foam backed headliner replacement

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superboots

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Headliner is in flat panels covered in foam backed vinyl. Have lasted well but this summer's heat (in the med) did for the foam which has disintegrated causing the vinyl to hang loose at the edges. What's the best remedy. I could possibly reuse the vinyl after clearing of the remains of the foam but it needs a soft backing to look and fit right. Some sought of closed cell foam glued to both surfaces might do. Can anyone suggest a product or alternative solution
 
Buy new foam backed vinyl and stick it on with waterproof PVA. When i did mine i glued the vinyl to the ply with PVA and let it dry for a while, then folded it around the edge and stuck it to the underside of the ply with contact adhesive, although the instructions i had said to take the foam off of the part that was folded around the play panel, i found that leaving it on made for a nicer join between the panels.

Materials and instruction here https://www.hawkehouse.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Fixing-Guide-SmallRes.pdf
 
Hawk House do pre- adhesive foam sheets to replace the perished stuff. Just done a load of it, works fine. Advantage is it's a lot less smelly than contact adhesive and spray adhesive . Cost wise it's seems fairly neutral when comparing the sheets to the new foam/adhesive route. For extra adhesion you can give both sides of the foam a coat of spray. Rub over the existing vinyl and boards with some of their orange coloured gloves to remove all traces of the perished foam . Finally, and most importantly, apply heat when the job is complete to get the adhesive working and to achieve maximum adhesion. The people at Hawk House are very helpful. Good luck especially if doing non board areas, it's still an awful job just not as bad as using new foam/adhesive.
 
As paul stated ,I did all my panels on my old type 2 VW camper, used foam stuck onto the ply panels then got vinyl cut to size with over lap, contact adhesive "on the back when folding the vinyl you can use a staple gun instead of glue , what ever is best for you
 
Panels are easy- you can take them off and replace accurately and smoothly, starting from the middle to avoid rucks or bubbles. Large areas of direct contact to the boat especially if needing a full vinyl width and above your head, is a right pain.
Mind you the removal of the old, semi destroyed foam is something I would consider paying someone else to do!!

+++1 on Hawke House though.
 
PaulRainbow said:
Buy new foam backed vinyl and stick it on with waterproof PVA. When i did mine i glued the vinyl to the ply with PVA and let it dry for a while, then folded it around the edge and stuck it to the underside of the ply with contact adhesive, although the instructions i had said to take the foam off of the part that was folded around the play panel, i found that leaving it on made for a nicer join between the panels.

Materials and instruction here https://www.hawkehouse.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Fixing-Guide-SmallRes.pdf
Click to expand...
We installed new foam backed vinyl with PVA 8 years ago. The foam failed in the heat of the Caribbean. The issue isnt the glue failing its the foam. We removed the foam with a vacuum cleaner and re-glued the vinyl with no foam. I didnt think it would look right but to be honest it looks great. We are now working our way through all the other 15 head lining panels doing the same?
 
Redoing my headliners over the winter , happy days Ebay have some good vinyl leather like material, I used in my camper hard wearing and easy to clean.
Hawkes house IMHO were expensive for the same looking material
And if your crazy they do pink on ebay:D
 
Thanks for the replies. Its given some ideas. I want to re-use the vinyl as much as possible. The adhesive coated closed cell foam from HH looks perfect for the job. My thoughts are: take down the panels ( held by screwed battens ) clean the back of the old vinyl of foam and residues, same for panel. Perhaps apply pva to the panel to reduce porosity, use adhesive coated foam applied to the panel and then the vinyl to it. Should I warm/heat the vinyl to stretch it over the panel? and if so with what? Panel is likely too thin for staples on the back - what else to use? Also any ideas who makes this adhesive coated foam ? My boat is in Turkey so can't really take it with me on the plane.
 
+1 for the vinyl leather and I'd also take the opportunity to add some insulation under the boards if there's room - cooler in hot weather and warmer/easier/cheaper to keep warm when it's cold...
 
Do you need adhesive coated if it has to travel? We had to replace vinyl backed foam in bow cabin due to water damage and just took out ply panel, cleaned down and use a spray to fix to panel which let you move the panel slightly and a small wallpaper roller . It’s not much different to wallpapering apart from being able to lie panels flat. Insulation sounds a good idea if space permits and you can still affix panel to hull. I don’t think you need to heat it at all -just lie it on and make sure no air bubbles (think of covering a book with stick on plastic and using a large ruler to smooth on)
 
I did my boat side lining with foam backed vinyl. A note for safety, keep the area well ventilated. I nearly passed out doing the quarter berth with the fumes from the contact adhesive on the inside surfaces and the spray on the foam.
 
good ideas to use a paint/wallpaper roller to flatten the vinyl. there is a chance laminated flooring foam underlay is available in Turkey.
 
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