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Discussion Starter · #1 ·
s'up ya'll, i just wanted to share the latest.
had tha headliner 'n pillars wrapped in suede with all the parts 'n pieces that were silver (clips, dome light covers etc.) painted flat blk to match...lemme kno wut ya'll think (and sorry if the pic quality ain't great, all i got is my cel to take pix with)




 

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2011 Malibu LTZ 3.6L V6 Red Jewel Tintcoat
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Dude! I gotta do that to mine. What paint did you use and how did you get the headliner down to install the suede? Did you remove the pillar covers? Can you put some how-to steps on a post for us (me!) please? (With pics if possible, too!)

I think it looks really cool.
 

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I love the looks of a suede headliner and pillars, looks great!!
 

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Discussion Starter · #5 ·
thanks guys...

SilverLTZ, heh ur probably right but it's all good bro...i'm feelin' it e'ery time i jump in tha bu so no worries. and DrivenDaily, sorry homie...i didn't do the work, ma boi hooked me up at his shop. he did kinda explain how he would do it though...all they basically did was remove the pillars, bring down the entire headliner and then just wrapped it. the original cloth was never removed. as for the pillars...i'm not entirely sure if he just wrapped 'em like that or did anything to them before. the paint, it's nothing fancy...was just a bucket of paint from what i saw. he did tell me that it was some of the more "expensive" paint, i guess meaning it was higher end or something. other then that sorry...but if you google suede headliners you should get a lot of results, some of those pages give how to's...thanks again fellas
 

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2011 Malibu LTZ 3.6L V6 Red Jewel Tintcoat
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In an old car I recovered the headliner and visors in dark blue velvet to replace the light blue cheapie stuff that was starting to fall down. After it was done and I got in, it was like a whole new car. I loved having the headliner dark instead of light! Made all the difference in the world. On that car the headliner came out as one piece of cardboard that had creases where it folded at the edges. Instead of removing all the old glue and foam I just flipped it and bent the flaps the opposite direction.

The one in the 'Bu, though, appears to be molded and won't be reversible, so I'll have to see what it takes to attach the new material to the old, or if I have to remove all the old stuff first. I've been planning to do this for a while. My idea was to paint the hard surfaces, but covering the pillars as well ........ hmmmm, that's something else to consider and I just might do that! I've got "Air Bag" molded into the B-pillar covers so I may need to paint them regardless, but the others qualify for material.

For color, my car is black on black on black. The only difference there is inside is that nice wood trim running around the doors and separating the two levels of the dash. I'm leaning toward a deep burgundy/maroon color. I'd rather have a deep forest green but thinking ahead about resale value makes me worry about that choice, since green doesn't seem to be a popular color among vehicle choices these days. Too bad, I wish it was!
 

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Discussion Starter · #13 ·
yea from what i saw, and from what ma boi was tellin' me b4 he took it in to tha shop the material seams to be molded on...he did mention that IF at some point i chose to go back to stock (or if i was unsatisfied w/the work) the suede could be removed w/no apparent problem. as for the pillars, at first i wasn't plannin' on wrapping 'em...i was gonna leave 'em be w/tha original color and the idea that the combination would look ok (black/silver/black), but as i thought more and more about it, and after seein' some pics of car interiors done w/suede w/different patterns & styles, i decided that goin' all suede was tha best bet...it was tha right choice, at least for my personal taste neway. as for the "air bag" button in the middle pillar...mine was painted, idunno if it had to be or what...but i thnk it looks fine like that.

other than that, well tha suede just feels so damn sexy...i recommend it all the way to anyone who considers it...
 

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That looks really good and I know it "feels" nice when your inside the car. Nothing like suede for interior. Props to your buddy for a nice looking job too!
 

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Hopefuly the extra layer of fabric doesnt effect the deployment of the head curtain airbags in the even of an accident.

I've been thinking about doing my headliner/pillars in a darker fabric as well, but I've been hesistant because of the airbags.
 

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2011 Malibu LTZ 3.6L V6 Red Jewel Tintcoat
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Paint the B-pillar covers and cover the others. Only the B-pillars have airbags. Heck, it's such a small oval that when I get around to doing mine, I just might cut the oval out and glue it down with a nice edge treatment. That way there won't be a difference in the coverings and I won't be defeating the air bags.
 

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Paint the B-pillar covers and cover the others. Only the B-pillars have airbags. Heck, it's such a small oval that when I get around to doing mine, I just might cut the oval out and glue it down with a nice edge treatment. That way there won't be a difference in the coverings and I won't be defeating the air bags.
The airbag doesnt come through that small oval. Thats a screw cover. Slide the seatbetls in their full downward position, pop off that cover and you'll see the screw that secures the top of the "B" pillar trim panel to the body.

The head curtain airbag tears through the headliner an inch or so from the edge, the length of the headliner. It also pops off the "A" & "C" pillar trim panels. Theres teathers on them that keep them from flying into the car.

 

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Cool, man, thanks! I'll definitely be very careful when removing the headliner, too. Before I do it'll be worth my time to find the manual and check it first. Appreciate the info.

I was trying to imagine how they must have folded the airbag to get it to deploy through that hole, but that just doesn't make sense now that you clarified things.
 

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Discussion Starter · #20 ·
Cool, man, thanks! I'll definitely be very careful when removing the headliner, too. Before I do it'll be worth my time to find the manual and check it first. Appreciate the info.

I was trying to imagine how they must have folded the airbag to get it to deploy through that hole, but that just doesn't make sense now that you clarified things.
Heh u n me both bro...I thought the same thing till I saw the airbags myself when they were putting the HL back up...
 
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