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Thu Apr 06, 2006 4:56 am

The headliner in my 84 Westy is old and dirty looking. I was wondering if I could paint it white? If so, should I use a product like Kilz first or just prime and paint it? Should I use latex or oil base paint? I think this would be easier and cheaper than replacing the headliner. I saw a Westy on e-bay that had a brightly colored design painted on the headliner so I think it could be done.

Thu Apr 06, 2006 5:35 am

my friend tracy did that, but she painted it blue with moons and stars etc. i will see if she remembers the brand of paint.

Thu Apr 06, 2006 7:01 am

Or, find a junk yard and buy the complete headliner. Replace the fabric.

If you are bent on painting may I recommend florescent green or pink?

Thu Apr 06, 2006 7:43 am

or (again), you could try cleaning it. my dad and i cleaned the headliner in his 78 when i was younger with terrific results.

i am pretty sure we just used some diluted bleach and a couple of hours of hard work. came out pristine. :shock:

Thu Apr 06, 2006 7:55 am

In the early Westy's with the thin vinyl covering over partical board painting is an easy way to go. The vinyl is easy to remove with a heat gun or iron. When you remove the vinyl the pattern of it is left in the glue that was used to hold it on. If you paint the board white over the pattern you really can't tell that it is not still vinyl and it blends in quite well. I did the front part in my 81 because someone had pealed parts of it off.
I primed it and then used 2 coats of cheap white paint. I used on of them mini paint rollers. If I decide I want to cover it with something else in the future, it will not be a problem.
before, kind of a dark picture but you can see where in is missing in the front.

After

Thu Apr 06, 2006 12:06 pm

When I re-did that rear cabinet, the glue was precisely patterned like the vinyl and could have been painted, instead I wasted an entire day using the heat gun still further and scraping THAT stuff off. I didn't need to.

The stuff I'd use to paint the glue is what I used to paint the wood on which the glue had been--Krylon Fusion. Their almond color blends in nicely with Winston's '84 Westy coloring.

I'm going to gut Winston in a couple of years, de-fiberglass him and put in new insulation and body panels... Then I'll do Mighty Art's bit with the interior panels.

Best!

Thu Apr 06, 2006 10:03 pm

If you do decide to just paint it, Duplicolor has vinyl paint which doesn't get hard. Not sure if I would prime and use regular paint that could just flake/chip off.

Fri Apr 07, 2006 7:05 am

atarasi wrote: If you do decide to just paint it, Duplicolor has vinyl paint which doesn't get hard. Not sure if I would prime and use regular paint that could just flake/chip off.
You take the vinyl off before you paint, so the paint sticks very well, I did make a small scratch in mine by accident, so I just took a brush and painted it, can't tell it was fixed.

Fri Apr 07, 2006 12:01 pm

I did what Art did (removed the vinyl, left the glue) but used white oil based melamine (kitchen/bath paint) with a foam roller. It looks like new.

Thu Apr 24, 2008 9:29 am

Sorry to bring up such an old thread but I've got a silly question. Did you guys that painted your headliner do it WITHOUT removing it from the van? I'm interested in trying this but I don't really want to take my headliner out at this point.

Thu Apr 24, 2008 9:37 am

bikenerd wrote: Sorry to bring up such an old thread but I've got a silly question. Did you guys that painted your headliner do it WITHOUT removing it from the van? I'm interested in trying this but I don't really want to take my headliner out at this point.

i would second cleaning it. i removed and bleached the crap out of a headliner from a 71 bus when i was 17yo and had no money. it came out really well. not like new, but considering the smokers stain over the driver seat it looked much better.

Thu Apr 24, 2008 9:45 am

I'm in the process of painting the headliner with Dupli-color vinyl paint. I left the headliner in and masked everything off.

I guess it depends on what you consider more work. It seems easier to mask off than to remove the headliner to me.

I did pull the A/C tunnel and components first and paint them with the Dupli-color gloss black... it turned out great.

I'll post some pics after I'm finished with the rest.

Thu Apr 24, 2008 4:51 pm

I left mine in, masked around it, and used a foam roller. Taking it out is NOT fun (well, taking it out is okay, but getting it back in is a job....).

Thu Apr 24, 2008 5:04 pm

I used the duplicolor vinyl paint and it scared the heck out of me when it didn't try within a couple hour...in fact, it took about 2 freakin' weeks, man. It did eventually dry though and I'm happy with the results.

I sprayed without taking it down. Just masked around it and went for it. No prob.

Fri Apr 25, 2008 7:26 am

I chose to heat gun all the vinyl and then use acetone (applied with a paint brush and scraped with an old putty knife) to remove the glue throughout my van, including the interior cabinets. I removed all but the sink cabinet to do the job.

I then painted the interior with three coats of tinted patio and floor paint. Very hard, washable.

Everything looks clean, smooth - great!

My headliner is not vinyl/pressboard/birch. Instead, it appears to be the "diamond" patterned white lexan (?) that I've seen used as a backsplash in restaurants. Looks great, not out of place.

So, that may be another option. Cut a new one out of a different material!