Vinyl Headliner stains. Has anyone painted theirs?

[1958bkspecial]

Hello Buick Lovers;

The white headliner in my 1957 Century is in excellent shape except for some rust colored stains in the seams. I have tried gently cleaning with different solutions. Stains persist. Has anyone ever tried painting their headliner with a vinyl paint? I see Rustoleum makes a vinyl spray paint for fabrics. I wonder how well it would cover and last? Any ideas on what to do? Thanks, J.R.

[JZRIV]

I have painted headliners before with success but only on 60s cars. SEM is one of the leading and trusted vinyl paint brands. They have many distributors. Here is one for example. They have 7 shades of white. I don't know anything about headliners in a 57. You may need to remove a piece of trim to look at a piece of the headliner that has been protected to (not faded) see the correct shade. Only problem with ordering online is matching to a description or color chart is subject to error. Maybe you can find a local auto store who is a rep. or maybe a 57 expert here knows exactly what shade it is.

http://www.summitracing.com/search/brand/sem-products-inc/product-line/sem-products-color-coat/paint-usage/vinyl/primary-paint-color/white

[Guest my3buicks]

Make a solution with Iron-Out, and lightly scrub it on with a soft bristle tooth brush ( a child's one is perfect). I believe they now make a spray which should work even better but I have not used the spray myself. It would probably be what I would try now if I needed to do it.

Edited March 18, 2014 by my3buicks (see edit history)

[JZRIV]

Just wondering could the rust be from steel bow support rods? not sure if they used those or not in your 57 but if thats what its from you may want to remove the headliner and get rid of the rust otherwise whatever you do may be temporary and rust will bleed back through.

Along with Keiths note I restored a light gray vinyl headliner that had really bad smoke stains permeated into it. I tried no less than 9 different popular stain removers (not cheap) and nothing touched it then as I was about to give up I tried good old clorox bleach undiluted and that worked amazingly well that I saved it. I first tested a corner to make sure the bleach would not damage it in some way. I did have the headliner removed which made it a whole lot easier.

[JohnD1956]

I have those same stains in my 56 and have not attempted much other than cleaning them with regular commercial cleaners. tough stains indeed. I think the bow rods are the culprit. Unless the bow rods are treated in some way then I think it is just going to be fruitless to paint the vinyl. Removing the 50 year old headliner and reinstalling may not be so easy either. This is a no win situation.

I wonder if the headliner can be detached on one side of the car, lets say the drivers side, and then the rods only detached one at a time on the passengers side, pulled out from the drivers side, treated, coated and returned before removal of the next. That might keep the headliner intact and stretched and then once the bow rods are done, then paint the vinyl?

[1958bkspecial]

Thank you for your suggestions. I really appreciate the paint recommendation. I am checking into the SEM brand. I can sample paint colors on the visors that can be removed. Yes the bow rods are the culprits, but I am afraid to remove them. I will try the Iron Out and perhaps hydrogen peroxide. After that it will be paint. I have tried diluted bleach water, Simple Green, and vinegar which have not worked. I will keep posting my solution. I hate to remove the headliner as it is perfectly good in every other way. J.R.

[old-tank]

Go ahead and paint. If it is like 55's the stain is caused by bleeding from a tar paper like padding used under the bow rods...nothing will touch it. If you ever do remove the headliner, substitute something else for the tar paper.

Willie

[Restorer32]

You can also source vinyl paint from your local auto paint supplier. A urethane with a flex additive will work well.

[1958bkspecial]

1957 Century Vinyl Headliner Paint results

I thought I would follow up my post back in March about painting a vinyl headliner in my '57 Century 4 door post. Whoever recommended using the SEM vinyl paint products, THANK YOU! !!! I think they work great and the spray nozzle definitely flows better than the cheaper brands. I used the SEM vinyl prep and cleaner. The rust stains did not diminish much as you can see.

From the pictures I am going to post you will see the use of bungee strap hooks to spray the sun visors. Also, blue painters tape to carefully tape off the interior trim. I also wore head-cover and a face mask. It certainly helped to have a perfect day to leave the doors open and air the paint. It took 3 cans of SEM White -15313 Color Coat. There are many variations of white but after the test run, basic white matched perfectly! The last picture of the post is before painting. Hope this helps. JR

Edited May 12, 2014 by 1958bkspecial
spelling (see edit history)

[buick5563]

Nice!

[bhambulldog]

Wow !!!

Very nice !!

great work