Roof Insulation

[yellow98cobra]

I bought the insulation kit (it is the White material) from Mac's along with there Headliner. I was thinking of putting a layer of this foil insulation up first. Just wanted to make sure I wont be making a mistake before I start gluing.. Thanks Eric

[DKheld]

When I replaced my headliner I used 2 extra layers of poly batting. It looked like your white material. Mine did have about 95% of the original brown Jute still in place so I didn't glue the poly material. I just let the headliner bows hold it up since it is so light. Really can't tell it's there except it does block quite a bit more heat.

IMHO the silver insulation is a super idea - wish I had used it.

Not sure how the glue will work with the silver insulation though. I recently used the same stuff on an interior project. Used it as under-layment for carpet. I taped it together in places. Had to wait a few weeks for the carpet. When I was installing the carpet later I noticed the tape had pulled the silver foil coating away in a few places so wondering if the glue might do the same?

Could be a non issue since it will be glued up there and not moved again but just FYI that the foil coating is not that strong.

Buy a can or two of the rust converter paint. Apparently the roof area was left bare metal during assembly. I brushed and sanded the bare areas then painted - especially up in the front. Had to use a small flexible brush to get in the holes at the back - you won't be able to get it all but good enough.

On the headliner - I tried 3-4 electric staplers with no luck. Those headliner strips are just heavy paper but I was able to re-use mine after borrowing a proper air powered upholstery stapler. The guy even threw in the staples - no idea what size they were.

Before





After






Good luck - let us know how it goes!
Eric

[simplyconnected]

No, no, noooooooooo......

The reason vinyl has holes is to let moisture escape. Yep, condensation. Look at your bare roof. This is the most protected area in the entire car, yet there are signs of rust! Why? Because when cold hits moist warm, condensation forms on the warm side.

A/C and cold water pipes sweat terribly. This isn't as extreme but it makes a difference in winter, when it's colder outside and you turn on the heater. BTW, your body releases copious amounts of water. I see steam coming off football players' shoulders while they're sitting on the bench in winter.

Foil is a moisture BARRIER. It traps moisture, then it promotes rust. I've seen bows that rusted through the channel loops.

Just remember that everything absorbs moisture, yes even ceramic floor tiles. The rate at which they give up moisture is more important than the rate at which they absorb it.

A loose polyester material is the best insulation for your headliner. Originally, Ford used that brown jute-type fiber but it worked well because it breathed. Before we had pin-hole vinyl, Ford used cloth, for the same reasons.

If you're looking for good poly-fill, check out Jo-Ann Fabrics or other craft stores. Sometimes you can find coupons for 50% off online. - Dave

[newbird59]

I'm with Dave on this one....I may not be an expert on our tbirds but I thought of this when I installed my headliner last spring and it only made sense when you think about how our cars were built. I was going to go with a custom headliner that didn't have holes and also install sound deadening (which was backed with foil) but went against it because it wouldn't let my roof breathe.

I was looking at Eric's photos and the jute/insulation sticks rather well. When I cleaned and restored my top it took me forever to remove the original material under the headliner...so my thoughts were to repeat the process. My experience in mating foil/aluminum is that it will peel at even a hint of moisture. It's not really worth having to redo the job later.

David

[newbird59]

Btw...I removed the rails that the headliner was stapled to so that I could replace the "material" holding it on. No one sells this so I took old engine belts that shops had lying around and gorilla glued them in place.

[YellowRose]

Roof Insulation

David, please go into photobucket and reset those large pix to 800x600. You can see that they are to large for this post. All pix on this Forum must be no bigger than 800x600pixels. Thank you. Or, since you are a Paid Member, you don't even have to use Photobucket to upload your pix. You can, as a Paid Member, upload them directly onto our server, at 800x600pixels. If you do not know how to do this, call me on the phone.

[yellow98cobra]

What Dave says makes since but when you search auto insulation almost everything that comes up is some sort of foil lined padding. When I searched Jute insulation one of the ads that popped up was for Dearborn Classics and he sells jute (synthetic fiber ) with the foil backing attached for floors and roofs. http://www.dearbornclassics.com/prod...d/735/image/0/

The poly insulation I got from Mac's just doesnt seem like it would do much compared to the original jute that was there (that is why I was thinking ad the other with it). I did not have any problems removing the old jute. I used a Morter trowel and my shop vac as I scraped what was stuck there. it all went very well. The tacking strips look good enough to use again I bought the smallest staples I could find (8mm) but they seem to be too long and I dont have stapler that works worth beans (I have a hand and electric). I will hit the fabric stores this weekend to see what they have, I thought I saw Jute at one in Santa Rosa.

[DKheld]

I found Jute at a local material shop called "Foam and Fabric". They sell material for making clothing as their main item but also have upholstery material for furniture, curtains etc and sell foam too. Bought all the internal stuff needed to re-work my MGA seats. The Jute is used in the back of the seats on those cars - convertibles so no headliner. I'm glad my Jute was still in good shape on the Tbird.


I use the foil stuff on the MGA floorboards - and they are really boards - not metal. The center console is metal but covered with the foil.


This is similar to the upholstery stapler I borrowed - however his was older and smaller than the electric ones you can buy at the home centers etc.

Here's a pic with a "hand" so you can compare the size.




I agree - don't think the poly alone would be good enough.

I wasted a lot of time with a new electric stapler.

Might try one of the cheap air powered ones from Harbor Freight? although looking it doesn't seem that HF has short enough staples.

Oh and cut the light hole small and last after steaming all the wrinkles out. The hole I cut in mine was fine until I steamed the headliner. The hole pulled very close to the front edge of the light. Thought I was going to have to add a little material but it worked - just barely.

Eric