Headliner matirial

[wjbell]

I know this has been asked before but I haven't found any up-to-date links in the archives.

My 535 is getting the infamous sagging headliner. I checked with a few upolstry shops around town and no one carries 1/8 inch matirial. Is there a place on the web where I can order the matirial in at least close to our stock colors in the 1/8 inch?

My car has the Natur? (light beige) interior.

TIA

[Alexlind123]

I would recommend against trying to do it yourself. Its a nightmare.

[Javier]

during my vacation in Orlando.

http://www.bimmer.info/forum/showthread.php?t=17967

Javier

[gmannino]

Perfect time to switch to suede. I plan on re-doing my headliner to suede in the future. I wouldnt try it yourself unless you have lots of experience taking apart cars and re-assembling them. Also you need to have experience with upholstery. I have seen a few DIY's on this site but I do not have the links.

...Most important....use expensive strong glue!

[632 Regal]

neither of them loks are any good for my color at least.

[shogun]

Doing a headliner is a piece of cake. I have done already 5 now on E32 with or without sunroof, E31 850, E34 also.
See my website below with the instructions. A nice work on a Saturday, no need to crawl under the car and get dirty/oily hands, it is just time consuming. I have at the moment a 20 meters long role (width 140 cm) here in my room, all imported from Germany. Many people in Japan ask me to order it for them in Germany. Recently someone from Spain with an E32 asked me and I answered the follwing:

quote:

I just had a phonecon with Germany (45 views)

Message: And talked with a Mr. Hoffmann in Service dpt.
Give him a call or send him an email and order the material.
He speaks English and of course German, and they also have a lady in their department from Spain, if Spanish is better for you.

münchner autostoff handel GmbH
Isarstr. 1
D-82065 Baierbrunn/Buchenhain
Fon: +49-89-74 48 24 82
Fax: +49-89-74 48 24 83
E-Mail: service@mah.de
Internet: www.mah.de

The do not have a distributor in Spain, so they will send it from Germany to Spain. Usually after I order they will send me a proforma invoice with material cost plus packing and shipping. Then I remit the money to their account and they ship it immy out.

I repeat:

If you have a sunroof, order 250 cm long, if without sunroof, 200 cm is by far enough. This one has a width of abt 140 cms.
Total length of the L=long base E32 headliner is about 165 cm, I usually use about 180 cm with the overlapping.
Test measure how you can cut out the sunroof section economically, but with 250 cm I think you are on the save side, or if you want to be 150% save, order 300 cm length. Not that expensive.

So just order (that is they grey one, color see my website):
200 or 250 cm Dachhimmelstoff= headliner material No. 10X440 mit 3 mm Schaumstoff. (mit Schaumstoff means with foam lining)
That is the material for the headliner itself.

The material for the A/B/C pillars is without foam.
Article No. is 10X420 and width is 148 cms. 1oo cm will do.

Price per meter is about 20-25 EURO, plus shipping and packing.

Then order from BMW some clips which you might need as they might get lost in the body frame of the pillars:

Pos: 2 clamp 3 pieces 54 21 8 195 800 € -,23
Pos: 3 holder/bracket 3 51 44 1 957 623 € -,36
Pos: 4 clamp x pieces 51 44 1 938 868 € -,31 only (?) in case of sunroof
Pos: 9 clamp 9 pieces 51 44 8 181 426 € -,26
prices are approx. prices.
I only used a few, but better you have them ready when doing it.

Here is an old thread which is for your info.
http://bimmer.roadfly.com/bmw/forums/e32/6871296-1.html


unquote

Enjoy it, that is really an easy and nice job. I meanwhile ordered already for 25 cars headliner material from Germany.

[Paul in NZ]

when were you coming to NZ Erich?

[shogun]

you pay the round trip flight, provide me with a place to sleep, some food.
I will bring the material free of charge and you buy the glue (not allowed on airplanes), and we make it on a weekend including round trip flight Tyo-NZ-Tyo :)

[Javier]

the liner for the shelf behind the rear seat? The one that is under the rear window.

Home many meters (or cm) will you need then,. This one is with foam or without (mine lost foamy properties long time ago, if it ever had them).

Javier

[wjbell]

Do you know how to order the natur beige color headliner matirial? If I explain to them the light beige color will they know what to send? Is there a color #? Thanks.

