How difficult is the headliner to remove??

I am better at wrenching than interior work but I have the time and need to save the removal cost.

I would appreciate any assistance !!

__________________
Gary
Experience is something you get, Just after you needed it....
'99 E300 295K, '83 300D 220K, '75 240D 185K sold
'80 MCI Bus Conv DD 6V92TA, w/4 cyl. Kubota diesel GenSet 12.5KW

I've had a bit of experience with my 1999 W210. It's no small task to remove the headliner. The person I sold the car to ultimately had it repaired.

I'm told that it's unwise to attempt to repair the existing material. Instead, the existing material and the backing needs to be stripped and new matieral purchased and glued in place. I spoke to the dealer about doing this and I also spoke directly to the shop they use for these repairs. I guess it's fairly common on a couple of model years. IIRC, the dealer could obtain the entire "shell" finished in the correct material and their mechanic would swap it out. The repair shop would strip and re-finish. These were the two options I was presented with.

Here's a link I found:

Headliner Replacement in Alcatera and Roof rattle fix. - Benzworld.org - Mercedes-Benz Discussion Forum

You can search on "sagging headliner W210" on Google and come up with all sorts of additional info.

This was one of the companies that could source the material: GAHH: Convertible Tops, Auto Interiors, Quality Convertible Tops

It seems like you'll find a shop in most major cities that can do this sort of work. They appear to be far more common in the south where cars are exposed to much higher ambient temps.

That is a pictorial of how to do this !! Thanks

I will look to remove and have my local upolstery shop actually replace the fabric. They did that once before for little money.

Thanks again,

__________________
Gary
Experience is something you get, Just after you needed it....
'99 E300 295K, '83 300D 220K, '75 240D 185K sold
'80 MCI Bus Conv DD 6V92TA, w/4 cyl. Kubota diesel GenSet 12.5KW

Well it was not difficult to remove headliner. Now off to the upolstery shop for them to recover.

I will try to clean the side panels, webbing, and rugs with cleaner. Might need to get some 303 to really get clean.

__________________
Gary
Experience is something you get, Just after you needed it....
'99 E300 295K, '83 300D 220K, '75 240D 185K sold
'80 MCI Bus Conv DD 6V92TA, w/4 cyl. Kubota diesel GenSet 12.5KW

Good to hear.

Woolite mixed in a 1:10 ratio in a spray bottle coupled with your shop vac works well for this sort of cleaning job. May be a bit gentler than the 303.

WooHoo !! I got the headliner back from the guy who installed new fabric.
Installed it looks great, what a difference.

I cleaned the pillar covers with a rug cleaner which I had on hand, They came up clean.

Now to clean or replace the welting around the doors. I also feel the above door handles look yuckie, but not ready to replace on a nearly 300K mile vehicle.

Thanks for the assistance in finding the pictorial.

__________________
Gary
Experience is something you get, Just after you needed it....
'99 E300 295K, '83 300D 220K, '75 240D 185K sold
'80 MCI Bus Conv DD 6V92TA, w/4 cyl. Kubota diesel GenSet 12.5KW

Excellent! How is the color match?

Can you say how much you paid him to do this work?

Thx.

The color is dead on with the front pillar orig cloth after I shampooed them a bit.

The cost was $175 for headliner & sunroof slide. I removed all pieces etc. I need to clean the middle & rear pillar pieces.

Looking to replace the front door bottom cloth, as it is lookin' beat.

__________________
Gary
Experience is something you get, Just after you needed it....
'99 E300 295K, '83 300D 220K, '75 240D 185K sold
'80 MCI Bus Conv DD 6V92TA, w/4 cyl. Kubota diesel GenSet 12.5KW