Lasting outcome from painting headliners

[Pettigrewr]

Hi All,
To everyone who has painted their headliners.
How has it lasted over the years? Any peeling, flaking, discoloration, etc.?
I'm going to use 100% acrylic paint as several members have used, does any particular brand perform better than others?
Would really like input and advice on the paint tools used and suggestions on brands before buying, both good and bad.
Thanks,
Rob

 

[SEVEN]

I applied two coats to the headliner of my Chris Craft 21 years ago. The boat still belongs to the same club that I’m in and it still looks as good today as it did when I was finished 21 years ago. However I would not use any typical latex paint. Look up the company called SEM And use their vinyl paint that is made for headliners.

 

[brettportzer]

I would tend to agree - I don’t know when ours was done, but, it was at minimum 11yrs ago and it looks good.

 

[oscarvan]

Interesting, didn't know this was an option. And the paint doesn't clog the little holes?

 

[edward]

You can always over reduce/ add extra thinner if necessary

 

[SEVEN]

The little holes pop as you brush or roll it on or tip it off if you get it in spray. It takes two to three coats to cover but you can do it all in one day.

 

[Pettigrewr]

Checked out SEM and the headliner products I found were only in aerosol can or for spray guns. SEM also offers a another vinyl coating, sure-coat that can be brushed on, but is really meant for upholstery and has a complicated prep system. I sold all my paint spraying equipment some years ago and really don't want to go the spraying route with SEM, was looking for a more simple roll on method.

Some years ago one of our forum members, Rascal, used a 100% acrylic paint from Lowes made for vinyl siding and he had really good results simply rolling it on from the photos he included in his posts. I was wondering how it held up over a few years, does anyone know? I definitely would not use an exterior acrylic paint as he used, but would use a low VOC interior acrylic paint with mold and mildew resistance. That is if the acrylic paint did not peel, flake or cause the headliner to sag after a while.

My headliner does not have ventilation perforations but subtle decorative groove lines about an inch apart so no holes to clog.

 

[SEVEN]

Found this online. I’ve never used it but it’s worth a look. Keep us in the loop.

 

[SEVEN]

Here is a couple more to look at.

 

[edward]

SEM products are very good , we sold them for many years.

 

[Pettigrewr]

I'm going to buy a few different paints that were suggested here and begin experimenting on some scrap vinyl (as soon as the weather warms up).
I will document the results and keep everyone updated with the results.
Thank you to everyone for your input and advice and keep it coming.

Rob

 

[yachtsmanbill]

If youre really anal about holes then use one of these. I recommend building a platform to lay on. SERIOUSLY??

 

[JuiceClark]

The valances are down, ancient indirect lighting removed and new fabric is on order for those valances. In the meantime, I'll paint the headliner. So, I just ordered a couple 32 oz. bottles of this:

It's meant for painting tennis shoes, handbags, etc. I'm sure it's much like S.E.M., but found it's about one-third the price. So, I'll give it a coat or two. If it doesn't look right, I'll have to try again.

 

[SEVEN]

Send photos of the results.

 

[JuiceClark]

The valances are down, ancient indirect lighting removed and new fabric is on order for those valances. In the meantime, I'll paint the headliner. So, I just ordered a couple 32 oz. bottles of this:

It's meant for painting tennis shoes, handbags, etc. I'm sure it's much like S.E.M., but found it's about one-third the price. So, I'll give it a coat or two. If it doesn't look right, I'll have to try again.

Just painted the first coat with this stuff after the market close tonight. It took about 90 minutes to do the entire salon and galley area. (taped it off last week) I'll do a 2nd coat in half that time. I used a standard 6" roller with a "smooth surface" felt. Nope - you don't have to worry about clogging all the little holes if you have too much paint on the roller, because the roller pulls the paint right back out of 'em.

I started too timidly and stingy with the paint. So, the shading wasn't quite even and I'll have to do a 2nd coat. By the time I got to the last couple headliner panels, I was putting more paint on the roller and it looks good with a single coat.

You can tell this stuff will never peel off just by touching it when dry. It's so flexible...doesn't really even feel like there's paint on it. You won't believe how dark and dingy the old headliner is until you roll some flat, white paint onto it. I bet it'll smell fresher in there, too.

Too dark to snap a pic - will get one in the next couple days.

 

[SEVEN]

Sounds like SEM but theirs has a slight sheen to their finish. Where did you find this product? You have now just put about 100 guys to work next week repainting their headliners. Lol

 

[JuiceClark]

Sounds like SEM but theirs has a slight sheen to their finish. Where did you find this product? You have now just put about 100 guys to work next week repainting their headliners. Lol

Oh oh...hate it when people listen to what I did!

Well, I just rolled a very quick 2nd coat. I hate to paint and go as fast as possible. I bought that stuff on Ebay. And, I bought it only because it was way cheaper than SEM. Apparently, I'm cheap.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Angelus-Ac...e=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

It's not quite flat. Almost satin I guess. The holes never fill in. The key is to keep the roller spinning. If you go sideways or the roller skids, it looks bad and pushes paint into the holes. But if you just roll back over it a couple time, that fixes it.

This was not a professional operation:


I forgot to take a 'before' pic. But here's a spot I missed on the first coat. I couldn't believe how dark it was until I started rolling the white.


It dries pretty slowly. You'll see some spots, like this pic, and you'll think you missed it. 5 minutes later, it'll dry completely and disappear.
This is not quite dry yet. So, you see a little variation. I'll disappear, I hope.

 

[JuiceClark]

Oh, I forgot: COVER EVERYTHING. This paint doesn't come off very easily at all! Tiny little dropplets rain down and the small areas I didn't cover will need to be scoured.

I'll have to find what's the least caustic chemical that'll remove this stuff because a little fell on the booth table and some edge areas. I might veneer that table anyway.


See in this pic, it looks like I missed a spot. But there was just a little wet paint there and that spot disappeared 10 minutes later.
Also, there is a puncture in the headliner just below the middle of the picture. I pulled the tear back down and tucked it as flat as possible. After painting, it's not noticable.

 

[Dreamboat]

What prep work did you do before painting?

How many square feet were you able to cover with one 32 oz. jug?

Thanks in advance.

 

[JuiceClark]

What prep work did you do before painting?

How many square feet were you able to cover with one 32 oz. jug?

Thanks in advance.

Hey Gary,

I bought 2 32 oz. jugs, but this job used one full jug and only a couple oz. from the 2nd jug for 2 coats. The remainder will probably be enough to do the remaining 3 staterooms and hallway. So, just the salon and galley in a 52C - I'd guess that's about 200 sq ft??

I'll probably only do the hallway and bow stateroom with the remainder.

As for prep work: Nothing really. I wiped the headliner down with a couple rags 3 weeks ago when I brought it home. The rags were dampened with 409. Not that much came off...just a little yellowish stuff was on the rags.
So, the ceiling was quickly wiped, but still quite gross.

It ain't comin' off. On the pic above of the hanging light with paper on it....you can see all those little spatters of paint that come off the roller. Well, some of that fell on on the table with the lamp on it. It was really hard to get off. I had to briskly rub it with the rough side of a scouring sponge to get it off...and it was barely dry.

I just hope this stuff doesn't turn yellow in a year...or something. It was SO much cheaper than SEM, I wondering what the catch is.