Headliner "paint" ?

[ADaily3224]

Most Auto dealers have a sublet person who comes to their location to fix issues with vinyl, leather, fabric. If you stop by or call your local dealer and ask him who is "Vinyl Dr. or Vinyl guy" is they will most likely give you a name and number. It's a mobile service just like the dent wizard or dent Doctor.

I've had cushions, the helm seats, and my headliner done in numerous boats. We have a few golf carts at work with vinyl seats that were beat up, the Vinyl Dr. made them look like new. They can usually spot spray a stain in a headliner with great success. I'm not too sure about applying latex to vinyl?

Tony D

 

[Angela]

1) pull out old headliner.
2) fix leaks and make sure they are fixed.
3) install new headliner, it is cheap (but not easy)

NEW PLAN: After the day's latest downpour (seems we get a mini hurricane every afternoon here LOL), I'm gonna go with Sky's recommendation and nix the paint idea. For me, this is going to be a rainy season project (summer, but probably THIS summer). My headliner water stains don't don't have leaks, so I assume those are old stains that have been fixed by a prior owner. I got new leaks! I was standing by the PH door looking at the heavy rain and noticed drip..drip..drip..on my hand. Crap! I knew about the other two leaks I have, but this one is new. Crap! What I would give, right now, for a covered slip....you lucky lake boaters with your covered slips!

I don't seek out charter business during the hurricane (Fall) season, so perhaps that would be good time to plan to remove the salon and pilothouse headliner to seek out the leaks, fix them, and install new headliner. My only currently known leaks in the headliner are in the PH, over the starboard door. All in all, my headliner in the whole boat doesn't look bad at all, and you gotta really hunt for the water stains, but as an owner, I KNOW where every flaw on this boat is, and that bugs me because I see all the flaws that no one else notices.

Geez...there is so much to do here...I'm getting overwhelmed!

 

[mobilemn1]

As promised. I took a little stroll to the Walmart paint department and just started reading. What I decided to use was a KILZ product, exterior/interior Acrylic Latex. First I will post the before pics.


Now it don't get much worse than this does it?

 

[mobilemn1]

Then believe it or not I sanded it with 220grit with a DA sander, lightly of course but I did bear down a bit. You have to lighten up on the stringers and the light mounts.

You may be able to see the DA marks in the headliner, at any rate once I sanded all of it, I wiped it down with a damp cloth with clorox, not to the point of being wet, just enough to get any dust and stuff still stuck to it

 

[mobilemn1]

I think the next pics are half done, one side painted the other side just wiped down

 

[mobilemn1]

this is the finished product, a few dry spots but I run out of paint, one qt to do about 12x9 ft area. I will explain the technique I discovered worked best in the next post.

 

[mobilemn1]

Had to delete a few, One more of the finished product, and a picture of the KILZ bottle so you can see the type to look for.

I first started with a foam roller,,,,that was leaving it too dry and not giving the coverage I wanted. I found a 1/4 inch nap roller on the boat and used it. Still not quite enough. Before I do any more I will go and get a 3/8 inch nap, 6" mini roller. After finally getting the right technique down I discovered it was best to apply paint liberally fore and aft, and then come back liberally again pt and stbrd. Finish by rolling again fore and aft kinda like tipping to get a good blend. Keep it to a two foot sq area and just keep working back. I stayed within the seems to keep track better. The 3/8 roller would have prevented the dry spots I do believe, but if one more light coat will finish it then so be it,,,,probably lightly thinned as the paint is fairly thick. I don't know if the dry spots were because of the head liner or what, but I noticed some even after I started being more liberal with the paint. Dries pretty fast, you can run your hand all over it and push and drag, even with pressure and it feels just like the original liner. I'm satified that this technique will work for maybe several years or more. You would have to read the label to see what I mean, as it is actually good for painting vynle siding, with a lifetime garantee. For someone who wants to extend the life of a good headliner, I'd reccommend it. As for stains, can't get much worse than rust and you see what it did there, there is no shine thru.

 

[yachtsmanbill]

WOW!!! What a great looking lampshade!! Really man, what a phenominal job !! ws

 

[mobilemn1]

Thanks there YB.. you wouldn't believe what I had to do to get that. I had been looking all over trying to find a nautical themed lampshade and one day I was at my sisters. I asked her where I could get one as she has umpteen hundred lamps and is constantly buying new shades. She did like the old farmer with the mule egg and said I got one!!!!. I ended up trimming all of the azealeas around her house, which hadn't been trimmed in three years and some I couldn't even reach. We are not talking about 4 or 5. We are talking maybe several hundred on a 2 acre lot. I'm not the smartest person in the world but guess who came out better on that deal. But I got my lampshade.

 

[mobilemn1]

Crap, one other small note on the headliner. The paint closed up the stich holes where the liner was sewn together. I have seen the preforated head liner and the holes are not much bigger than my stitch holes. I believe the paint would close up the holes to keep the backing from coming thru pluggin up the filters..JMHO

 

[Maynard Rupp]

The correct product for painting headliners is Mar-Hyde Vinyl Dye. Great stuff. I re-did an old VW many years ago nd tricked it up. I needed to re-paint the headliner in black. I used the Mar-Hyde stuff and that previously white headliner looked great and was still a perfect black when I sold the car 10 years later. That is another well known expert in their field. Kinda like WD-40 and Marvel Mystery oil. Try Mar-Hyde, you will love it. Ask at auto paint suppliers.God, don't use house paint or any solid paint please.

