Project Petrolhead

Recently, the mighty Jaguar XK has been experiencing a problem that most people of a certain age can relate to:

Saggy bits.

For humans, this is usually limited to the (ahem) extremities but for the Jag, the affected area is the headlining. It seems that the intense 35°C heat the UK was experiencing over the summer (no laughing at the back) had caused the glue in the headliner to melt, meaning that for the following weeks, I was forced to drive around whilst wearing the Jag as a (admittedly fashionable) hat.

Not ideal for keeping your hair tidy.

Having been quoted around £400 for a replacement, I decided that I would have a go at fixing the issue myself. How hard could it possibly be?

The first thing I tried was to re-heat the existing glue with a steam cleaner and then hold the headlining in place, hoping that it would stick. This ended up being about as successful as a wet fart in a crowded lift. Onto the second method.

Around the edges of the headlining there are sections of fixed plastic trim, If you remove the sun visor (very simple, just two screws, one at each side) you can then pop the trim off with relative ease. Once these had been removed, I could get a proper look at the problem.

If, as I suspected, the glue had just melted, then it would be simple to deal with, but if the foam backing had started to break down, then I would be stuck, with a saggy jag and a rather large bill. Luckily, the foam seemed to have remained intact, so I grabbed a can of spray adhesive and a clean paint roller and got to work.

If you’re wondering what the hell the paint roller is for, it means I can push the headliner back into place whilst following the curve of the roof.

The end result was… Scruffy to put it mildly. I will have to get it properly replaced at some point, especially if I end up having to sell the car, but for now, it’ll do. Besides, I feel like the rough-around-the-edges, slapdash nature of the car accurately reflects the general demeanour of it’s driver!