The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Interiors Make your own cowlboard...

For a couple of years I've intended to make a new glove box...a shortened one that in the right rear part includes a shroud for an air conditioning/heating duct and I remembered I had no more cowlboard left. You know a lot of the interior of an AD truck is made with cowlboard. I called around town and discovered nobody sells it or if they do, it is very expensive, largely used for hobby projects and you won't find any long or wide enough to make something like an AD headliner without sectioning it. 32" x 48" seems to be the largest common size today and you have to order it. The cost for 2 of those being $66 total. Sad because before the Covid mess there used to be a couple of places here that sold it for about $15 for a 4 x 8 sheet. USPS and other shipping limitations have made a 4 x 8 sheet just too costly to transport I'm told. You can buy a whole pallet of it and have it trucked to you but not a couple of sheets.

So what to do? Lacking other options, I went down to Home Depot and found they sell two different types of heavy floor protection paper (one is .022" thick and the other is .042" thick). Serendipity kicked in because on the floor lay an unwrapped and slightly damaged roll of the .022" thick stuff, the fellow working there said for $18 I could have it and so off I went. I would have preferred to have the thicker material, however you get what you get sometimes. Here is one example: https://tinyurl.com/mr3eyytj

How to do it? Seems pretty much like heavy duty papier-mache, I think. I used 4 layers glued together with Wal-Mart school glue (common PVA) to make a board .088" thick. Original cowlboard was .0665" thick. The stuff will have a natural curve to it when it comes off the roll. If you cut the pieces you need for your project and draw them backwards over a counter top or work bench edge, the curve will relax. You probably could iron it if you wanted. As you see below, I spread and paint glue on the top of one piece with a 2 inch chip brush, paint with glue also the side of the piece that will attach to it, line those two up and press it down flat. Then repeat until I have 4 layers laminated. Then I walked away and let it sit for a couple of hours. Then I made any additional cuts I need on the back side (in my case it was to allow for the "board" I was making to form a curve) and once I made the basic shape of the piece I need, I used masking tape to hold it until it dries overnight.

Then I used Minwax Polyacrylic to seal it. Paint on 2 coats a couple of hours apart with the chip brush. Let everything dry for a day or two. I think you'll be surprised how much like cowlboard this "board" you've made is...especially after it gets good and dry. Very solid feeling. Once I'm finished, I'll paint with oil based enamel.

That's about it, but soon I'll add some notes and images of making a new headliner (because now that I've learned I can make this material I think I need one), new door panel pieces (need those too) and maybe some other things. The floor protection paper is normally about $35 to $40 for a 50 foot roll and I think I used a bit less than 4 ounces of school glue (I got the Wal-Mart brand for about $.75 for each 4 ounce bottle). You can see some of what I'm doing below along with the glove box I'm in the process of making.

Jon, you are just too handy.

I'd like to give that a go for making a firewall cover. I have a completely gutted cab right now so I can form fit the first sheet to the firewall and laminate layers on top of that.
It sounds easy in my head anyway.

Thanks Kevin. Carl it isn't that difficult. Actually I think you could possibly wet the stuff a bit (not too much) and form it around irregular shapes. That's on my list to try soon.

I was thinking of steaming the center section where the hump is. I just need to figure out what to use to direct the steam where I want it.

If there are any dress shops or dress makers where you live, see if any of them will loan you a Jiffy Steamer over a weekend. That is hands down the best steamer.

`This is awesome!! I have a car that needs the new headliner fiberboard. '78 Cadi so it's later GM where the fiberboard is behind the foam and felt glued to it. Can't find one for love or money, so now I know what to use in order to make one. Thank you!!

Brilliant! Thanks for the run down Jon that is a useful tip.

Thanks again for the replies and comments (both here and via email, etc). Since mentioning this, I've made a replacement headliner (both pieces) and as soon as I install insulation, do the final adjustments and decide on a color I'll paint it and install it. One additional idea came to me and I've tried it on a scrap piece of the thick paper with good results. Wood glue. Actually what I had on hand was Titebond III Ultimate Wood Glue I had bought to rebuild a foundation access door that's exposed to rain, wind, snow in New Mexico. It isn't as cheap as school glue (it is $8 or $9 for a 16 oz bottle), however it is waterproof and rated interior/exterior. Interestingly it doesn't claim to be sandable but in my experience it seems to be. The headliner I made was just glued up with common school glue and will be sealed with Minwax plus paint on the front, edges and back. You can see it partially installed below. Aside from needing the edges trimmed a bit, it seems good. More to follow as it happens. As time allows I will make replacement door panel pieces. FWIW, 4 layers of the .5 mm thick paper laminated into a nice thickness.

What did it take to get the curves into the headliner?

Similar approach to the original post where you relief cut some of the back side layers?

Looks great!

Thanks! I followed my wife's thought on this. She said she would be inclined to glue all 4 layers up, press it flat with a smooth piece of board until it set up and then set some boards on it overnight. Then, carefully and slowly make the bends first to match the metal cross-bar and last to form the bends at the front (since those are less severe). I did the same thing with the back section, however if your back section doesn't fit correctly with the cutout in the metal cross-bar, trim as needed using a razor blade and metal straightedge. I had to trim mine from about 8 inches in from each edge across to the other side. Which I don't exactly understand. I made a copy from the old one I had made around 45 years ago and followed it exactly but this time it didn't mate up just right and didn't fit. Mate the second piece with the front part (which will have the cross-bar attached and clamped in place) outside of the cab. Once they fit, adjustments in the cab are easier if you take your time and are patient moving parts in/out. Her thought was to coat with shellac, paint, etc after the assembly had been in the cab long enough to take the shape I wanted.

