C3 roof liner panels developed stickiness

[John Chesher]

On my '81, there are molded plastice "roof liner" pieces that go around the t-tops and down the pillars behind the seats. They are covered with thin vinyl or leather (black). Anyway, they have developed an extreme stickiness over the years. I took them off and washed with Dawn and water. Didn't improve. Any ideas on what that material is, what the cause of the stickiness is, and what I can do to eliminate it? It doesn't appear to be just on the surface. It appears that the entire vinyl/leather covering has softened and/or deteriorated. I was thinking maybe mildew had destroyed them, but the car has always been garaged and nothing else shows signs of mildew.
Ideas?

[mikemccagh]

Re: C3 roof liner panels developed stickiness

doubt mildew/yeast/fungus or any other such critter is causing the vinyl to deteriorate. most likely secondary to years of exposure to excess temperatures and oxidation.An old fella recently gave me a 30k mile 73 blazer that was put outside the day it was bought and NEVER spent a minute inside. over the years the vinyl/plastic that was used to construct the steering wheel got so slippery/sticky/ rank etc that i had to wrap it in duct tape in order to steer the old girl around the farm. you'll probably have to replace all affected pieces as i know of nothing that 'll remove the slime. good luck, mike

[Gary S.]

Re: C3 roof liner panels developed stickiness

John, I have seen this in two other Corvettes. It is my (limited) opinion that the vinyl has started to deteriorate and is not salvagable.
Gary

[Chuck S.]

Re: C3 roof liner panels developed stickiness

John, before you replace all your original interior moldings with reproductions, you might consider using spray vinyl dye (paint) to seal the surfaces. It might gain you a little more time.

I would rather have the original moldings dyed, than try and find repros that duplicated original appearance. I would clean the surface lightly with lacquer thinner, use the vinyl dye primer, and apply the dye as directed. If the dye doesn't stay on, you can alway revert to Plan B, replacement.

[Gary S.]

Re: C3 roof liner panels developed stickiness

As Chuck suggested, I would try various things before I got drastic. My friends 73 had vinyl that no amount of cleaning or prep would fix. He wiped it down with everything from lacquer thinner to Simple Green to no avail. As I mentioned, I have a grand total of two cars experience with this though.
Gary

[Tony H.]

Re: C3 roof liner panels developed stickiness

I have had good results with removing the stickiness on the vinyl interior using concentrated Simple Green. I sprayed it on and let is soak for an hour or so. Then I scrubbed the surface with a stiff brush followed by a thorough rinse with warm water. I repeated this process several times until the stickinesss was gone. They are still sticky-free and have been so for about 8 years.

[Jack H.]

Re: C3 roof liner panels developed stickiness

SEM makes an excellent product (in shake 'n spray can) for preparing vinyl surfaces for paint/dye. Follow the mfgr's instructions on the can and it will 'lift/float' dirt, grease, residual cleaning components out of the underlying vinyl surface. Who knows, you might escape the 'stickies' without having to re-dye/paint the underlying vinyl?

[Chuck S.]

Re: C3 roof liner panels developed stickiness

Jack, do you have a product number? SEM makes several products for vinyl prep. See "Prep Materials" at the link below.




SEM Products

[Jack H.]

Re: C3 roof liner panels developed stickiness

Under their 'Prep Products' pull down, it's the #3834 item I was thinking about (in rattle can). However, as I reviewed the other products I spotted two similar vinyl/plastic prep/cleaner items. Hey, they might even be better! Worth asking a counterman at your local SEM distributor....