Ya I know I'm jumping around a bit but I'm getting a lot done right now.
Did anyone else make their own? I got a bolt of vinyl and a sewing machine and giving it a try.
I was cutting vinyl all night.
I never sewed before but after a couple tests strips no problem.
Do I need to use nylon thread?
???
I saw a GM conversion a guy here in town did 10-15 years ago. He was an upholsterer and he did the headliner by cutting a bolt of vinyl to about 8-foot lengths to run cross-wise across the ceiling from one side to the other. He sewed them together side-to-side, then put it up as follows: Attach the front edge of the first piece to a 1/4" plywood strip that he then screwed to a cross-member with the edge folded around the strip so it was trapped between the strip and the cross-member. He put a 1/4" or 1/2" foam pad between that strip and the next strip. The second strip was located at the first seam, and the seam was attached to the strip, again on the cross-member side of the strip, and the strip was then screwed to the frame. The sewn seam was concealed under the strip, and the second panel came out in front of the
strip, wrapped down around and under it in the living space and on to the next strip, etc. It produced a really nice tuck-and-roll appearance the full length of the bus. Where there were cabinets, he installed the headliner first, then screwed the cabinets on to trap the headliner above the top of the cabinet face frame.
He had to move out of state and sold the bus, due to his wife's health. She had to move to a lower altitude. I could tell he got nowhere near what he wanted out of it, but don't know what the price
was.
Clarke
Quote from: Ednj on April 13, 2006, 07:29:15 PM
Ya I know I'm jumping around a bit but I'm getting a lot done right now.
Did anyone else make their own? I got a bolt of vinyl and a sewing machine and giving it a try.
I was cutting vinyl all night.
I never sewed before but after a couple tests strips no problem.
Do I need to use nylon thread?
???
Is this the style your speaking of Clark??
It is a nice look.
Eric
Nice cat - the bus is good too ;D
Danny
Thanks Danny. Notice that there are 2 cats...my woman's pride & joys.
ERIC
i'm "the" wife, aren't my cats too good for the bus?
Hi guys, You are making to much work of this headliner thing. I have been upholstering for more than 40 years and have a complete custom shop.
I did my headliner with soft vinyl, I have two computerized sewing machines and did not use them for my headliner and the only thing I glued is the foam padding. Tuck and roll over is the way to go. In my case I did not have to handle a piece of vinyl over 18" x 45". The secret is to anchor the vinyl well and nice and straight, and then pull the crap out of the vinyl. That is why it is very important to use a soft (very soft) vinyl. Good Luck. T. Chellis
The above is how I done mine, but no sewing was ever needed, nor foam backing. By pulling each strip tight, you had a suspended vinyl much like the old cars looked. If interested, you can go to my bus photo in the bus photos section, and click on a link that will show photos of the interior, I think it looked super.
Quote from: T Chellis on April 14, 2006, 05:50:02 AM
Hi guys, You are making to much work of this headliner thing. I have been upholstering for more than 40 years and have a complete custom shop.
I did my headliner with soft vinyl, I have two computerized sewing machines and did not use them for my headliner and the only thing I glued is the foam padding. Tuck and roll over is the way to go. In my case I did not have to handle a piece of vinyl over 18" x 45". The secret is to anchor the vinyl well and nice and straight, and then pull the crap out of the vinyl. That is why it is very important to use a soft (very soft) vinyl. Good Luck. T. Chellis
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I tried this method tonight and it worked ok, but I think it would have looked better sewn.
While walking through Lowes today, I got a an idea.
Has anyone ever used the padded vinyl floor for a headliner.
They make a bunch of solid or marble type patterns, it would be heavy duty and cleanable.
Made to be glued with adhesive.
Maybe I am just nuts ???
Anyway, curious to hear from anyone on there results
Another ceiling covering option is Ozite. It's the ceiling covering of choice in most upscale RVs. Very light, glues up well. And Ronthebusnut has it. I bought a roll and it's laying in an unused bedroom in our home. Haven't figured out how to put it up...not really. I see another summer without the headliner. Once up, Ozite isn't as easy to damage as the padded vinyl.
Plan to use automotive vinyl top adhesive...any other ideas are clearly welcome.. ???
Lost in Space, JR 8)
Quote from: DC_Bus_Nut on April 13, 2006, 08:40:54 PM
Is this the style your speaking of Clark??
It is a nice look.
Eric
That's the one.
CE
When Chuck Lott gets back from his trip this week end I'd hope that he'd post the pic's of the headliner he put in his bus. ;D
He did it in sections (probably 48" wide) and used an RV plastic bead between the sections so that in the even it needed to come down...the whole thing didn't have to. It could be removed by section to repair/replace/add new wiring if necessary. I was impressed and will probably do mine the same way. :o
Hell, I'm not a pioneer....I just copy what somone esle has done well! ;)
NCbob
Would love to see those pictures too! :)
I have seen the tuck and roll, but a problem in the front means removing the whole thing from what I can tell :'(
Cliff
I will be doing my headliner this coming week as well and will post some pics asap. It's really not as hard as you think.
If your using ozite as one poster said, keep in mind that it will be very hard to keep clean and it will keep any cooking odors and from that it willmost likely dis-color. Most of the higher end coaches are using vinyl type on the ceilings and ozite type material inside the cabinets for sound deadening!
