Totally non-standard headliner type, apparently.... help?

[dsm363]

I'd get back in the production line. At around 9,000 you should have plenty of time to evaluate your options before you have to lock in production.

[neroden]

Neroden, my only other thought for you is to maybe get together with someone who does get an early Model S delivery in your area and see if they are willing to take it (with you) to a couple of different after market shops so that those shops can physically see the car and give you a more accurate answer to what your potential options might be.

That would make sense -- it'll certainly be a *lot* easier for a custom shop which can look at an actual car -- but of course very few people in my area are getting a Model S! And I'm quite far from all the big cities where the really high-end custom shops are.

I may well take you up on that Chicago offer, I do visit the Chicago area since I have family there.

spatterso911 -- thanks very much for the offer... California, however, is a bit far from upstate NY!

With my current car in good shape and driving relatively little per year, I can afford to wait to get back in the queue, but really I probably will do so eventually (and hey, maybe the 2014 model will have some improvements, like the Roadster 2.0 did).

[neroden]

I'm with a lot of others on this thread that it should be possible to work something out. And that said, the smartest move on your part was to cancel your reservation and wait for someone with a car in hand to take it to a customization shop to see what can be done.

Thanks. I guess I am better off as a "later adopter" than an "early adopter".

I do *very much* appreciate the people who are willing to have their car examined by custom shops for my benefit...

At the very least you should be able to have someone just paint the alcantara with a clearcoat polyurethane seal.

Depends on what sticks to Alcantara and how thick the seal would have to be to stop "shedding". Some things just don't stick properly to other things, and it's a substance I don't know much about. Polyurethane sticks to a lot of things, though.

That would be crude, but it would work. A customizer will be able to do a much more aesthetically professional job with a greater selection of choices.

Of course if I get a Standard -- now that my Signature reservation is cancelled -- I'll have microfiber polyester headliner, and dash and door inserts, to replace/seal. Actually, customizers may understand better how to seal those more common materials. A customizer could probably *examine* the attachments on a Signature, as the attachment will be the same.

If I can arrange to solve these problems, it'll probably end up saving me money over the Signature anyway. Hopefully with all your help I'll end up getting 'the perfect' model S for me in a year or two.

[mwu]

I think you could probably use a vacuum bagging process to seal the headliner. You would use the headliner as its own mold to laminate another layer to it sealing away the polyester. I would probably choose an epoxy resin. Someone here may know more than me, but my understanding is epoxy resin creates a chemical bond whereas polyester resins create mechanical bonds (besides, you'd be allergic to that resin anyway). You could even use the process to put new fabric over the existing one if you didn't just want a hard smooth surface. I'd probably do it in a two-step process if I wanted to ensure a perfect covering over the existing headliner.

The process shouldn't be too expensive or difficult. There are plenty of people who build their own skateboards, kayaks, and hobby airplane parts using this process. You could do it yourself if you weren't so allergic -- my main concern would be getting the seal you need without making the headliner too thick to fit back into the car if any other panels need to overlap it.

[spatterso911]

I think you could probably use a vacuum bagging process to seal the headliner. You would use the headliner as its own mold to laminate another layer to it sealing away the polyester. I would probably choose an epoxy resin. Someone here may know more than me, but my understanding is epoxy resin creates a chemical bond whereas polyester resins create mechanical bonds (besides, you'd be allergic to that resin anyway). You could even use the process to put new fabric over the existing one if you didn't just want a hard smooth surface. I'd probably do it in a two-step process if I wanted to ensure a perfect covering over the existing headliner.

The process shouldn't be too expensive or difficult. There are plenty of people who build their own skateboards, kayaks, and hobby airplane parts using this process. You could do it yourself if you weren't so allergic -- my main concern would be getting the seal you need without making the headliner too thick to fit back into the car if any other panels need to overlap it.

Keep in mind that the curtain airbags must still be able to deploy.

[mwu]

That is true. I can't imagine a thin coating of epoxy and an additional layer of fabric would stop the airbag, but it could divert the airbag or damage the airbag during deploy. I'm pretty sure the epoxy would crack and break for such a thin layer. Surfboards are made with the stuff and I know just how easy it is to ding and crack those. I'd want to double-check with a pro to make sure that wouldn't be a worry. Another thing to note -- if the epoxy does crack and give way to the airbag on deploy, the polyester would then be exposed and neroden may have to deal with an allergic reaction in addition to the accident.

The best solution would be for Tesla to use a different fabric during the headliner lamination process for neroden. Another potential solution would be to use the headliner to create a mold that could be used to create a new headliner using a similar process to Tesla's, but it'd face the same issue as the one I described earlier -- you'd need to be sure that the airbags could deploy properly. Even though it would be based on a mold of the original, that wouldn't guarantee the same characteristics under the stress of airbags being deployed.

[neroden]

The best solution would be for Tesla to use a different fabric during the headliner lamination process for neroden.

Indeed. Maybe they'll be willing to do that for some price at some point.

[dsm363]

If they're willing to do a custom paint job for $12,000 maybe they'd be willing to do something with the headliner for a similar price. We were to able to confirm that it is indeed impossible for them to pull the car off the line and do this for you or just that they weren't willing to do it. Maybe they don't want to start a precedent of custom interior work but I'd imagine your request is not common.

[jerry33]

To use the different material they would likely have to go through the certification process again, or at least part of it, and probably crash a few cars to prove it's safe. Unless there are a couple dozen requests I don't see it being economically viable for Tesla. Even at $12K a pop.

[bonnie1194]

I'm confused on why headliner material would make a difference in crash testing. It's not part of the structural integrity of the vehicle. Is it?? The pano roof has no material.