Headliners: repair or replace?

I mention varnish because it's not water based, and therefore won't make it any softer or soggy.

Reviving because I finally knocked this out (for now at least???).

Without further ado, pictures from yesterday and today:

Headliner removed, here's the hole that was punched from the kerploded aerosol can closed back up the best I could :



I added packing tape to the back to give the area better support. I also had to use packing tape to re-attach one of the front corners which cracked off at the visor hole.

When it came to removing the old adhesive and the paper layer left of the old foam, I found "sanding" it with a dry paper shop towel seemed to knock it off without tearing up the cardboard:



I then blew off the adhesive dust with compressed air... this also helped peel up some stubborn bits of old paper, which led to repeating the dry paper treatment. An issue I ran into was the compressor not producing sufficiently dry air... gotta love summer humidity! Installing a filter/drier corrected the issue.

At that point it was raining and I called it a night. Today I finished up the prep, applied the adhesive, and joined it together:



I beefed a couple edges, but it ended up getting hidden by the roof trim. After letting it stand 10 mins, I started cutting out the holes:



Set in place:



Turns out I cut one of the visor holes a shade too big. Oh well:



You only see it if you look too close...

All buttoned up:




I used this kit, in the 1769 charcoal color:

https://www.yourautotrim.com/hekit36inby6.html

All and all not bad... Although funny enough, the paypal billing info showed a different company as the seller... and they have a very similar kit; it has a different spray adhesive pictured (DAP vs the Camie 393 I received), and my color isn't listed. But it's also a few bucks less: (About $8 after shipping is factored!)

https://www.grahamfabrics.com/headliner-kit-36-inches-by-60-inches-fabric-and-one-can-adhesive/

May be worth considering if they have your color listed. In my case, the color matched very well, so I don't feel so bad about blowing $8 extra. Edit- Looking at both site's "about us" pages, they have the same address, phone number, and "since 1963" line... yep, they are one and the same! Strange...

One more thing knocked out in prep for the truck show... Really though, the only other thing on the "list" of things I "can" get done in time (on my shoestring budget) is bed lining my nasty bed... but that's a whole other can of worms!

Looks good! Good job!

I can’t see the hole being too big. Turned out nice.

The edge of the fabric is poking out slightly. Upper left corner by the screw.

Given what a cheap repair this was (and how rough my cardboard was), I don't care. If it bothers me (or one of the other shortcomings fails bad enough), I'll probably buy a new one to start over. But for under $50, I figured it was worth a shot.

Well done, Larry!  It looks great, and no one is ever going to see that little bit at the visor.  

Isn't that an easy SATISFYING project?  And makes a world of differerence in the apparent quality of the cab area.

What a night and day difference!

You should be really happy with how it turned out.  

Thanks for the props, y'all. The real test will be in Oklahoma on the 4th

It is a night and day difference... makes it looks far less like a running barn find and more like a proper driveable classic...  There is a noticeable depression where the impact was... but whatever. For $50 and some elbow grease, it's a win in my book.