mudspike

Planning on re-covering headliner with foam-backed suede headliner.
I am now loaded with information how to remove the trim panels and etc.. but
Is there any special technique to cover recessed area, as shown on the pic', without leaving wrinkle around it?
Any advice will be appreciated.

AchtungE60

I have tried to do this several times on other bimmers....I would just get an OE from the dealer and call it a day or take it to a shop that can do this for you. They do it all the time and have products that are suited for this that are not available in the open market.

tonyb635

+1!!! Unless you are experienced it will cost you more money and time to do this and then you end up with a goofy looking headliner that looks like someone WTF happen to you headliner... My son returns from Afghanistan in the next weeks and his car needed a new liner. I took it to a guy that does then regularly and the work he did was pretty nice, not perfect, but nice. He also explained how difficult it is to do... I think you have like one shot to bring the materials together. Even a slight mistake can ruin the entire liner requiring you to start all over with new materials.

mudspike

Got the most parts including all the A,B,C pillars, and sunroof liner done EXCEPT the PITA roof which I
spent the most of times to get it prepared.
I dry fitted fabric and found that it was very hard to get the recessed areas done without leaving wrinkle because I am not dealing with stretchable knit fabric but a woven 'suede' hard to stretch fabric.
I doubt even an experienced shop can do it right.
So I am regretting picking up suede fabric.
There might be other type of foam-backed or non foam-backed suede STRETCHABLE fabric on the market but now that all the pillars and other trims are done, I have no choice.

Anyone can give me a advice, the best way to handle recessed area before I get started?

Tks

H F

I dont think ull get the fabric to bend and stretch enough.. think u might have to use a separate piece of fabric and some custom cuts in the corners,,, for those recessed areas, and bump the perimeter edges around the recessed area together with ur main piece. i think with a sharp blade and some nice straight cuts,, it can be done..

AchtungE60

Your liner fabric looks more like the E39/E49 headliner. I assume you're not in the U.S. as with the 2004 E60 they introduced a different material. So far mine is still holding up fine. It's 2013 and have almost 140K miles and i'm as far south as one can get so it's hot and humid.

As stated before, been there done that. On a previous car I wanted to use a fabric similar to the E46 anthracite headliner. Within the first year the coloring faded on the A pillars from sun exposure and the 3M professional adhesive did not hold up under these extreme environmental conditions.
I do not remember how i got in all the folders and stuff but i worked it out. The whole project was a pain in the ass but seemed worth it until a few months later when started to sag from the heat and then a year later the A pillars started to fade in color where they meet the dash. Can't say we didn't tell you so.
Good luck

mudspike

Alright.. thanks for the inputs.
I found two substitutes.
Foam backed 2 way "very" stretchable suede fabric designed for headliner and
foam backed stretchable 'ordinary' fabric for headliner.
Either way I will have to re-do what's already done to match the colors.

mudspike

Finally got it all covered over the weekend.
Also had to re-cover pillar and trims to match the color.
Took 4 hours with 2 people including myself.
No special technique needed for recessed areas with stretchable fabric.

It is not perfect and there are some winkles but luckily not on very visible area.n
So...acceptable.

Toughest part was the adhesive I used, DAP original contact cement, was very tacky so I had only one shot to line fabric up over the liner.

west

looks good

Dishoom

Looks like you did pretty damn good!