PREFACE:
This is my write-up on how to do a "hard" install of an aftermarket neoprene headliner from Gonzalo Duque (aka - "Gonzo"). I didn't care for the look of a headliner glued directly to the underside of the hood, so I opted for a different approach. If you look at the pictures in the aforementioned link (second from the bottom), you will see a turbo Buick with what I refer to as a "hard" install. I spoke with "Gonzo" and got the basic low-down on this prior customer's approach. The method listed below is my adaptation of this approach. NOTE: Make sure you read the instructions that come supplied with the headliner as there are several important steps that need to be incorporated into the installation (i.e., where to buy and how to apply the adhesive properly, how to apply the decals properly, etc) that I have otherwise skipped in this write-up.
TOOLS & SUPPLIES:
Step #1: Order a hoodliner from here. This is what you'll get depending on what option(s) you choose when placing your order:
Step #2: Go to Home Depot and buy 3M adhesive spray #80 and a sheet of 1/8" thick paneling. It's a large 4' x 8' sheet so while you are still there, have them cut out a 36" x 51" section. This is the piece you will use and it will be easier to transport home and will require less trimming.
Step #3: Get a partner and remove your hood. It's easy to remove and makes the job much easier to do anyways. After all, you are going to take the time to clean and paint the underside of the hood, right? The paint will set-up and cure while you do the work on the headliner.
Step #4: Lay the hoodliner on the 36" x 51" paneling and trace a template. Use your jigsaw (or preferred cutting device) and trim about a 1/2" inside your template line. This is important for several reasons! For one, it doesn't need to be a perfect size to support the neoprene fabric. Secondly, when you go to affix the hoodliner to the paneling, it does NOT have to go on perfectly straight; this will leave room for error. Third, you won't see the edge of the paneling once it's installed. Lastly, it will "fit" better into the recessed area of the hood.
Step #5: Use the spray adhesive and spray a nice even layer on both the back of the hoodliner AND the paneling. Let the adhesive set-up for a few minutes.
Step #6: Here's the tricky part: Lay the paneling down and then carefully line the hoodliner up as best as possible and roll it on from one end. It does not have to go one straight! As long as there isn't too much hoodliner hanging off to the point where it will droop, then you are fine; leave it! IF you feel you need to reposition it, you can carefully peel it up and reposition it several times as long as you haven't applied pressure between the headliner and the panel. I made the joyous mistake of cutting the paneling to the exact size of the hoodliner fabric and once I tried gluing it to the paneling, it would not go on straight to save my life. This resulted in another wasted hour of carefully peeling back the edge of the hoodliner and tediously trimming back the paneling with snips. Another approach could be the reverse of this: Try laying the hoodliner on the floor and then place the paneling on top of the hoodliner.
Step #7: If you are satisfied with how you have glued the headliner to the panel, then apply pressure. I preferred to take my operation indoors where I actually walked on the backside of the paneling. NOTE: The headliner may shift and stretch around ever so slightly during this process. This is why you should wait until the very last step to apply the decals. Otherwise, it doesn't matter how nice and straight you apply the decals beforehand. Now they will be all cockeyed and look crooked (ask me how I know).
Step #8: Use the 5/16" drill bit to carefully drill holes in the paneling via the existing holes in the hoodliner. Once you're done, use this opportunity to wipe down the hoodliner with a wet rag. Also, you can use Goof Off to carefully clean up any overspray of the adhesive. Be patient and don't get overzealous with the Goof Off because it will soak into the neoprene fabric and stain the hoodliner slightly if you use too much of it.
Step #9: Place the hoodliner on your hood and center it as best as possible. I lined the whole thing up with the lowest, center hole in the hood itself and then installed a new pushpin there. From there--keeping the hoodliner centered--look and see which of the existing holes in the hood line up with the new hoodliner. Chances are you may only have three or four of them line up properly. Install pushpins in those spots. For the rest of the holes that didn't line up, I used a 1/4" drill bit to carefully drill new holes in the hood. IMPORTANT: Use a 1/4" drill bit, otherwise the 5/16" holes will be too large for the pushpins (ask me how I know). Also, it would be wise to use a drill stop on the 1/4" bit, so when your drill breaks through the hood frame, it doesn't grab and punch a dimple into the actual hood from the underside (again, ask me how I know). Now, install the rest of your pushpins. Some of them may require a bit of convincing to go in but they will go in.
Step #10: Now comes the fun part: Get an assistant to help you bring the hood indoors (keep reading...you'll see why) or gorilla the SOB like I had to do. Prop the hood up against a wall allowing several feet between the hood and a vantage point several feet away. Break out the instructions included with the headliner and follow the steps regarding the proper application of the decals. Here's why I said to bring the hood indoors: Once you remove the backing tape on the decals, you can temporarily affix them to the hoodliner for alignment purposes. You can also remove them and reposition them, in a manner similar to lining up a picture on a wall. If you dramatically reduce the light in the room, it allows you to see the decal much better as opposed to the clear adhesive strip that holds the decal. If it is too bright, it is difficult to tell whether the decal itself is lined up or if it's the plastic adhesive tape which is lined up. TIP: For the actual positioning of the decals, some purists may want to take measurements for exact positioning. For me, simply "eyeballing" it while looking at a picture of an OEM hoodliner on my laptop worked fine.
Step #11: Re-install hood. Done.
