Revitalizing headliner?

[JamesR]

In posting pics of my Mercury Monterey for another thread, I came across a pic that reminded me to ask a question that I've been pondering: Is there a way to revitalize a headliner without removing it? The question occurred to me when I replaced a broken dome light diffuser/lens a while back. You can see what the headliner originally looked like with the bezel removed compared to what it looks like now. I'm wondering if I can make it look more like it did when it was new without putting dye or SEM product on it, which I won't do.

 

I don't know what actually caused the discoloration...grime or actual color change...it's always been there since I've owned the car. I don't believe the original owners smoked, but I think there is a little residue in the ash tray.  If it's color change, I'll leave it. If it's a film of some sort, maybe cleaning the headliner would help.  I hate to treat the surface when I don't know what it is. Can you steam clean headliners without wrecking them? Thanks for any suggestions. 

[Rusty_OToole]

Looks like it faded due to age and light. You could try cleaning it but be careful, the material could be weakened by age. If it looks half decent the best thing would be to leave it.

[Terry Bond]

Another unexpected issue might also arise. Any cleaning solution applied will also be soaked into already weak and brittle stitching. You could end up with a pretty headliner and nasty stitching. Worse yet it could disintegrate and allow your headliner to come apart at the seams and fall apart. Have seen it happen.  Whatever you do be sure to cause no addituonal damage.

Terry

 

[Laughing Coyote]

That's interesting that you have a cloth headliner.  Mine came with the vinyl type material.  Shows that the Monterey came with more upgraded features.

[junkyardjeff]

It would be best to leave it alone,I had to replace modern headliners after they have been cleaned.

[R Walling]

 I attempted to clean my 48 Chrysler headliner and I broke open a seam on the first try.

                                                           LEAVE IT ALONE!

[Bhigdog]

Everyone should have the pleasure of replacing a head liner at least once.😁

[JamesR]

9 hours ago, Laughing Coyote said:

Mine came with the vinyl type material.  Shows that the Monterey came with more upgraded features.

 

Being that vinyl can be more easily cleaned, I'd call it the more preferable material (in my opinion.) Is the Meteor headliner the same one that the Galaxie had? It would make sense if they were the same, but maybe you could also get the cloth on the Galaxie, too.

 

It sounds like the consensus is "leave it alone" so that's what I'll do. Still, I dislike the yellowish hue the headliner has when viewed at an angle, but not enough to let it bother me. The clear vinyl seat covers  from the dealer have discolored in many places to kind of a sepia yellow, too. I wonder if the seat covers released some kind of chemical that affected the color of the headliner?

 

The last question I have about the headliner is the mildew looking stains by the rear window. You can see it in the picture, though it kind of looks like a shadow at first glance. It only occurs by the rear window. I think I put some alcohol on the stains back when I got the car. The alcohol didn't seem to hurt anything, but it didn't make it look any better, either. I'm guessing that leaving it alone is also probably the best course of action, but I thought I'd check with you all first. Thanks for all of your input!

[John_S_in_Penna]

I would say:  You have cars with original features

that aren't in perfect condition, but they are part of 

history.  After 60 years, one wouldn't expect all of them

to be perfect.  So don't regret them--be proud of their

originality!