Thread: Replacing roof lining

MDF??? Did you keep the lining boards or tear them up??

Mostly you take out the three pieces and them pull off the old material, re-glue some new material and put the three pieces back in, replacing any plugs as you go.

Takes hardly any time but you have to be carefull not to brake the backing boards. Fibreglass is the best repair product for the boards if you crack or brake one.

I just ripped off the old lining and repainted the backing board with hammered metal paint finish - shiny ceiling, no more sagging

mines marine carpet glued directly onto the roof[inside of course]

Hi Brett , like yours mine was starting to sag a bit , so pulled all the plastic pins out , took the 3 sections out . I was lucky I got some polyester fillter given to me it had been used , so gave it a wash glued it to inside roof with liquid nails . Just that made a big differance to sound proofing , also temperature . I then reglued the linning give it a good cleen and put it back , up till now realy pleased , hope this helps , cheers jimr1

The original backing boards are unusable, the centre one isn't too bad, but the front and back sections are crumbling in places, cracked in the middle and have mould spots on them, and the front was pretty damp also. Picked up some foam sheeting from Clark rubber yesterday, so will probably glue that to the roof, and then put up some 3mm MDF board to replace the original backing boards. I'm thinking of putting in an overhead console for the CB radio and some gauges, not sure yet on how I will build it or a final design, work that out when I get to it At this stage I will probably finish the whole thing off with marine carpet.
Now I just have to convince the missus that the cupboards she bought can wait to be assembled, promise her I'll get round to the gardening, eventually, and persuade the kids that they really do need to give the car a good clean out

Here's a suggestion if money is tight - actually even if it isn't there's no point in throwing good money away. Don't be too fixated on marine carpet. It's quite expensive and not really necessary in a location not getting regularly drenched.

I got second hand carpet that a carpet layer had pulled out from a house to replace. A house will often get renovated with all new carpet throughout, but there will be rooms with little wear where the old carpet is still good. I used this in a previous vehicle and it was great and cost very little. When I sold it, the carpet had been on the storage lockers for several years with absolutely no deterioration at all, and I had washed it a couple of times.

Cheers

Years ago when I did my Rangie roof lining I used a product that is used to cover office partitions etc, it's quite thin but pretty hardy.
I gave the backing material a good covering in contact adhesive (don't use spray on) on then applied the material, it came up pretty good and lasted well (well it was still OK when I sold it 10 years later )


Martyn

Originally Posted by Brett1066

The lining in the roof of my defender was looking a little ragged - sagging, a few mould spots etc, so I decided to rip it all out last night so I could find any leaks and then replace all the lining. Found two small leaks, patched them up, and now I have to start thinking about replacing the lining.

I've seen a few comments on this on the forum, just wondering what people's suggestions are as to what is best to use as a replacement. Foam insulation, followed by MDF and then marine carpet perhaps?
Any tips or tricks would be appreciated. For those that have already done this, how is the replacement holding up after a period of time, and what would you have done different?

This will be an ongoing job over several weeks (or longer) I expect, as, like a lot of us in the current economic climate, money is tight. Will try and post some photo's as I go.

Cheers

Hi Brett...
My missus is a licensed motor trimmer so that makes me qualified to answer your questions half professionally.

Ok if you have buggered roof boards use a fabric called custom pile.
You need a good glue which can be sprayed in a paint gun where the fabric backing is sprayed first, then you spray the boards. The glue is just like quick grip you can get from the hardware store.
After a few mins flash off time, you carefully work the fabric out from the center of each board with your hands.
Leave a little overhang of fabric around the boards and spray glue with your gun on the underside of the edges and then wrap this around all edges neatly.

For the center console go to town and get stuck into the MDF (12mm or so). Cut the sides for the console to match the shape of the roof, then for the under fascia soak a thin sheet of MDF in water for a couple hours and shape, staple and glue to the side pieces.

After that cover the console in custom pile, or have it covered in thick cow hide like I did and suffer the insults from hippies who drive a Volkswagen.



Regards Phil...