Homemade Headliner Install

[Tyler]

I was on the hunt for something that I could glue to the overhead of the driver and passenger seats.  My neighbor showed me this stuff called Hydro Turf that he used on his boat to make it anti-slip.  The unanticipated effect was that his little aluminum boat became much quieter as well.  So I found some on Amazon and decided to quickly remember arts and crafts time from Kindergarten...
Hydro Turf can be purchased with a 3M adhesive backing (for an extra $40...) but I wanted mine NOW so I ordered it from Amazon vice the actual manufacturer where there can be a lead time of up to a month.

First, I purchased a large roll of brown paper and some magnets.  Cut a rough oversized square and stuck it to the roof.  Then I traced the "tray ceiling" recess with a pencil and cut the front windshield area curvature with a razor blade.  Several fit-ups were required to get it how I wanted it.

Next, I used the new stencil to trace onto the back side of the EVA foam matting using a good ol' black ink pen and then cut out the foam shape.  Performed a fit-up, did some trimming and then when it was as good as I could get it, cleaned the foam and roof with alcohol.

Permatex spray adhesive was sprayed on the foam side only to prevent a big mess that I didn't know if I would have been able to clean up.  2 heavy coats a few minutes apart.  Then I said a prayer for luck, lined up one straight edge with the front window and started pressing the foam up in a rolling pattern from front to back.  Took my shoes off and laid back on the bench and used my feet to "walk" over the foam for a few minutes to make sure the stick was good.

It's not perfect, but I REALLY like it!  Cuts down on the echo and hollow sound quite a bit.
Happy Wednesday!

[grumpin]

That’s interesting!

I like it! Good thinking!

[Gary Lewis]

Well done, Ty!  That should make a big difference in the sound.  

[delco1946]

Looks sharp, I like it!

[Machspeed]

That's a good idea. Looks great too. Hey, is that a Focus ST I see in the background there? I've got one myself and I love it. I took a new job a few years back that put me on the road two hours a day. I'm a V8 guy but wanted something economical and sporty. I drove VW's, Hondas, Subarus, and a Mazda. When I got in the seat of this little guy, I knew right away this would be my new daily driver. I've got 149k on it and it has performed flawlessly. Can't believe Ford DC'd them.
   

[kramttocs]

That looks great!

[Tyler]

Thanks everyone!  I'll let you know how the adhesive holds up.  It's gonna be a cold night tonight, so I'll see how it looks in the morning.

Yeah, John, I love my ST too !  Sad Ford discontinued them for sure.  I went down a rabbit hole with the car as soon as I brought it home in 2014.  All the bolt on's except a turbo. 275hp and 360 ft lbs at the wheels...  It was a very fun car, right out of the box.
Just hit 73k miles thanks to all those months in the garage while I was underway on a submarine.

[Machspeed]

Tyler wrote

Thanks everyone!  I'll let you know how the adhesive holds up.  It's gonna be a cold night tonight, so I'll see how it looks in the morning.

Yeah, John, I love my ST too !  Sad Ford discontinued them for sure.  I went down a rabbit hole with the car as soon as I brought it home in 2014.  All the bolt on's except a turbo. 275hp and 360 ft lbs at the wheels...  It was a very fun car, right out of the box.
Just hit 73k miles thanks to all those months in the garage while I was underway on a submarine.

Yeah, they are fun little cars. After I got mine, I took a trip down to Houston to visit my brother and I let both him and his wife drive it. They really liked it. So much so that they went and bought one too. My brother owns FWD Performance and they work on a lot of the Turbo Charged Dodge Shelby stuff. His wife has a 500 HP SRT4. Talk about a beast. Anyway, he's worked his magic on their little ST and it is a little above 400 HP. My car feels like a turd after driving his....LOL! And the capper......29 MPG!!!  

[Rusty_S85]

Nice looking.  I found quite a few with home made headliners in the form of flags from US flags to Texas flags to Rebel flags and so on.  I also seen some that just simply painted the bare metal roof inside.  I thought of something like that but not sure I would want to paint the flag and I dont like the thought of gluing a flag or flat like pattern to my cab roof.