Here's some pics of my installed hoodliner:
This is my write-up on how to do a "hard" install of an aftermarket neoprene headliner from Gonzalo Duque (aka - "Gonzo"). I didn't care for the look of a headliner glued directly to the underside of the hood, so I opted for a different approach. If you look at the pictures in the aforementioned link (second from the bottom), you will see a turbo Buick with what I refer to as a "hard" install. I spoke with "Gonzo" and got the basic low-down on this prior customer's approach. The method listed below is my adaptation of this approach. NOTE: Make sure you read the instructions that come supplied with the headliner as there are several important steps that need to be incorporated into the installation (i.e., where to buy and how to apply the adhesive properly, how to apply the decals properly, etc) that I have otherwise skipped in this write-up.
TOOLS & SUPPLIES:
- Jigsaw
- Drill w/5/16" and 1/4" drill bits
- Drill bit depth stop (optional)
- 3M spray adhesive #80
- 1/8" thick sheet of paneling
- Goof Off
- New headliner pushpins
Step #1: Order a hoodliner from here. This is what you'll get depending on what option(s) you choose when placing your order:
Step #2: Go to Home Depot and buy 3M adhesive spray #80 and a sheet of 1/8" thick paneling. It's a large 4' x 8' sheet so while you are still there, have them cut out a 36" x 51" section. This is the piece you will use and it will be easier to transport home and will require less trimming.
Step #3: Get a partner and remove your hood. It's easy to remove and makes the job much easier to do anyways. After all, you are going to take the time to clean and paint the underside of the hood, right? The paint will set-up and cure while you do the work on the headliner.
Step #4: Lay the hoodliner on the 36" x 51" paneling and trace a template. Use your jigsaw (or preferred cutting device) and trim about a 1/2" inside your template line. This is important for several reasons! For one, it doesn't need to be a perfect size to support the neoprene fabric. Secondly, when you go to affix the hoodliner to the paneling, it does NOT have to go on perfectly straight; this will leave room for error. Third, you won't see the edge of the paneling once it's installed. Lastly, it will "fit" better into the recessed area of the hood.
Step #5: Use the spray adhesive and spray a nice even layer on both the back of the hoodliner AND the paneling. Let the adhesive set-up for a few minutes.
Step #6: Here's the tricky part: Lay the paneling down and then carefully line the hoodliner up as best as possible and roll it on from one end. It does not have to go one straight! As long as there isn't too much hoodliner hanging off to the point where it will droop, then you are fine; leave it! IF you feel you need to reposition it, you can carefully peel it up and reposition it several times as long as you haven't applied pressure between the headliner and the panel. I made the joyous mistake of cutting the paneling to the exact size of the hoodliner fabric and once I tried gluing it to the paneling, it would not go on straight to save my life. This resulted in another wasted hour of carefully peeling back the edge of the hoodliner and tediously trimming back the paneling with snips. Another approach could be the reverse of this: Try laying the hoodliner on the floor and then place the paneling on top of the hoodliner.
Step #7: If you are satisfied with how you have glued the headliner to the panel, then apply pressure. I preferred to take my operation indoors where I actually walked on the backside of the paneling. NOTE: The headliner may shift and stretch around ever so slightly during this process. This is why you should wait until the very last step to apply the decals. Otherwise, it doesn't matter how nice and straight you apply the decals beforehand. Now they will be all cockeyed and look crooked (ask me how I know).
Step #8: Use the 5/16" drill bit to carefully drill holes in the paneling via the existing holes in the hoodliner. Once you're done, use this opportunity to wipe down the hoodliner with a wet rag. Also, you can use Goof Off to carefully clean up any overspray of the adhesive. Be patient and don't get overzealous with the Goof Off because it will soak into the neoprene fabric and stain the hoodliner slightly if you use too much of it.
Step #9: Place the hoodliner on your hood and center it as best as possible. I lined the whole thing up with the lowest, center hole in the hood itself and then installed a new pushpin there. From there--keeping the hoodliner centered--look and see which of the existing holes in the hood line up with the new hoodliner. Chances are you may only have three or four of them line up properly. Install pushpins in those spots. For the rest of the holes that didn't line up, I used a 1/4" drill bit to carefully drill new holes in the hood. IMPORTANT: Use a 1/4" drill bit, otherwise the 5/16" holes will be too large for the pushpins (ask me how I know). Also, it would be wise to use a drill stop on the 1/4" bit, so when your drill breaks through the hood frame, it doesn't grab and punch a dimple into the actual hood from the underside (again, ask me how I know). Now, install the rest of your pushpins. Some of them may require a bit of convincing to go in but they will go in.
Step #10: Now comes the fun part: Get an assistant to help you bring the hood indoors (keep reading...you'll see why) or gorilla the SOB like I had to do. Prop the hood up against a wall allowing several feet between the hood and a vantage point several feet away. Break out the instructions included with the headliner and follow the steps regarding the proper application of the decals. Here's why I said to bring the hood indoors: Once you remove the backing tape on the decals, you can temporarily affix them to the hoodliner for alignment purposes. You can also remove them and reposition them, in a manner similar to lining up a picture on a wall. If you dramatically reduce the light in the room, it allows you to see the decal much better as opposed to the clear adhesive strip that holds the decal. If it is too bright, it is difficult to tell whether the decal itself is lined up or if it's the plastic adhesive tape which is lined up. TIP: For the actual positioning of the decals, some purists may want to take measurements for exact positioning. For me, simply "eyeballing" it while looking at a picture of an OEM hoodliner on my laptop worked fine.
Step #11: Re-install hood. Done.
Here's some pics of my installed hoodliner:
"In step #5 did you spray the adhesive on the white side of the panel or on what appears to be the rough backside? Otherwise I think I got it. Let us know if you have any issues with the #80 adhesive letting go. 
