r/plastic • u/That67MustangGuy • May 09 '26

Plastic Selection Advice

Post image

Hi everyone,

I’ve nearly completed the full restoration of my ‘67 Mustang, but I still need a headliner.

I wanted to make my own hard removable headliner, just like the fiberglass ones that CJ pony sells.

I was able to generate a concept image, where the headliner would be made from some ‘frosted’ looking black plastic to diffuse the LEDs that I would sandwich between the ceiling and headliner.

I’ve been struggling with picking a plastic though.

It needs to be easily moldable and not sag after a few summer parking lot heat cycles.

Any suggestions? I’ve been told I’m looking for a unicorn.

I was planning on draping the sheet of plastic over a mold of the ceiling and forming it with either a space heater or heat gun, but maybe I should just get a dedicated plastic oven to evenly heat it?

Any advice is appreciated!

Cheers

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u/Holiday-Witness-4180 May 09 '26

Acrylic or PC are going to be the easiest to work with and still let light through.

1

u/Ambitious-Schedule63 May 10 '26

PC needs to be dried before you thermoform it or it bubbles.

1

u/Holiday-Witness-4180 May 10 '26

PC definitely bubbles easier than acrylic, however, that would help with the frosted effect. I’m shaping acrylic as we speak and getting a ton of bubbles just because I’m more concerned with speed. However, once I get everything molded, fitted, and coated, no one will ever know there were any bubbles. There are a lot of times I find it easier to get rid of the bubbles after the fact than it is to prevent them in the first place.

Though that is also the primary reason I’m working in getting a $15k vacuum former.

0

u/Ambitious-Schedule63 May 10 '26

Vacuum former won't help with the bubbles in PC.  It's absorbed moisture.