Technical Cleaning a white headliner

The factory white headliner in my 62 Pontiac Longroof is in reasonable shape for its age. I think its factory anyway. A couple of holes, but the car has bigger issue right now so Im not looking to replace the whole thing. Its the white perforated material. I think its vinyl but Im not sure

I would like to clean it though. It has some dark spots that are probably mold. Ive spent some time minimal time cleaning it with some Mothers vinyl restorer and a microfiber cloth. It does make a difference but not as much as I would like.

Any old hot rodder tricks? I was considering something with bleach considering the material is white and the spots are likely mold. Most mold sprays have bleach in it so it makes sense to me on the surface. But Im open to any ideas that would make this go faster. Considering this is a wagon there is A LOT of headliner ground to cover.

 

I use spray nine to clean the white vinyl interior in my truck.

 

Found this 7 or 8 years ago.....had a light cream interior, worked fantastic. Worked in with a soft/medium bristle brush and wiped off with a wet sponge, dried with cotton towel.

 

Marine stores have a product made by Starbrite...it's a mold and mildew remover. It works wonders on marine white vinyl upholstery.

http://www.starbrite.com/item/mildew-stain-remover

 

It`s dry and brittle for being installed in 1962. Be very gentle. It will tear easily.

 

Don’t laugh. This stuff is like magic.

 

Thats why I was using that vinyl restorer at first. Trying to put a little suppleness back into it.

 

Mr Clean magic eraser with some water would be my next step

 

Sounds wierd, but I would try Wesley's Bleech White whitewall cleaner.
Good luck!

 

Barbasol shaving crème. Smells like a barbershop after.

 

I might take a few of these and make a comparison video see what the works the best to help guys in the future.

 

And not just the vinyl but the thread that it's s***ched up with. I wouldn't mess with it very much at all, and I'd feel lucky it's lasted this long. I've had the s***ching let go in newer cars than that, and there's nothing you can do about it. My advice, leave it alone.

 

Are you trying to get footprints out of the headliner ?

 

You can buy this stuff at the Dollar Store, and it is very strong so you might want to cut it with a little water like the directions say.

 

I didn't have mold but I used diluted Simple Green and scrubbed gently with a nail brush to clean the headliner in my 1961 Pontiac. As mentioned, the thread in the seams is going to be the most fragile part so use a light hand.

 

I would leave it alone.

 

I've had 2 cars with white interiors, 66 Super Sport Impala and 72 Pontiac Grand Prix. Slow learner, took twice to say no more

 

(1) Cl***ic Car Headliner Cleaning Product Shootout! Head to Head Testing! - YouTube

So I did what I said I was going to do. Took a few of the suggestions and tested them. Fun little test. Honestly, it all worked, though I think one worked a little better than the others. Armed with a Magic Eraser and a gentle hand you can make these old perforated vinyl headliners looks way more serviceable.

Is it restoration quality? No, but neither is the car, it fits fine for what it is. Now I don't feel like Im going to contract some kind of disease sitting under it. Im going to grab some material to make a few glue-on patches to cover some holes and hopefully strengthen some seams trying to pull apart.

Thanks for the suggestions guys, they worked!

 

Thank You for getting back to us.
Nice that you are happier than not.

 

It so great when we get feedback on our suggestions.
We all learn from it.
I’ve used the totally awesome on a lot of projects with good success.
Haven’t tried the starbrite but am concerned about the bleach weakening the thread. Thx again.

 

For what its worth, if I remember correctly the bottle doesn't say it has bleach, but man it sure smells like it does.

I think the LA's would get to the same point honestly it just might need more scrubbing. The Starbrite starts cleaning immediately before you even touch it. The shaving cream and LA's didn't really show until you started scrubbing.

On a more normal headliner I think the Barbasol would have been a real option. And it was the cheapest, so that counts for something. With the wagon, that's a lot of square footage to be spreading shaving cream though.

 

If you have a DA sander and a Velcro pad, go get a small grey polishing pad, spray your chemical on the headliner and let the DA and the pad do the work..I have a small large throw DA/Polisher and it works great on old vinyl seats..

 

Yep…this will clean some stuff…and cheap…maybe dilute it first as others have suggested