Headliner fabric selection for ecru interior
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Audiworld Junior Member
Joined: May 2008
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From: Virginia
Headliner fabric selection for ecru interior
I removed the headliner from my car and then went shopping for the replacement material and was disappointed in the choices I had available. Does anyone who has done this before have an endorsement for a foam/fabric combo that looks good in the S? Any pics would be helpful. I'm hoping I'll be able to make a web purchase.
I considered laying down the "traditional" headliner foam with gray polyester (already joined) on top of it and then shopping for a thinner fabric to go down on top of that, but that thin gray layer wasn't substantially attached to put an adhesive layer on top of, in my opinion. I didn't find any good candidates for matching or upgrading the appearance of the original headliner.
I considered laying down the "traditional" headliner foam with gray polyester (already joined) on top of it and then shopping for a thinner fabric to go down on top of that, but that thin gray layer wasn't substantially attached to put an adhesive layer on top of, in my opinion. I didn't find any good candidates for matching or upgrading the appearance of the original headliner.
AudiWorld Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 618
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From: Knoxville, TN
If you are going to replace the headliner material I recommend you remove the board from the car and clean all the old material from it before recovering. The pillar trim needs to come off, and you need to be careful not to bend up the clips around the sunroof opening.
If you have any kind of sample you could call and send it to this place for a match. If not, you can ask for samples that could possibly match. It most likely will not be in the beige samples because the ecru is more of a shale color with gray rather than beige tones.
http://www.miamicorp.com/
If you have any kind of sample you could call and send it to this place for a match. If not, you can ask for samples that could possibly match. It most likely will not be in the beige samples because the ecru is more of a shale color with gray rather than beige tones.
http://www.miamicorp.com/
Thread Starter
Audiworld Junior Member
Joined: May 2008
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From: Virginia
The shale, grey color is what is causing my pain. It works well in the car, but unfortunately it's a color that nobody else has much desire to upholster anything with. Guess I'll hit all the mom and pop shops and see what comes along. Again though, if anyone has had good luck with any of the national chains, it sure would be nice to just order the material over the net or make a trip to the nearest location.
Thanks for the comments on the removal...I spent way too long on that on Saturday. It went alright, but it's certainly more work than I expected to get the headliner out. The B pillars are really weird. The location of the fasteners and how the 3 pieces slide together made it impossible for me to remove the lower two portions. I had to use a phillips head on a socket wrench and just bend the middle portion out of the way to get to the screws in the there. I had a minor crack on one of the A pillars (those are in tight!) and I did a number on one of the C pillars. I pulled from the wrong spot on the first one I was taking out. Fortunately it's not in two pieces. One trick I think may be useful for others is to shine a bright light behind the panels after you get them started so you can see where the clips/pry points are.
Thanks for the comments on the removal...I spent way too long on that on Saturday. It went alright, but it's certainly more work than I expected to get the headliner out. The B pillars are really weird. The location of the fasteners and how the 3 pieces slide together made it impossible for me to remove the lower two portions. I had to use a phillips head on a socket wrench and just bend the middle portion out of the way to get to the screws in the there. I had a minor crack on one of the A pillars (those are in tight!) and I did a number on one of the C pillars. I pulled from the wrong spot on the first one I was taking out. Fortunately it's not in two pieces. One trick I think may be useful for others is to shine a bright light behind the panels after you get them started so you can see where the clips/pry points are.
Thread Starter
Audiworld Junior Member
Joined: May 2008
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From: Virginia
Samples mailed to my door!
The Miami referral is looking good. I contacted them via their website customer service email and mailed them a scrap of the headliner for them to match upon their request. They shipped me 4 different samples to choose from. I'm very pleased with the PHX2374 "RHONBY LT STONE". The color is pretty close to stock, perhaps a little less grey. It's deceiving in different light because the Miami material has somewhat of a polyester shine to it. The stock stuff is kinda fluffy/velvety. Anyway...I've attached a pic of the 3 best candidates and a pic of what's hiding under the headliner in the car.
In other news...a one-man show, highly endorsed, local body shop proprietor is going to take a look at my A-pillar and fender rust tomorrow and quote/no-quote the job. I've successfully installed a complete heater/blower/diverter assembly. I'm still chasing a passenger footwell leak (unless it's residual heater core coolant seeping though the foam). And I'm looking into some drivetrain noise which arose after the 95.5 tranny install (two noises, one seems heat shield related, other I'm thinking it engine or tranny mount related).
In other news...a one-man show, highly endorsed, local body shop proprietor is going to take a look at my A-pillar and fender rust tomorrow and quote/no-quote the job. I've successfully installed a complete heater/blower/diverter assembly. I'm still chasing a passenger footwell leak (unless it's residual heater core coolant seeping though the foam). And I'm looking into some drivetrain noise which arose after the 95.5 tranny install (two noises, one seems heat shield related, other I'm thinking it engine or tranny mount related).
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AudiWorld Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2009
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From: Knoxville, TN
I wouldn't venture to guess at the monitors rendition of the samples. That is why you have actual samples in hand to compare. You want to get the samples in several different locations for lighting changes and to verify against the existing headliner material. The sunroof control panel is just painted so it may not be the best part to compare color.
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Thread Starter
Audiworld Junior Member
Joined: May 2008
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From: Virginia
Got some material on order
It's actually the first sample there on the left and the one I cited in the previous post. The lighting for that picture doesn't do it much justice. I compared it in daylight to the sunroof panel, since ultimately that is what it will be butted up against, and to the original headliner. That 3rd sample was close, but had too deep a tan color to it. The sample I chose seemed to be the right color but juuuust slightly darker than the original. I don't think it will be an issue once it's in the car. I'm hoping get the material down this weekend and to reinstall early next week. I'll post the results with some better light for a final judgement.
AudiWorld Senior Member
Joined: Dec 2005
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To remove the B pillar upper trims, you have to start at the bottom..
You need to:
1) pull the inner sill plates (pull the inserts that snap in, then a mess of screws, then work them out)
2) Pull the lower B pillar trims (2 screws down low near the seat belt reel, then pull down)
3) Pull the upper trims now that you can get at the fasteners.
HTH
1) pull the inner sill plates (pull the inserts that snap in, then a mess of screws, then work them out)
2) Pull the lower B pillar trims (2 screws down low near the seat belt reel, then pull down)
3) Pull the upper trims now that you can get at the fasteners.
HTH
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