Also if your using vinyl and want somewhat of a cushion, you can use a material mfgr'd for putting under the laminate plank flooring such as Pergo, in homes. It's very thin and gives just enough cushion. I plan on doing just that! I also will be doing some custom design work using vinyl and some mirror on mine so that should be fun! Another "tip" to doing the vinyl is to use a heat gun when stretching it in. Not too hot but hot enough to really get it tight and smooth. You can use contact and OR staples on the back and if your still not comfortable, any upholster shop can make matching buttons that screw to the piece to hold your work in place!
Ace
Question regarding headliner - I understand about the sewing - but how is the seam attached to the ceiling?
Thanks
Danny
PS - yeah two cats.... :-)
Quote from: Ace on June 17, 2006, 08:58:21 PM
...
If your using ozite as one poster said, keep in mind that it will be very hard to keep clean and it will keep any cooking odors and from that it willmost likely dis-color.
Also if your using vinyl and want somewhat of a cushion, you can use a material mfgr'd for putting under the laminate plank flooring such as Pergo, in homes. It's very thin and gives just enough cushion. I plan on doing just that!
Ace ...,
I think you need to pull from my recent experience and testing with that cushion material. We bought a bunch of it with the same idea ... that is ... padding under the vinyl wall coverings. It was a TOTAL disaster. The contact cement seemed to work fine, and the cushion material stuck nicely. Then the vinyl went on the next day just fine too. A few weeks later, it all let go. I mean I was p**sed off. All that work and now we were back to square one. So I located an on-line source for a 1/8" thick dense foam padding that is supposed to be made for cushioning under vinyl. Price was probably less than we paid for the laminate flooring cushion material. Results are better too. Now my wall material is holding just fine and we have confidence that it will also hold on the ceilings when we get to them in a week or so.
Oh, and about that Ozite stuff. You are sooo ... correct. It is probably easy to stick up and for a while it looks OK, but it will hold dirt like a sponge. Our bus came with total Ozite ceiling and some on the walls too. I thought it was supposed to be medium gray. However after pulling down the overhead cabinets, I saw WHITE Ozite. And dust ... that stuff was loaded with sneezy dust. It was a hot humid day when I was ripping down the old Ozite and you can imagine how all that itchy dust and Ozite shreds felt on my bare sweaty hide.
Merlin
Merlin,
My upolster also told me the same thing about the CPVC in that stuff. that the adhesive won't bond to it!! He used the 1/4 " dence foam in mine too.
Sorry ACE, I would experiment first!!
Nick-
I got this theory that we are making a Motorhome-the key being home. How many houses have you seen with vinyl ceilings? I know, I'm just a simpleton. I covered my roof with 1/8" plywood that is screwed in to the longitutely running 1x2 strips, about 12" apart. I did the unthinkable and painted the plywood semi gloss white. Then where all the screws are holding up the plywood, I got 2" wide oak molding, urethaned it and ran the molding down the same path as the 1x2 strips, using phillips head finish screws. I have alot of exposed screws in the bus. I decided instead of knocking myself out trying to figure out how to hide them, make them obvious, and then it just melds in. The big side line to this is that it allows me to unscrew anything to modify or service it without having to re glue anything back up. I have also found that glued foam backed vinyl will come down in a few years as the foam deteriorates (course maybe someone makes a truly quality foam now). Just my way-I'm not as fussy as most. Good Luck, TomC
Nothing wrong with that line of thinking from my point of view, Tom. Why do we insist on making life so complicated?
If a Converter had done what you did...it would be widely accepted and not given a second thought! ;D
NCbob
Maybe the foam under layement you guys have used is different than what I'm referring to. It's only about 1/16th to 1/8th inch thick. Very Thin! I have tested it using contact cement. It Isn't coming off without some serious damage. I thinkif your coach is maintaing a constant temperature as mine always is, you wouldn't have a problem of it letting go. Maybe it got too hot inside and it just came loose! Keep in mind that I'm using 3/8 plywood so I have the choice of using the glue AND staples. I know with staples it won't sag or come loose. The plywood is thick enough so the staples won't come thru the vinyl. A local converter here that converts Prevost busses for bands and music "stars" that actually lease them from a broker has given me permission to tour his operation on many occasions and has answered my many questions. He actually uses 1/2 plywood over 1/2 inch plywood. Sorry, I don't feel comfortable having 1/2 plywood over me being held by small plastic xmas tree fasteners. I opted to use 3/8 which will work just fine! My ceiling will allow me to drop it down, make changes if needed and put back up without any re-gluing or screwing. Sanps or presses in, snaps or presses out!
I like the idea of a painted ceiling with oak trim. Sounds like a home I once lived in! Nothing at all wrong with it. You did it your way and that's a good thing!
Ace
ACE,
My panels are 1/4" luan, 1/4" dence foam glued, then Stone Ultrasuede. Shadowed by Brushed Stainless Steel.
They are fastened with 3M Duel Lock. Holds very well.
Here are some pics.
Nick-
Nick it looks real good. I thought about it but always looking for a different way! So far so good!
Ace
On my bus, I used that vinyl shower surround. I just glued and screwed it to the top with intentions of eventually covering the screws with a piece of trim molding. It gives it a nice finished look and if you ever have a problem with it, just replace that piece.
My 2 cents.
Jimmy