Headliner question

[Guest wk's_olds]

I replaced the headliner in my '51 olds 98 sedan. It's fine, except there are a few small wrinkles that I could NOT get out no matter how I tried! The material is a sort of velvety on the surface, but the backside is kind of like a vinyl. It's very tough, unlike the original material, which was just thin cloth. My question is....can the wrinkles be removed by steaming the thing, or would that tend to make it more wrinkled?? Any help appreciated.

[oldford]

The steamers used by trim shops remove wrinkles by shrinking the clothe backing that is bonded to the vinyl. The vinyl then stretches to match the new surface of the cloth backing. Sounds to me that you have just the reverse of the typical vinyl seat coverings. If you have vinyl on the back side of the headliner, my guess is that the steamer will not work. I'm not sure what material you have for your headliner, but most headliners are just light weight cloth with no backing.

Frank

[Guest wk's_olds]

Thanks for the reply! Yes, that's exactly what I was thinking, too. I have a fairly large section of that same cloth which I didn't need to use, so I may try it out on that sample before making the headliner worse!

[Guest simplyconnected]

Headliners are supposed to breathe. You sure don't want to trap moisture on the inside of your roof.

As far as heat, my experience is, it shrinks all materials (including steel). Yes, the hot material becomes relaxed, but when it cools, that's when it shrinks. We use steam on convertible tops (on the outside) at the factory. They're vinyl, and their winkles shrink like everything else. Talk with your wife about how to shrink clothes, she'll tell you to use the dryer with plenty of heat. Steam prevents the temp from going over 212F, so it doesn't burn. Some hair blowers get real hot. Try a small test area.

[Guest wk's_olds]

Thanks! I'll give it a try!

[1957buickjim]

I have an issue as well with my headliner, a few wrinkles to get out along the edges. The question is should I use a hair dryer, heat gun or clothes steamer to get them out? It is a traditional headliner, vinyl face, with fabric backing. Any suggestions would be welcome. Thanks.

[Rusty_OToole]

Steam will remove the wrinkles. So will time. The material slowly shrinks, but with steam you can do in minutes what it might take months to happen on its own.