Not much on this board about headliner repair that applies to my boat (1996 Sundowner 205 DLX) so I thought I'd share some success here.
The cuddy headliner was sagging significantly on one side. I was not interested in getting a pro to refurbish the entire cuddy ceiling on a 30-year-old boat, so I looked at various videos and BB's looking for inspiration. Here's what I did with a modicum of success that cost very little money.
First off, the headliner must be in pretty good shape. if it is rotting from moisture, this will not work. Mine still looks brand new - in fact I did not notice it until I was working in the cuddy on another project and one side showed a significant sag. Here's what I ended up dong.
What you will need:
A very sharp (new blade) razor box cutter.
GORILLA GLUE CONTACT ADHESIVE "ULTIMATE" spray. Read the back label and insure it includes words to the effect of "good for car headliners, too!"
Find a very stiff piece of cardboard that you will use as pressure on the headliner after you secure it with the glue.
Use an adjustable pole to hold the cardboard in place up against the ceiling of your cuddy. I used the cockpit cover tent pole and adjusted it on top of the cuddy seat.
1. Test the spray on a paper towel to insure that you get a wide up and down spray pattern, not a sideways pattern.
2. I took a very sharp razor knife and cut "with the grain" about a 3-inch gash in the area of the headliner I wanted to repair (don't make it too large an area)(You may have to do it in sections).
3. From there I could get my fingers to gently separate the headliner allowing access to the inside of the headliner.
4. You will feel the foam through the hole. (There is a good foam backing to which the headliner normally sticks. Over time, for whatever reason, the headliner can separate.)
5. Position the nozzle of the Gorilla Glue Contact Adhesive into the hole, very gently pulling down one of the sides of the hole to allow the spray as wide an up-and-down pattern as you can.
6. Spray the glue inside in a 360-degree pattern from the hole you made. Spray a generous amount, but you do not want to soak it, either, or it will soak through the headliner and turn yellow.
The goal is to hit the foam above and the headliner below with the spray as you rotate around.
7. It's okay to stop and reposition and start again. But you must complete the spraying within 60 seconds.
8. After that you will have about 30-seconds to gently push the headliner up against the foam (it will stick).
9. Gently run your fingers along the cut you made so that both sides are even and closed together.
10. Place the cardboard up against the repair area and position the adjustable pole under it providing good pressure to hold it in place.
11. Let set overnight.
12. Remove the pole and cardboard and, presto, headliner is secure.
13. Repeat on other areas until you are satisfied you have secured it all.
Notes:
-- Don't do what I did on my first try and cut "against" the grain of the headliner. Makes for an awkward looking repair. No one will notice unless they are laying flat in the cuddy looking up. In 20-years of owning the boat, we never did. Ha! After my first section I cut with the grain and it looks a LOT better.
-- Again, don't soak it. Too much will turn it yellow. Make sure the pray is going up into the headliner void and not just hitting the edge of your cut.
-- You will have roughly two-minutes from start of spraying to setting it in place for best result. The instructions state that allowing 2-mintues for the adhesive to become "tacky" is best, but I never waited that long. But I was close. I was probably closer to 90-seconds and it all worked great.
Making the Cut:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/v6vsbd3t6ggwm6lnzqyod/healiner-2.jpg?rlkey=sofx9wu5i1qj9wfakgmjw43iy&st=0ntprczt&dl=0The Cut:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/esb3b6w1pd5orfmds8sgd/healiner-3.jpg?rlkey=5s84n9l11vjh0a0glxvixaltz&st=d9ktbvyb&dl=0Opening the cut:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/8i88zaw07ky56c7da7ebh/healiner-4.jpg?rlkey=ny36vgtsgq9qznbzk0bsg8wp1&st=crt3spbl&dl=0Spraying
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/giqua4yjersqt9btdf8b3/healiner-5.jpg?rlkey=6xm08jolt7t6fdmnptlonn4zq&st=ox6yjc3b&dl=0Securing pressure
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/t24yigumfcmzpmyc3qhfc/healiner-6.jpg?rlkey=0iglogd1oe44hq4wvhlixgbao&st=6o0xzva8&dl=0After it cures
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/18mgx76zzqj7vy0hvs5yd/healiner-1.jpg?rlkey=zfg5ncs1h57wtgjgeoe0j9ukf&st=0p91ii9o&dl=0Mistake on first section - cutting against the grain. I'll try to clean that up down the road.
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/hnx5zbdaaq0uk5p5h7311/healiner-7.jpg?rlkey=0b00802bg1h4935ojluckyzg0&st=k44lcehp&dl=0Total cost: $17
Gorilla Glue Ultimate $13
New Razor $4
Cardboard was from old shipping box I had. It needs to be very hardy.
Surely some of you can improve and add to this. But for now, it's on to the wood rot in the center floor frame of my 205 Sundowner.
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