Has anyone cleaned the headliner on an XK8 convertible? Is the headliner removable? What's the best way to clean it?

 

I used a portable home floor shampoo machine (Hoover) with a hand wand with very pleasing results. I left the headliner in place and put the top in a couple mid-open positions to aid in getting to all spots. I would avoid rubbing hard so not to scuff the texture where there is support behind the cloth.

 

The Owners Manual recommends using what is effectively rubbing alcohol. Works great. I used a spray bottle and blotted it dry. Took both the dirt and the yellow bleed through of the foam lining out. Good ventilation is required!

 

Hi Test Point,

Did you put plain rubbing alcohol on a spray bottle? Did you dilute it?

 

Straight our of the alcohol bottle. Tried blotting it on and while that worked the spray worked better. The wife had a small spray bottle for some mysterious use. There is no reason that she has to know that I used that bottle as I got it back in place quickly.

I had to buy a new turkey baster.

 

I use blue coral upholstery cleaner, it's made for this.

 

Is your headliner simply dirty, or do you have brownish or yellowish stains? If you have these stains, more than likely the foam lining behind the headliner has deteriorated. If that is the case, cleaning might help for a short while, but they will come back.

The headliner is not designed to be removed easily, and is actually pop riveted into the frame. Removal is quite an involved process.

 

Hi WXKR, It's dirty. Looks like the previous owner didn't use the cover much.

Test Point, are you saying that you just sprayed it on and the dirt disappeared? Did you use a cloth to rub it or what?

 

Thanks Oldmots I googled the blue coral upholstery cleaner and it's sounds great. I'll pick up a bottle.

 

Great question, thanks for bringing this up.

The headliner in my '00 convertible as well has some very slight brownish/yellowish discoloration in a few places. Just enough to notice and bug me!

I've always wondered how to effectively clean it without removal of the headliner and risk of damage to the headliner's texture. I'll test with the alcohol /spray bottle technique first, but probably order some Blue Coral upholstery cleaner.

Thanks again guys, happy Friday!

 

I have tried so many cleaners on my convertible headliner now that I have given up (including "rubbing alcohol"). It has now started to wrinkle in places where I've tried cleaning it that much.

I can only assume it has discoullered, rather than just got dirty.

Is there any way that the headliner can be recoloured or stained in the way that leather seats can be? It really is the only thing letting my interrior down.

 

The problem with the headliner is as it ages, the foam between the outside material and the liner deteriorates. This leaves the outer material loose and wrinkled, and often caused stains.

New aftermarket headliners start at around 150 USD. I would recommend just having an aftermarket headliner fitted by an auto upholstery shop.

Is the fabric on your A-pillars and header over the windshield also loose and/or stained? It usually makes sense to have them recovered at the same time with matching foam backed headliner material.

 

It's in OK condition over all, it's just the discolouration.

I have read that it's a major job replacing the headliner. I was hoping perhaps there was a simple solution like a stain that could be applied.

 

There are some spray on fabric dyes, but I cannot imagine getting good results and not making a giant mess spraying overhead in a car.

Replacing the headliner is not a particularly easy DIY job, but is not a big deal for an experienced upholstery shop.

 

I see there are headliners available on ebay, not too expensive (albeit they're all in the USA).

Ayone have any experience of buying an aftermarket headliner, or fitting?

 

I did mine about a year ago. The one I purchased from 'topsandseats.com' did not have the sewn in plastic retainers, so I had to remove and sew in the old ones with a sewing awl....lots of work.

Now I see topsonline.com sells them on ebay ( http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Jagua...Q5fAccessories ) with new plastic retainers already sewn in. This will make it easier, but it is still not an easy DIY job unless you are very handy and have lots of attention to detail. If you do take it on, be aware that you will have to drill out old pop rivets and use a manual pop-rivet gun to install new ones. Also document the diassembly with a digital camera...it will make reassembly a lot easier.

As far as quality goes, I think the aftermarket ones are a pretty safe bet. Some do not have the white linen liner like the OEM (it looks like the topsonline.com one has the liner also), so that is someting else to look out for.

The OEM one, besides having the plastic retainers and the liner, also includes the plastic window frame. The aftermarket ones do not have that, but it is easlily reused from the old unit.

Make sure you specify the year of your car if you buy one as they changed styles in mid-2001.

Also get a yard of extra matching material for your A-pillars and header. Even if you do not do them now, eventually the foam will delaminate and you will be glad to have the matching material on hand.

 

Thinking about it, could a trimmer make one out of leather or vinyl? Would be much more durable, and quite classy too perhaps?

 

Alacantra suede-like material would be my choice if I were going to go full custom. It would be a very classy look.

 

Thanks very much for the link. My headliner did get dirty again within 6 months so I may try a new one after one more cleaning attempt.