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Repair headliner?
- Thread starter Berglund
- Start date
A competent automotive interior/upholstery shop can easily recover the headliner. I have had two done when I lived in Texas by a great shop for my E500 and 560SEC. Each top cost $600 to get done. I think there are other shops that will do this work for the $300-500 range.
New ones from MB, if available, would be very very expensive. At least double or triple the cost of having a shop repair an existing headliner.
New ones from MB, if available, would be very very expensive. At least double or triple the cost of having a shop repair an existing headliner.
Gerry, Just so I understand correctly, you have had original sagging headliners re-glued, instead of a completely replacing them with new material?
I was looking at the sagging headliner on my Blue-Black 500 yesterday, and noticed the material on the sun roof looks great.
I was wondering about leaving it alone, but then color matching is another concern. But if the headliner can be re-glued, no problems matching color or material then.
Tnx...O
Many many (probably 13 years now) years ago, I tried re-gluing the headliner material in my 560SEC. It didn't come out very well. You have to be VERY VERY careful with the thickness and consistency of the glue, and it ended up re-sagging in a year or two.
Generally speaking, I've not seen this work well for anyone. There may be exceptions, but I've yet to see one, at least for a DIY job.
GSXR is correct, for the "refirb" process, new material is used. For my 560SEC, I used a material that was essentially identical to the stock material.
For my E500, I looked very hard at using alcantara and also at some other materials. I ended up going with a slightly softer material in the same color shade (essentially what is often used on MBs in recent years) and have been very very happy with that. I know a lot of folks like to go the alcantara route. I just didn't feel like it was in keeping with the vehicle, and so I went with a more "normal" type of material, but in the stock color range.
I had both vehicles re-done within a few weeks of one another, by the same shop in Houston (West Side Upholstery), which is one of the better interior shops in the Houston area, and one that has some experience with MBs. This was probably 5+ years ago now.
The good thing with "refirb" is that you CAN specify new material and/or a color change. I've yet to have ANY problems with my headliners since I had them done.
Cheers,
Gerry
Generally speaking, I've not seen this work well for anyone. There may be exceptions, but I've yet to see one, at least for a DIY job.
GSXR is correct, for the "refirb" process, new material is used. For my 560SEC, I used a material that was essentially identical to the stock material.
For my E500, I looked very hard at using alcantara and also at some other materials. I ended up going with a slightly softer material in the same color shade (essentially what is often used on MBs in recent years) and have been very very happy with that. I know a lot of folks like to go the alcantara route. I just didn't feel like it was in keeping with the vehicle, and so I went with a more "normal" type of material, but in the stock color range.
I had both vehicles re-done within a few weeks of one another, by the same shop in Houston (West Side Upholstery), which is one of the better interior shops in the Houston area, and one that has some experience with MBs. This was probably 5+ years ago now.
The good thing with "refirb" is that you CAN specify new material and/or a color change. I've yet to have ANY problems with my headliners since I had them done.
Cheers,
Gerry
I don't remember where but you can buy a MB-original headliner fabric (or is it a plastic-like vinyl sheet, I don't know), but it's very similar to the original and then have a headliner shop install it for you.
I had this done and actually used the headliner shop's own foam backing, which was a better material than the one that came with the "MB original" headliner I ordered.
I say "MB original" because I don't actually know if it is MB original, but the colour is the same, pattern has a slight difference, I recommend this route for an OEM restoration.
I had this done and actually used the headliner shop's own foam backing, which was a better material than the one that came with the "MB original" headliner I ordered.
I say "MB original" because I don't actually know if it is MB original, but the colour is the same, pattern has a slight difference, I recommend this route for an OEM restoration.
Good question. I would be interested in the opinions of others who have replaced the headliner but NOT the sunroof material.
If replacing the headliner material, it's incremental to also replace the sunroof material. The panel easily snaps off the bottom of the sunroof pan.
I wouldn't want a difference in color/age/texture/material between my sunroof and my headliner. Though others may not mind having a difference between the two.
I believe it is possible to get "original" vinyl/plastic MB E500E style headliner material. I'm sure it's available from World Upholstery, GAHH or GAT, or one of the other major MB-focused interior materials suppliers.
Cheers,
Gerry
I wouldn't want a difference in color/age/texture/material between my sunroof and my headliner. Though others may not mind having a difference between the two.
I believe it is possible to get "original" vinyl/plastic MB E500E style headliner material. I'm sure it's available from World Upholstery, GAHH or GAT, or one of the other major MB-focused interior materials suppliers.
Cheers,
Gerry
I can try to take a photo for you later of the MB-style (not sure original MB or not but same style as the one that came on my E500), it's essentially the same colour/pattern but in a slightly different orientation. I'll try. Hope the photo will turn out okay, it's hard to capture these subtle details clearly.
Here are the photos as promised:
It was difficult to get even lighting but I did the best I could. I can assure you that the darker shades are from the lighting/camera sensor acting up causing it to look uneven. In person, the colour of the headliner (also on sunroof) colour is consistent and the pattern is slightly different but 95% as similar as my original headliner.
Colour is the same as the original headliner and matches the overhead handles perfectly. I ordered it from Headliner Express.
It was difficult to get even lighting but I did the best I could. I can assure you that the darker shades are from the lighting/camera sensor acting up causing it to look uneven. In person, the colour of the headliner (also on sunroof) colour is consistent and the pattern is slightly different but 95% as similar as my original headliner.
Colour is the same as the original headliner and matches the overhead handles perfectly. I ordered it from Headliner Express.
I had my 1994 E500 headliner replaced. Cost from Mercedes Benz is ~ $1950. The Classic Center told me that the part is NLA. I too ordered the material from Headliner Express. After it was done by a local competent upholstery shop you would be hard pressed to distinguish it from the original. If and when you get it done, do the sunroof at the same time. That way, color and texture are homogenious.
