's looking for a cheaper option. OP can be an adult and figure out what will best work for him.

 

I have to say I tried the adhesive fix on a Volvo I had.
My experience was pretty much as lotusespritse said.

Most often the headliner fail is due to the foam backing deteriorating and crumbling to powder which if you aren't careful will shower your interior with dust.
Nothing will glue to it and you will end up with a really lumpy, tacky job.

By all means take the headliner out if you are willing, but if you do you will have to strip it right back remove all the foam and use the right materials. It's a fiddly job to get smooth though.

 

Dude, I was worried you would get so hurt, but I had to point out that you were giving terrible advice. I just had to.

Please try to understand that you really gave very bad advice, and I needed to make sure people knew that in a way that would help them and you.

If you continue to give bad advice on forums, I will make a pledge now to make every effort to correct your errors -- it's what makes open forums great. Trying to shut me or anyone else that disagrees with you up isn't going to help anyone.

If you were allowed to post up silly suggestions that would waste the OP's time and money without anyone being able to correct you, wouldn't that be a TERRIBLE shame? I think you think so.

My posts are always very helpful, and I post up legit DIY's. In this case, I offered a very viable $250 solution that would give a great result for $1250 less than the OP was facing. That's a big savings. Your solution would potentially ruin the headliner backing by building up incorrect adhesive that would prevent a proper solution from being viable and a huge bill would be the only option to remedy your bad advice.

So quit trying to build some fake political narrative of me being some big bad internet meanie. Save that for your Trump bashing. And if you don't have a clue, just know you don't have to give advice. No advice is better than wrong advice.

 

There is a far better way to respond to a post that you don't agree with. Such as: "I disagree, I have had bad experience with said stuff. I think ... is a better idea." I don't think I should have to tell you that though.

OP is an adult and can review his options on his own. 3M spray adhesive glues material down. I have used it before and it does what it says. It's glue. If that's what he wants to do he can do it.

After thinking about it a bit more I'd probably try Car-Part.com--Used Auto Parts Market and see if there is a used one nearby or one that could be shipped. Car-Part.com--Used Auto Parts Market will help you find more used options vs calling all the local yards.

 

Speaking of...any guides on HOW to remove the headliner? I am considering trying to fix my sunroof to save myself $1,000.

 

This should help: Fixing the headlining on a car with the sun/moon roof