Headliner before covering

[rexandkim]

Hello all. We are getting ready to cover the fuselage. What is the consensus....do we put the headliner in first or wait until after cover and paint?

Thanks,

[stevesaircraft(Bri)]

First.....
Install it around the baggage compartment area forward until you get to the rear door / right window channel....then roll up the rest and cover with plastic. Finish installing the rest of the fabric on the fuselage through paint then finish installing the headliner. Keep it fairly taught and use a good contact cement. If it is a wool headliner it can be smoothed out with a steamer or use a wet rag with a really hot iron. Put the rag on the iron and get it close to the material but try not to touch it too much. (makes a cheap steamer. Just keep the rag damp, it will dry quickly)

Brian.

[Zac Weidner]

I had good luck with doing all of the headliner and interior fabric before covering.

[jay heil]

it came from the factory with the headliner installed after the fabric was on , thats the way i did mine and thats the way i would recommend for you

[Steve Pierce]

I haven't done one in a Tri-Pacer but it looks easier to do before it is covered. The headliner wraps over the top of the rear former and looks like it would be a real bear to do when covered.
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[rexandkim]

Thanks everyone!

[jay heil]

im guessing it would be a bunch easier to do it before the fabric but i would think that would be somthing you would want to do after its all painted so you dont get it dirty with overspray and stuff the headliner gets tucked in window frames and stuff that it just seems like you would have trouble if the headliner was in there already,and I dont remember but isnt it glued to the fabric in a few spots? as far as doing it after the fabric the rear part is where you start and is kind of a battle because you have all this extra headliner fabric hanging there it does make it a "bear" but when you do it you have the rear hat shelf out and the little back "fillerplate" out too installing isnt that bad but dealing with the extra fabric is the "bear" I did mine afterwards I just remember after i got the rear part the rest was a breeze---------------- it isnt any harder than working under the panel lol

[tferraro]

I did mine as outlined in one of the messages above.... before covering, install it in the baggage area and roll it up and cover the area. After covered and painted, the headliner in the cabin area is pretty easy to get at and finish the installation.

[stevesaircraft(Bri)]

I forgot to mention that you do the Interior fabric through paint "before" installing the headliner......I glue the headliner to the outside of the baggage fabric. About 3 inches of material glued to the fabric makes a nice strong bond.

Here are a few pictures I took of the last Tri-Pacer we did......
The first one really shows how much material I glued down to the outside of the baggage compartment.....did not paint the interior of the baggage because the owner glued some vinyl interior panels to it. Also there is no skylight in this one.....


After cover and paint, headliner still rolled back.

Shoulder harness grommets...(made from some Kydex)

[sdemeyer]

I guess I am the odd man out because I installed my headliner last, after everything was painted. I did not find it too terribly difficult to install. Took me 5 or 6 hours.