Headliner backing

Discussion in 'Boat Design' started by Gashmore, Feb 16, 2008.

  1. Gashmore
    Joined: Feb 2008
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    Location: Macon, GA

    Gashmore Junior Member

    I am approaching the task of installing headliner and settled on vinyl. I will use 3M spray adheasive to laminate it to 1/8" panels cut to fit the cabintop. The question is what to use for the panels. Tempered hardboard is cheap, easy to find and moderately moisture resistant but it is heavy and the oil in the teeempering reduces the adheasive bond. I am looking for an alternative that is lighter and more moisture resistant. PVC foamboard would be ideal but is way to expensive. Anyone have a suggestion that is light weight, reasonably stiff, makes a good bond using 3M spray adheasive and doesn't cost an arm and a leg?

    Other details:

    Foam backed vinyl headliner is outrageously expensive so I found some medium grade white vinyl. It is going to see very little wear and UV so I think the high quality marine grades might be overkill.

    I wanted to extend the visual length of the saloon so I will run three panels fore and aft with battens covering the joints. Grab rails screwed through the battens will hold them in place. The panels will be stuck to the cabintop frames with 2"x6" industrial Velcro. McMaster sells some with very high strength adheasive backing. (A trick to keep it from peeling off when removing panels is to shave off about a quarter inch of hooks and loops at each end.)

    Boat Project: www.rutuonline.com
     
  2. Pericles
    Joined: Sep 2006
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    Location: Heights of High Wycombe, not far from River Thames

    Pericles Senior Member

  3. yipster
    Joined: Oct 2002
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    Location: netherlands

    yipster designer

    "Foam backed vinyl headliner is outrageously expensive" just checked it at € 26,- the meter by 1.40 wide at the same place, size and price as sunbrella
    € 6.- for just vinyl and was / am looking around, maybe foamed carvinyl than? are you sure 3M sprayglue is the way to go, remember reading other glue's
     
  4. SamSam
    Joined: Feb 2005
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    Location: Coastal Georgia

    SamSam Senior Member

    I did one (it's down at Two-Way) using a better grade of 1/8" interior real wood (thin plywood) paneling, the kind that has grooves to simulate boards. I think I sealed the wood with polyurethane and then attached the vynil to the back (flat) side with 3M High Strength 90 Spray adhesive, spraying the vynil and the paneling, allowing to dry and tack, and then sticking together. It's been 4-5 years and its still ok looking.

    I did another using that 1/8" tempered hardboard with a white finish on one side, available from Home Depot and used as cheap tub enclosures or something,$10-15 a sheet, and that sagged pretty quickly. It doesn't seem to have much strength to prevent that when hung on a ceiling.

    Door skins are great stuff, 1/8" plywood with a fiberglass or cloth scrim or something between layers for strength, but are limited to the size of doors , something like 37X84".

    I e-mailed your site years ago asking about more info on the resin impregnator and how well it worked. Any info?
     
  5. Gashmore
    Joined: Feb 2008
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    Location: Macon, GA

    Gashmore Junior Member

    Thanks. I was looking at that shower surround. Good thing you warned me off. I will look for some door skins. I have plenty of epoxy left over to seal it with.

    How is Two Way? That is where I plan to launch now that Tidewater has sold out to Hinkely.

    BTW, the resin impregnator worked great but it was way over kill. It took about 60 hours to make and got used for a total of maybe 10 hours. It did wet out the glass faster than a crew of 6 could lay it and made control of the resin content a lot easier than doing it by hand. Made the hull layup go so fast the crew was really dragging at the end of the day. Cleaning it was a real chore after a day of laying up several hundred yards of glass. You want it? I'll make you a great deal if you can pick it up.
     

  6. SamSam
    Joined: Feb 2005
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    Location: Coastal Georgia

    SamSam Senior Member

    Two Way continues on, no changes. I don't have a use for an impregnator now and when I was considering it, it was for 1' wide strips. It would seem to be a useful thing, especially with the cost of resins now. At the time, I was kind of wondering about the concept of how it worked. Home made, inexpensive machines that work are always interesting.
     
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