After letting it sit for a couple of days I can tell you 4 layers of this stuff laminated with the wood glue I mentioned are more solid than I expected. In fact, they feel about like I'd expect a 3/32" thick piece of plywood to feel and I don't know if it will be as easy to mold into shape after time has hardened it. About like a checkerboard. I like the strength and the waterproof indoor/outdoor nature of it all quite a bit, however it makes me wonder if molding this in place after the glue has just set up for 8 hours or so would be the wise way to go. I'll check to see if making it wet allows for more flexibility and if it recovers strength after that. I'm also wondering if with the added strength only 3 layers laminated up would be okay.

I moistened both sides of the roughly 1.5 x 1.5 inch piece I had here and bent it to match the glue bottle (more of an angle than anywhere you'll have on the headliner). Then I left it to dry overnight. It did well...the four layers released a bit but not very much. The rigidity didn't seem to change much at all. Then this morning out of curiosity I diluted the wood glue 50/50 with water (something they tell you not to do) and painted both sides of the piece with that solution. We'll see what happens there.

I need to do something with my headliner.

Tempted to try this, but my time is probably a bigger limitation than the cost of one from Jim Carter or what not.

How badly do the ones from the specialty vendors fit? I’ve always imagined this being a giant PITA which is why I’ve managed to put it off.

JW51, I bought a headliner from Jim Carter and didn't have issues with installing it. It fit fairly well, except that I had a leak (now sealed) at the top center of the windshield and the headliner pulled away from under the inside windshield trim. I was able to loosen the trim and get it back into place, and it looks OK. It took my wife and myself about an hour to install the headliner.

Jon, what was the total cost of your laminated cardboard headliner? About $50?

The 50-53 Jim Carter version is $40 plus shipping for a black one and $83 for grey one. What was the factory color?

They also list a 47-49 2 piece headliner. Was the 47-49 different from the 50-53 two piece headliner?

I haven't bought one from any of the usual suspect vendors. The last one I made was apx 45 years ago and I made it using the original headliner (which was in pretty rough shape). A friend bought/installed one (from which seller I don't know) and told me the problem he had was that it shrunk after he installed it. And that caused it to come up and gap over the windlace piece at the top of the door.

The cost? Well, actually I wanted the thicker version of this stuff (there are 2 types) but there was an open roll that had been returned at Home Depot and it was the thinner type. They sold it to me for $18 as I recall and I bought maybe 10 or 12 bottles of school glue when everyone was selling them for 50 cents each. Back to school sales. I made a couple of glove boxes and two headliners (the first one I pre-bent and decided I didn't like that approach) and now I'm making the side panels for the doors. I think there will still be enough in the roll to make another headliner set. The roll is 36 inches wide and there's about 5/8 inch of stuff still left in the roll. So even if I had paid full price for the cardboard stuff and full price for the glue, I think I might have $25 or $30 in the headliner and the door side pieces are being cut from various left-over pieces. And it probably would be less than that if I had just made one headliner set but this has all been a learning experience.

Installing it isn't all that hard if you have the pieces cut properly. It is easier if the windlace piece is removed and out of the way but that isn't a must-do. You can use a ball end tool to pull the windlace rubber over the new headliner. Now is a better time to do this than summer. Just be patient when you're making the bends. Attach the rear edge of the front headliner piece to the cross-bar first and clamp it (GM appeared to have clamped in the center first and worked their way to the sides). The back piece just slides in place and is held by 11 screws and a molding.

I don't know if 47-49 was different. I've seen that before so there must have been something there. I've owned two pickups which still had the factory headliners and door pieces in them. Both were black. I've decided to paint this one a flat almond/beige. The truck is lipstick red and the interior is a match to the original goldish color...some called it champagne but that wasn't the color GM used and I can't remember the name of it now.

Otto, The original headliner from my truck was brown. I ordered the Medium Brown from Jim Carter. They do list early AD truck headliners different from the later AD's, but i have no idea what the difference might be.

Sorry for so many questions, Jon. Did you have an old headliner to use as a template? How did you cut your new one to the proper shape?

45 years ago I had an original one...and I still have the pieces of it, actually. I used that as a guide and went from there. However back then I could buy 4 feet by 8 feet sheets of cowlboard for $7.50 each so I could afford to make some mistakes. The original was in pretty rough condition but it gave me enough of a guide for a good start. At this point it is really in rough shape. I still have the one I made all those years ago, however. If I have enough kraft paper I could trace it for a guide. I just held it flat on the cowlboad I had made and traced around it allowing a bit extra on the sides (in case I needed it).

My truck is a 51. It has what I believe to be an original headliner. Not terrible shape. A couple small holes and a water stain or two.

If/when I ever tackle this job, I could make a pattern that would be shareable in some form. I’d have to think about how to best do that.

To klhansen:
I’d love to see a pic of your medium brown headliner. That is one of the two colors that Carter lists for the cardboard style. The other being gray.

I’d say my current is more brown than gray, but only by a slim margin. I’ve always wondered what the same color replacement would be called.

Here's the best pic I have right now that shows the headliner. The lighting isn't the best, but it's pretty close to the interior color that I used (just slightly darker than the original.) It looks pretty good in real life.

Well, I got curious and I crawled to a different part of the attic. A place where old flat things are stored. Below you can see the headliner removed from a 1951 GMC, guaranteed original. I thought it had been black, however it wasn't and I apologize for any confusion. It had been painted black at some point but originally was a grayish brownish color. The one from the 1952 was originally black, however. You can also see most of what remains of the pieces I saved. The glove box is still up there somewhere. Hope this helps.