How to Repair Headliners & Upholstery

Repairing the Headliner

• 1

  Use scissors to snip some small, nearly indistinguishable holes in the headliner. Snip holes every 7 to 10 inches around the perimeter of the headliner. Also, cut a few holes around the interior of the headliner. Place a push pin into each hole to serve as a marker. Count the number of holes you created. Purchase the same number of upholstery screws.

• 2

  Hold the nozzle of the spray adhesive to the holes you just made. Carefully spray adhesive into the holes to coat the foam underneath the headliner. Use your flat-edged squeegee to help seal the headliner to the adhesive.

• 3

  Thread a curved upholstery needle with nylon or upholstery thread that matches the headliner fabric. Carefully stitch each hole closed with a few straight, even stitches. Remove the push pins as you go. Screw a clear, upholstery screw or headliner repair screw into each repaired hole. Screw through the liner into the underlying foam to help further anchor the headliner in place.

Repairing Fabric Tears

• 4

  Spray the edges of torn fabric with a fray prevention spray. Thread the curved upholstery needle with thread that matches the interior fabric. Tie a knot in the opposite end.

• 5

  Push the needle from the backside of the fabric to the front. Gently squeeze the two edges of the fabric together. Gently sew the edges the tear closed. Use small, even stitches to help keep the repair from being too unsightly.

• 6

  Tie off the opposite end with a knot. Trim away the excess thread. Use the tip of the scissors to push the knot between the stitches to the backside of the fabric.

Repairing Tears in Leather Upholstery

• 7

  Apply a leather cleaning and conditioning product to the upholstery. Use your small, sharp scissors to cut around the edges of the tear, making them as smooth as possible. Remove the fabric patch from the leather repair kit. Use tweezers to slide the fabric patch under the tear.

• 8

  Gently lift the edges of the leather upholstery. Squeeze a small amount of leather adhesive on to the fabric patch under the edges of the upholstery. Press the leather onto the glue.

• 9

  Set your heat gun or hair dryer to a low setting. Carefully wave the instrument back and forth over the upholstery to help further set the glue. Allow the glue to dry completely.

• 10

  Squeeze a small amount of leather dye onto a makeup application sponge. Blot the dye onto the fabric patch and the edges surrounding the patch. Continue to blot and blend with a clean sponge until the repair dye blends with the upholstery.