mk6 gti headliner removal discussion

[dcpppf]

So I want to keep this as a rolling log of questions/hiccups. I have seen some videos on the removal and references to a really good DIY thread on another forum that appears to no longer be available.

I started removing mine last night and plan to take my sweet time over the next week and a half or so as I really don't drive the car much any more.

So far i've got the sun visors, front light board, and rear dome assemblies out... questions that I've formed thus far are below. Any additional tips/tricks are more than welcome!

1. both of my sun visor control plugs (coming thru the sun visor arm) were clipped in to the headliner. It was a pain to get them unclipped. I had to snake my middle finger thru the light hole and push it from the back while pulling on the cables towards the windshield... Not sure how plugging those back in is going to go, but will cross that bridge later.

2. the sun visor vanity lights were clipped in to a metal ring. How is that ring held to the fabric/headliner? Is that simply glued in place too and will be pretty easy to pull out and put back on or should I look at replacing those with clean ones? Haven't tried pulling from the headliner but they are pretty thin metal and i could see them getting chewed up pretty easily.
EDIT: answered below with very helpful photo.

3. The front center light console thing. I have unclipped the wires for the sun roof dial/lights and removed that. But the main "housing" will not budge. I plan to leave it in until the headliner is out to see if i can spot where the other clips/screws are. But if anyone has any tips on getting that removed I'd be all ears. Was struggling to find anything last night.
EDIT: answered below. I failed to remove the sunglass holder tray that exposed 2 final screws.

 

[drval85]

When you do drop the liner, the rear dome lights are powered by a ribbon wire. Really thin and fragile. Don’t break it! I believe it’s taped along the driver side from the front to back.

 

[butimnotaracer]

The front center light console has screws on each side under the middle trim... forget exactly which part of the whole thing is removable but if i remember correctly the little vented portion is removable and that's where the 2 screws are. Not sure if that's what you're looking for

 

[dcpppf]

Yeah I got those screws you're talking about butimnotaracer. Got that whole "light board" out, but the outer trim/bezel bit is still there. And noted on the ribbon wire! that's one of my bigger fears with pulling it all out lol.

Last night i got the a and b pillar covers popped loose. Only thing left are the C pilliars and then dropping the headliner itself.

Those damn airbag badges on the pillars were a pain in the ass. broke 5 out of the 6

 

[dcpppf]

Ok I'm in the middle of unclipping the headliner and I cannot for the life of me get the front middle loose. I'm taking a break for fear of breaking something. But there is this black plastic piece in front of the housing for the lights that feels like it is the problem area. Right above my two fingers where the bolts were removed

EDIT: ok thanks to this thread I got the two i'm pointing at... but discovered there are two more on the back side of the sun visor "inner" mounting points. Any tips on those would be appreciated... for real taking a break this time

https://www.golfmk6.com/forums/index.php?threads/help-removing-headliner.276478/page-2

 

[brat_burner]

Ok I'm in the middle of unclipping the headliner and I cannot for the life of me get the front middle loose. I'm taking a break for fear of breaking something. But there is this black plastic piece in front of the housing for the lights that feels like it is the problem area. Right above my two fingers where the bolts were removed

EDIT: ok thanks to this thread I got the two i'm pointing at... but discovered there are two more on the back side of the sun visor "inner" mounting points. Any tips on those would be appreciated... for real taking a break this time

https://www.golfmk6.com/forums/index.php?threads/help-removing-headliner.276478/page-2

The dome lamp trim has to come off. I don’t recall exactly but when you open the sunglass case, there are two areas where you have to pop it loose with a trim tool.

 

[dcpppf]

Thanks brat. It doesn't feel like it is connected to the roof so I plan to pull the headliner out with the lamp trim still on it. See if i can spot those clips you're referring to from the back side. I can't seem to get the sunglass holder/tray to pop free to look for screws behind it.

 

[brat_burner]

Thanks brat. It doesn't feel like it is connected to the roof so I plan to pull the headliner out with the lamp trim still on it. See if i can spot those clips you're referring to from the back side. I can't seem to get the sunglass holder/tray to pop free to look for screws behind it.

I could be wrong but you still need to take it off if you are redoing the liner. If you have a sun roof, it will be snapped in all the way around there. Sorry, it's been a while since I did mine.

 

[dcpppf]

I could be wrong but you still need to take it off if you are redoing the liner. If you have a sun roof, it will be snapped in all the way around there. Sorry, it's been a while since I did mine.

Oh for sure it'll have to come off to get the new fabric on. I'm just thinking I can remove the trim after the headliner is out. Cause I'm not seeing a clip or two holding it in; so hopefully once the headliner is out I'll see them from above.

Did you do anything special with the metal "frames" around your sun visor lights? Curious how those bad boys are held in to the headliner.

 

[brat_burner]

Oh for sure it'll have to come off to get the new fabric on. I'm just thinking I can remove the trim after the headliner is out. Cause I'm not seeing a clip or two holding it in; so hopefully once the headliner is out I'll see them from above.

Did you do anything special with the metal "frames" around your sun visor lights? Curious how those bad boys are held in to the headliner.

I just left them alone.

 

[dcpppf]

Thanks! man that pic makes me wanna barf lol. did you simply brush your nuts off or did you end up soaking with something like a goo gone?

FYI, good call on that console... i got mine the rest of the way out just a sec ago. i didn't see how the sunglass holder came out, but that clicked on me and i found the two missing screws.

Now... just gotta get thsoe two troublesome clips on the back side of the sunvisor "inner" mounts so i can drop the damn thing.

 

[brat_burner]

Thanks! man that pic makes me wanna barf lol. did you simply brush your nuts off or did you end up soaking with something like a goo gone?

FYI, good call on that console... i got mine the rest of the way out just a sec ago. i didn't see how the sunglass holder came out, but that clicked on me and i found the two missing screws.

Now... just gotta get thsoe two troublesome clips on the back side of the sunvisor "inner" mounts so i can drop the damn thing.

Since it was already coming off and causing it to sag, the leftover foam/adhesive came off pretty easily. Just used a shop vac to clean up.

I don't remember having much trouble with the inner mounts.

 

[Hungry4hops]

Did you do anything special with the metal "frames" around your sun visor lights? Curious how those bad boys are held in to the headliner.

I just bent them from the back side with a flat screwdriver and they just fell right off I'll bend them back on after fabric. They bend really easy.

 

[dcpppf]

Thanks hungry! 100% accurate lol. Got mine removed with ease last night. For thsoe "outer" clips I just used a pry bar up as close as i could get to the clip and pulled harder than I'd like to admit. The clips popped out of the plastic (stayed in the roof), but thankfully nothing broke. so we're all good to reuse them.

I used a brass brush to remove all excess foam last night. Need to clean out the nooks and crannies, but i'm about 95% ready for glue. Planning to do that this weekend when i'll have an extra set of hands, but again. Any tips/advice I'm all ears.

Only real concern I have after watching several tutorials is if I'll have any issues putting fresh glue on top of dried glue (on the foam/fabric). I'm planning on doing the entire "face" and letting sit for an hour or two before flipping over and doing the boarder/cut outs. But by that time the first round of glue will have dried so I'm not sure if putting wet glue on top of dried glue will weaken the adhesion for some reason when i trim the fat and go to fold over the edges/cut out around the sun roof hole.