[shogun]

Javier,

I am not so familiar with the E34, best is you measure it. As I mentioned, my E32 in L-long version is 165 cm long, then you need about 2-5 cm (up to you) for overlapping on the ends (I used a lot to glue the ends on the back side). Then you might need addtional material for the sunroof and if you want also for the parcel shelf. Form the company I order it it comes in a width of 140 cms (the one with the foam undermeath), so that is the basis.
May also depend on the cutting technique to save material. If you want to calculate it very good, use a roll of paper and cut it out to see how much material you will need.
The parcel shelf (I guesstimate now) is probably 20 cms wide.

But if you have problems to import the material and pay tax etc, you can also buy the foam separately from a furniture upholstery shop, they usually have it in any size, then glue the foam first and then the material on the foam. With foam in between it is much easier than with the thin material only, as otherwise you see every uneven spot which you did not clean good enough when removing the old haedliner material. Also the condition of the old material is different, it depends on the board itself, some are made of pressed wood with glue or something like that, the old one from my oldest car looks completely different. I have also seen different makers names on the headliner board inside. Depending on that the glue is either hard like stone, or like a glue in liquid form mixed with the remains of the foam, see the pics on my website.
Here we made a picture of domestic made (in Japan) material at the bottom and the one I import from Germany on top.
http://8810.teacup.com/750hiline/img/bbs/0000329M.jpg
The Japanese material is different.

[shogun]

Do you know how to order the natur beige color headliner matirial? If I explain to them the light beige color will they know what to send? Is there a color #? Thanks.

Not possible, they have more than 1.000 different headliner materials for all kinds of cars. This is a wholesale shop and they usually deliver only to repair shops etc., but not to endusers. Repair/upholstery shops can order a sample book/folder, if they send in a copy of their business registration. Of course the sample book is not free of charge.
First time I ordered I asked a friend from Munich to drive with his E32 there, so that they could see the material, compare it with their products and then select, since then I order always the same grey material.
The only chance might be if you cut off a piece from the headliner and send it to them as sample. Best is from the backside of the headliner where no sunlight has changed the color. Their article numbers are different from the BMW numbers.
So basically people can have any color from me, as long as it is this special grey :D


When I talked with the person from the service department, he promised me to send me samples of the materials which they sell mainly, including black etc.

If you have such a special request, find a shop in USA or wherever you live. People living in areas where many pleasure boats are, visit the shops which make the upholstering of these pleasure boats.

[myles]

Don't deal with that mongrel. He took my money and never sent the product. Absolute *******.

[shogun]

Don't deal with that mongrel. He took my money and never sent the product. Absolute *******.

Who?
Do you mean Headliner Express-Central Florida USA ?

There are plenty of companies which deal with headliners, just give it a try.
For example this one in the U.K.
http://www.automobiletrim.com/headlining.html

That is a very interesting company, look at their products such as
http://www.automobiletrim.com/edge-trims.html
boot seals, carpet underfelt etc.

[myles]

Yes, headliner express. Terrible experience.

Thanks for that link, I will check it out.

[shogun]

Here, check out with them, 1/8"
type in search headliner
http://www.eastwoodco.com/index.jsp

[mattyb]

maybe compensate with a stop over in east australia( central coast) on the way to NZ. bed , food, drink, airport transfers, not my woman though! sushi nori if u want, heaps of good aussie wine,(my wife works for a winery in the hunter valley) bring ur missus for a holiday Eric! and your headliner roll too, got any black? let us know. maybe we can house and car swap in the future.

[Paul in NZ]

and so it came to pass that the shogun of headliners travelled the world for free!!!(well a few rolls of headliner material!)
hmmm tokyo-auckland-sydney-tokyo...how many headliners we got?

[shogun]

got any black?

I just received an airparcel with about 30 different textile headliners samples in various colors and structures.

Now I know why they do not sell just based on a internet pic, but based on samples.
Grey I have now six different grey's and structures. Yes, black too, and anthrazit, beige etc pp.
Samples are too small to cut, I just have to compare it with a sample from a car in the presence of the owner here in Japan and he has to decide.
That is why I will probably stick to my rolls of grey which fitted to my car, as shown on my instructions on my website.