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[caramihn]

I'm redoing the headliner on my '89. However after taking off all the old foam off of the board and cleaning it with a soft brush, I noticed some areas of the board began peeling the bottom most layer (this is the layer that the headliner/foam is attached to, see picture below). Should I glue this layer back or rip it off? How will this affect adhesion of the headliner? My headliner appears to be made of fiberglass insulation.

[BigRig]

You may be in for a bumpy finish with those patches . Headliner fabric is forgiving in stretch but also shows blemishes undernest. I will wait for the experts to chime in here and learn a thing o three.

[John]

@BigRig is right. You will see the bumps once the fabric is installed. Those headliner boards from that era are the worst and do this when they get old. It really depends on how much time you want to sink in to the job. If you can find a new replacement headliner that would be the best option. If your ok with a little bumpy finish then just glue the new fabric on. Other wise the only way I know how to fix this is to resin the entire headliner board with fiberglass resin and then use body filler to sand everything smooth and flat. This will take a lot of time though.

[caramihn]

@BigRig @John

Thanks for your replies. The fabric I bought is foam backed, will this help mask slight bumps? Do I remove the layer that's peeling or should I resin over it?

[John]

I would remove what ever is easily pealing off. Other wise the new headliner material will fall off.
I had another idea for how to repair this, not sure if it will work though. You could cover the entire headliner board with 1/8" closed cell foam and then sand any bumps out of the closed cell, then cover the headliner. It would be a lot easier it it works.

[BigRig]

@caramihn ,

I would take the approach John just mentioned. You would be surprised at what shows through that foam.

[caramihn]

@BigRig @John

Thank you both for your help. It's now been a year after I took your advice and it's been really sturdy so far.
Here's and update on the Cadillac forums https://www.cadillacforums.com/threads/ ... t-17747742

[BigRig]

Right on! Thank you for the update!

[John]

Thats awesome!! Thanks for the update. Glad it worked