Does anyone have advice as to how to reattach the fabric headliner back to the foam backing? I have a number of areas around the interior where the material has lifted away from the foam/padding.
If the headliner is only detaching along the edges of the windows you may be able to brush on some rubber cement and put it all back together. If the headliner is sagging in other areas you may need to pull it out and replace the fabric yourself or have an upholstery shop do the work for you. In this case you would use a spray adhesive (3M makes a nice product for this) and work the fabric into the contours of the backing material. I have not removed a headliner from an E36 but I understand the procedure is fairly straightforward. Matt
Im in the same boat as you my friend... I think Im going to have a shop do mine but put black pleather up there, my 93 rx7 has that and it just makes the car look sweet, also makes a cake walk to clean,
I have yet to see a successful fabric reattachment on an e36 headliner. I did one on my boyfriends car, and it held well for about 1.5 months, then went to hell. It also took about 4 hours to do (to completely remove all of the orange crap stuck to the headliner). When mine started sagging, I just went out and spent $200 on a new one from the dealer. I also heard that the replacement headliners use a better adhesive that is supposed to last much longer.
I've seen several successful head liner reattachments. I cant comment on longevity though. I can have it professionally done for $100 and I suspect they would warranty it. If they are $200 for a new OEM one, that actually seems like a fair price.
I've heard you can buy the headliner material at fabric shops. Also, I've read on these posts before that one of the big keys to successful replacement is to make sure you get all the old adhesive off the backing board so the new headliner sticks well. I have not done is myself, so I also cannot comment on how well it comes out or how long it lasts.
