Headliner Removal proceedure without damage

[Joel Skousen <jskousen@enol.com>]

You can successfully remove a rigid Audi headliner without cutting it in
strips as per Bentley manual.  To do so, you need to construct a thin,
flexible tool to cut the glue holding the headliner to the steel roof,
as you carefully pull down on the headliner.  I made mine out of 2 inch
wide  galvanized sheet metal, about 2 feet long.  I quickly found out
that as I jabbed at the glue between the headliner and the steel roof, I
had to use a lot of force (tough glue) and the sheet metal strip would
double up or bend due to the force.  So I cut 2 other strips of 2” wide
sheet metal, each piece about 2 or 3 inches shorter than the first one
and bound them all together like a curved set of leaf springs.  I used
the “handyman’s secret weapon” (duct tape) to tape it all together and
keep the sharp edges from cutting my hand.  So now I had a springy but
strong 2 inch wide and 2 foot long blade to cut the glue as I pulled
down on the headliner.  Start from the front (after removing all the
grab handles, edge stripping and visors which hold the edges of the
headliner in place.  The front comes down pretty easy as there is only a
little glue around the sunroof.  It’s the rear portion that is all
glue.  Be careful not to pull down too hard on the headliner or you will
bend the roof permanently.  Work from side to side with vigorous jabs,
next to each other,  cutting about 1/4 inch deep into the glue with each
jab.  The glue is really sticky, so I found that I needed a lubricant to
keep the glue from sticking to my cutting tool.  Paint thinner works
best and allows the glue to be reused--just dip the tool into about 2
inches of paint thinner every minute or so and the glue won’t stick to
it.

Now go to the junkyard and use the same technique to get a good
headliner.  Let the paint thinner residue dry and there will be enough
glue still there to install in your good Audi without having to find
anymore of this super secret glue Audi uses.  I’ve never found anything
comparable.

HTH,
Joel Skousen
7 Audis, and 3 Vanagons--thus, VW/Audi Mech by necessity