 

[MikeP]

Maynard, do you know if it is available in a non-aerosol container? I've read more about it on the web per your recommendation but I haven't found a listing for it in any format other than the rattle-can. Sounds like the right stuff but I REALLY don't want to go through all the masking/prep that spraying will require.

I was hoping to roll it on with a fine roller plus I think that the odds for some blotchiness or uneven appearance is pretty good using a spray can on such a large, "flat" area. A car headliner is much smaller...

 

[rrrestorer]

Mar-hyde like Sem , which I like is available in any color and in pints or quarts at your local automotive paint store. The Sem product is a little more user friendly and can be brushed on easier.

 

[mobilemn1]

Paints have changed a lot over the years, I have painted cars, trucks, equipment, interiors, exteriors. No expert and don't claim to be. But the paint I used is good for the job. If you can change vinyle siding color and its good for a lifetime, then extending the life of a headliner for 5 or 6 years for 12.oo. Then so be it. Everything done to a boat does not have to be expensive and so complicated, that lies between the ears. I would still reccommend it for the same reasons I stated and proved. The paint upon completely drying, as the pics I had just put down the roller, looks just like a brand new headliner. From start to finish it took everybit of 3 hours, and that was with downtime included. It feels just like brand new headliner, still as fexible, As stated to save a headliner for another 4-5 years I would recommend it. As another experiment, I intend to paint the aft stateroom headliner with Krylon Fusion. Will post those results and pics later. I have already tried it on a spont in the fore head to see how it bonds and that looks very promising.

 

[yachtsmanbill]

I gotta agree with ya Daryl... if the judges wanna take a sample and run it through a gas mass spectrometer, then they can just wet their pants when the results come back, ya know??? (!) Just look at their finger nails...
Some folks can well afford to have the throttle jockey run the boat 200 miles to "the special headliner yard" (haha) and spend several thousands on a complete headliner job, whereas knuckleheads like us will experiment and save ALL of the aggravation, and get to enjoy our labors and boats. Even with our labor and new material, you saved a weeks worth of work. ws

 

[mobilemn1]

Just a squirrel, trying to get a nut!,,,what can I say.

 

[mobilemn1]

Breaking News Flash:::: Mar-Hyde is no longer in production, and yes it was a dye with additives such as MEK (Methol Ethyl Ketone) dangerous stuff. Guess who they recommend as a replacement Duplicolor. All it is, is a paint with adhesion inhibitor. Guess what,,,,,,Kilz is a paint also, with a name in the industry for stain blocking abilities. Add that to a Acrylic latex paint with adhesion inhibitor abilities,,,,guess what you got.....like I said paint technologies have changed tremendously in just the past five years. Even with paints that can heal nicks and scratches, to the original color.

they also recommend using Sems products,,,guess what cant find a thing on their web site with vynle in mind.


This thread was started to find a simple solution to a common problem. Something a DYIer could do without complications. Yes, I am sure perfectly good headliners are replaced that can or could be saved. Some for many reasons as stated, leaks, tears, stains. and Just time for it. But for guys who are trying to save money, don't mind using a little energy, and who want to spend money on more prevelant projects, or to just put off the enevitable, painting a head liner can be done. I did the research on several products before doing anything to mine. I even looked at the Duplicolor cans, but decided on the Kilz as it is something someone can do without spraying skills. Less mess, cleanup, and prep. The prep would probably be more for someone who is a sloppy painter as I know a few. I think doing my whole headliner I dropped one drop of paint. Comes up with water. Which on my carpet I didn't care as it is going to be replaced. A simple disposable drop cloth can protect from that. As for the Fusion paint that I stated I was going to try on the headliner in the aft stateroom,,,,after looking at the Duplicolor cans, I decided the Fusion was better for the head liner. I may drape some paper along the first three feet below the headliner for that purpose, but still not high tech, and will probably use an old sheet as a drop cloth for any dust that settles.

So for the DIYers, and others who have already done this, know it will and can work for our needs. Just like education, throwing money at a problem is not always the cure. You can check out the MSDS for Mar-Hyde at Bondo website, and Kilz at its websites. I actually called Bondo and asked the questions about Mar-Hyde from there tech number listed at the Bondo site. Happy Hunting.

 

[yachtsmanbill]

BRAVO !!! Off with the judges heads !!!!!!! ;-))) ws

 

[sgharford]

Holy Cow - You guys add a whole new dimension to this forum, quite the Powerhouse! It's one thing when the project for the year is just the headliner and another when it is one of many many projects that require time and funding. It's great to have both sides addressed in the same thread from so many knowledgeable folks who have been there and done it.

 

[smoothmove]

Not trying to pile on the judges, but I've asked people to see if they can spot the touched up area (roughly 2' x 4') that I did with Home Depot matched semi-gloss polyurethane and no one has found it until I gave a few hints as to it's location.

Just sayin'. As far a klugey things to do. I've seen worse
Eric