Headliners

[cobraman]

If asked before sorry I didn't find much. Wanting to know how you do or handle headliners ? Do you just paint the underside of the roof or do something else ? Looking for something better than just brushing on some paint. Ideas ? Photos ? Thanks

[Jantrix]

I've never really seen headliners addressed much. Most folks just repair the ejector marks and paint appropriately.

[mnwildpunk]

The couple I have done I used the white medical tape then paint it I've heard some soak tissue paper in thinned elmers then let it dry and paint.

[Miatatom]

Here's some stuff I've bookmarked

http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=26588

http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=55353

[crazyjim]

I usually just brush on some color, but I have used medical tape with some success. I keep wanting to try the paper towel with diluted Elmer's glue - one of these days.

[cobraman]

Thanks ! I think I will try the medical tape version.

[sjordan2]

Medical tape is going to have way too large a pattern for 1/24-25 kits. This is the best tutorial I've seen on the subject, and I think it's totally unrealistic. Do you want a vinyl or cloth headliner? As for me, I would use very thin plastic or card stock, cut the template as shown in the tutorial, and VERY lightly score where the seams should be. Or just score the seams on the inside of the kit roof. Then paint to the desired finish.

http://italianhorses.net/Tutorials/Headliners/hliner.htm

Edited June 13, 2013 by sjordan2

[cobraman]

Thanks Skip !

[keone2013]

I use adhesive felt on mine

[spawndude]

I'm currently working on a "distressed" car. I used a tea bag and applied with white glue. I then tore a few spots and let in hang down like a torn headliner.

I didn't come up with this idea but I don't remember where I read it.

[Erik Smith]

Actually, just painting masking tape give a better, more scale appearance than medical tape. The medical tape would work for 1/12 and larger scales, but just doesn't look that good in 1/25. I have never looked at the liner on a model, though, so I might have missed some...

[Art Anderson]

Now, here's the kicker!

Headliners have been done, of course, since the very beginnings of closed cars. While early cars (through the end of those very squareish, boxy cars up through about 1933-35, headliners tended to be a single piece of cloth, cut to a shape/size roughly approximating the shape and dimensions of the fabric top insert used on the exterior of a coupe or sedan roof.

However, as car styling evolved into the very rounded streamlined shapes that were common from about 1936 to perhaps 1954, headliner fabric lost it's natural "corner" points along the sides of the underside of the roof, and were being made from fairly wide bands of fabric sewn together transversely (side-to-side across the underside of the roof), with each seam having a "bias tape" (this is a reinforcing fabric strip used for reinforcing cloth items at seams) that made for a bit of sturdy fabric that "stuck" up on the back side of the segmented cloth headliner) sewn in at each seam between the various segments of the fabric headliner. This made the headliner appear to "sag" ever so slightly between the seams once stretched almost drumhead tight across the underside of the roof, as the bias tape was attached to thin steel ribs across the underneath surface of the roof stamping and then attached to the sides above the window and door opening moldings and at front and back. (My '59 Chevy Biscayne 4dr sedan had this type of headliner, as did my '58 Delray sedan delivery).

I'm still trying to figure the best way to replicate this shape myself.

As for headliners, while for years they were woven fabric, they started out as a flannel type of cloth, which shows no weave, but later as synthetic fabrics came into use (such as rayon, nylon and dacron polyester) there were various weave patterns visible, but those cloths were very finely and tightly woven, giving a weave pattern that would be almost invisible in 1/25 scale. Later on, as rooflines got flatter, other treatments were used, including molded plastic sheeting that was simply glued in place (even the fabric headliners in more luxurious cars from the 80's onward tended to be glued in place rather than held by clips or other metal fasteners).

So, my question is, how best to replicate those headliners made from individual panels of fabric, and hung as I have described?

Art

[mnwildpunk]

What I did on a 50 chevy p/u and it was a pain in the rump but I used putty to form the hills and valleys you discibe and sanded them down til they looked correct then I used tissue paper and glue and over laid that on the putty. I then used wires for the bows. Thankfully the p/u only needed a couple bows. Sadly I lost all pics and the model in a house fire about six years ago. I vowed never to do it again but it was praised by my model club. That was how I did it but i'm sure someone has a better and easier way

[Art Anderson]

What I did on a 50 chevy p/u and it was a pain in the rump but I used putty to form the hills and valleys you discibe and sanded them down til they looked correct then I used tissue paper and glue and over laid that on the putty. I then used wires for the bows. Thankfully the p/u only needed a couple bows. Sadly I lost all pics and the model in a house fire about six years ago. I vowed never to do it again but it was praised by my model club. That was how I did it but i'm sure someone has a better and easier way

Of course,

The "bows" I mention are behind the headliner, not exposed to view.

Art

[mnwildpunk]

Art sorry I didn't have a better answer let me try and find a picture of your headliner and maybe we can put our heads together and figure something out

Edited September 25, 2013 by mnwildpunk

[Tom Geiger]

Man, I've done a bunch of neat headliners but can't find pictures of any of them. I've done headliners for pickups as below...

I have a box of old business cards with a nice pattern in the cardstock. I will trace out what I want and then cut a template. Note that I folded it in the middle prior to cutting to make both sides the same. Then I trace it onto a fresh piece of cardstock and cut that one without bending it. I will paint it the needed color and install it with white glue as below.

This is okay for 1950s pickups and I've done the same with 1930s cars. I've also used ribbed Evergreen sheet. I know what I did here isn't correct for the 1979 Ford, but it looks finished and nobody has called me out on it.