DIY Tutorial: Refabricating your overhead board.

yeh so i did this over the weekend... i've taken photos and such - i'm in the middle of doing a write up.

i'd post it up now but i've got to do some other stuff... (i.e have lunch with the girlfriend - apparently i've been spending too much time with my other girlfriend - the car ;))

keep an eye on this space for more info!!!

edit: here is a list of materials that I ended up using

• Philips head screwdriver
• Scissors/razor blade
• Big scrubbing brush
• 2 metres of 148cm black fleecy cotton
• 2 Cans of spray adhesive (used 1 1/2)
• 2 Cans of black vinyl spray (only used 1)

I did my bro's VR coma dore. I should have taken pics. Its easy as pie.!

here it is!!! simple solution to an ugly problem.

first I started by taking the handles, sun visors and centre light out - i forgot to take photos of this bit, its simple enough... - just a matter of taking the screws out.

the next part to come off was the plastic trim part that covers the centre pillar (the one with the front seat belts) - simply pry it off with your fingers. Behind this part is two screws to hold the trim that covers both the front pillar (next to the windscreen) and the rear panel (with the rear seatbelt cover).
Undo these and pry the trim off.

You may run into a bit of difficulty getting these parts off and it will be because of these little f#ckers... (circled)
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/foru...SC002311-4.jpg

they click onto the back of the trim and the snap into the roof. be careful when you pull the back trim off the rear wall as there is big snap lock things that hold it in place.

Now i'm not sure if this is supposed to happen, but my headliner was attached to the windscreen by silicone... i'm pretty sure it's not supposed to be (probable broken windscreen) but the way i got around it was with a bread knife and some patience.

after the silicone was removed, the headliner just slid out the boot with some help from my bro. as science said, easy as.
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/foru...DSC00230-4.jpg

Once it was out, i removed the old fabric which had foam behind it. The foam had been in there too long and started to deteriorate and go sticky. I was just wiping it off but then Mum had a great idea.
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/foru...DSC00233-4.jpg
Use a scrubbing brush!
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/foru...DSC00234-4.jpg

This worked really well, just don't do any of this in a windy place, the foam stuff goes everywhere...

Then I went to the local fabric shop - Spotlight - and bought some black fleecy cotton (think hoodie/jumper material). I was going to use some foam in between the fabric and the headliner as well but decided against it.

I laid the headliner on a table and placed the fabric out on top (I ironed it first). Using a can of spray adhesive, i coated both surfaces generously and waited for them to become tacky.
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/foru...DSC00235-4.jpg
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/foru...DSC00236-4.jpg

After it was tacky, i smoothed the fabric out and worked it into the moulds.
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/foru...DSC00237-4.jpg

I did this to the other half and then left it for about 2 hours in the sun (not really necessary but i wanted something to eat. haha.

I cut the excess fabric off and then decided to leave it for the day
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/foru...DSC00238-4.jpg

Thinking about the whole ordeal over night, I decided to buy some vinyl spray and coat the trimmings black too.
This was really the first time i had done any spray painting on anything other than flat surfaces ;) but i really did learn alot:

• apply lots of coats lightly, DON'T apply one thick one.
• when it says to spray from about 25cm away, do it.

The crappy paint job isn't really that noticeable, but it could be better.

And here is some dodgey late night photos of the finished product.
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/foru...DSC00247-4.jpg
pay no attention to the dirty windows!!!!!
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/foru...DSC00248-4.jpg
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/foru...DSC00250-4.jpg
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/foru...DSC00252-4.jpg

http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/foru...DSC00254-4.jpg
http://www.vwwatercooled.com.au/foru...DSC00255-4.jpg

As for the centre and rear pillar cover trims, i couldn't be bothered taking the seatbelts out to get these particular parts out, so I am going to buy another can of vinyl spray and do them next weekend...

nice work! looks pro! will even better once you spray the other bits black! top jobbie! . . . i came out to my car the other month to find the roof had fallen down! &$#^$&, so i ripped it all out and havn't been ass'd to fix it up as I never look up there anyways! :D people always ask me if it was to save weight?! j: