VR Holden Commodore wagon roof lining
VR Holden Commodore wagon roof lining There must be thousands of VR Holden commodore wagon and sedan owners who have problems with their falling down roof lining. If you are like me you most probably find it very annoying. As always the problem is that the foam gradually reduces to a soft sandy state and is unable to maintain a grip on the hood lining board. This problem is present across all cars with these types of stick on hood lining materials. After some years the glue eats into the foam and then the lining falls down on your head. I notice that some new cars have a hood lining which is all one piece with an outer skin. This type of hood lining will never fall down or let go. Volvos had this type of hood lining in the 70’s, and most probably there were other cars with the same things then as well.
Removing the old lining After removing the board it must be scrubbed clean of all decomposed foam. I usually use an old bannister brush. This takes anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes of very consistent brushing. Once you have it brushed thoroughly clean it must be left to air off and dry out for half an hour or so. This allows it to return to its original dry feel and then makes a better seal with the new material. You can see this in the left side photograph below.
VR Commodore wagon hood lining
On the right the board has aired out and is ready to be glued. Some jobs take more than a pot of glue by the time the board and the material are glued together. You can see the inside of the car roof below, after the board has been removed. Note all of the trim pieces hanging around. On the bottom photo you can see how the felts let go from the hood lining board. When the board is removed from most cars these pieces simply fall down. I pump plenty of glue into them to make them stick for good. The idea with these pieces is to provide some sound deadening and also to stop “drumming” through the roof. You can see also the back section where the glue has been sprayed on ready for the last piece of felt to be added. Inside VR Commodore roof and VR Commodore Board felt
Here we have the lining material laid out on the table to get the correct measurements. You will notice the marked lines from around the outside of the board. Once the glue on the board and the material has gone off (tacky) the material is ready to be fixed to the board as on the right. Simply drop the board down onto the material which then catches on all four corners and then flip the whole thing over. You may have to pull the material off some of the corners when you start smoothing the material onto the board from the centre to the outsides. Use a flat hand and smooth it on gradually while making sure that no creases remain. While smoothing with one hand the other is holding the material up and away from the board. You only let it down when the smoothing hand needs more material.
This is the view from the top after the lining has been glued to the cabin side. I trim the material about 60 ml out from the board edge and then run a good spray of glue down both the board and material. Then the material is pressed around and onto the top and sealed off. It will never fall down from the edges when you fit it like this. On the right you can see the finished article, with all edges glued over the back and the interior light trimmed in.
New VR holden commodore wagon roof lining.
You can now see the lining refitted with the new material attached. Some wagons have a fault in that the board tends to droop over the back seat area. This one has a small amount of droop which is normal for a full length board.
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