The "headliner" is located above your head as you're sitting inside the car. The headliner's function is to mask the underside of the car's metal roof and to reduce noise while driving.
There are two kinds of headliners - "bow" headliners and "board" headliners. Bow headliners are cloth or vinyl sections sewn together and suspended from metal rods (bows) that cross the underside of the roof. You have a bow headliner if you see seams running from side to side across the headliner every foot or so. Bow headliners were commonly used in cars up the mid-1970s when manufacturers began to switch over to board headliner systems.
Board headliners use a formed heavy cardboard or fiberglass board that is installed on the underside of the roof. The board is covered with lightweight foam-backed fabric that has no seams. Board headliners are used on almost all modern cars.
Headliners are designed by car manufacturers to last many years. Eventually, however, heat and sun take their toll and the headliner requires repair or replacement.
Bow Headliners. As it gets old, bow headliner material gets holes or the thread holding the headliner together rots out. In most cases, it is impractical to repair bow headliners - they usually need to be replaced. Fortunately, reproductions of most original headliner materials are still available. We can order new bow headliners pre-made to the original specifications or use reproduction material to make a new headliners from scratch. Sometimes windshield, side, and/or rear glass needs to be removed in order to install the new headliner.
Board Headliners. Commonly the sun destroys the material along headliner edges or the foam backing on board headliner material dries out. Either way the headliner material starts to hang down, looking ugly and blocking vision. In a few cases the material can be glued back in place but usually either the headliner material and/or the headliner board needs to be replaced.
Headliner repairs are one place where "quick buck" operators attempt to lure the public with offers of very cheap repairs. These people are able to offer ultra-low prices by cutting corners and/or using cheap materials. A cheap repair will look like a quality repair when it is new, but you will know the difference a year later when the new headliner comes down around your ears.
At Premier, we use only high-quality materials and do not use shortcuts. Therefore, we expect our headliner work to have a long life. We do headliner replacements/repairs for many new car dealers in the South and East Bay. We offer every customer the same exceptional quality-work we offer the dealers, and guarantee or craftsmanship and materials 100%.
If you are interested in how to care for your headliner see the Headliner Care section of our Convertible Top and Interior Care Guide.
