painting wood bed floor???

[J.Cagle]

Need suggestions on painting the boards for a truck I'm restoring. I've read the mar-k website that said to use oil base primer. Could I use oil base primer, sand the boards, then paint them with a hardened automotive acrylic enamel paint?
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[oem4me]

Originally Posted by J.Cagle

Need suggestions on painting the boards for a truck I'm restoring. I've read the mar-k website that said to use oil base primer. Could I use oil base primer, sand the boards, then paint them with a hardened automotive acrylic enamel paint?
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Bottom line is wood moves with the level of moisture in the atmosphere. NOTHING is going to stop that. If the paint is too "hard" it will crack, leading to eventual failure. Whatever the base, (oil, water, urethane,etc.) I would use high quality primer and enamel specifically meant for exterior wood applications.

[kieth]

We cut our own wood (pine) then sanded it, then added POR15 black 3 coats as a base, then bruched on 2 coats of oil enamel for UV protection...no troubles in 10,000 miles ....here is what it looks like...

http://kieth.smugmug.com/Trucks/66-G...7906&k=tLxvc8z


I have since added a vinyl tonneau cover (now a big trunk plus it stops the weather and sun from degrading the wood)

http://kieth.smugmug.com/Trucks/66-G...8462&k=RjQx6ZF


http://kieth.smugmug.com/Trucks/66-G...6670&k=vfHng9N




PS the wood only cost 55.00 #2 pine at a local lumber yard home despot and lowes were much higher.......we cut the wood to size and cut the grooves ourselves.........saved enough to then splurge on the ss trim and bolts

[spacedebris]

I had an "Apache" pop up trailer a few years ago. It had a plywood floor and I learned some things the hard way. When I first got it, the first thing I did was paint the under-side with bed liner. My thought was that I'd protect it from road grime and what-not. All I ended up doing was sealing in the moisture and the floor rotted away in just over a year. Chalk it up to a learning experiance. So next, once I replaced all the wood. (What a job, let me tell you). I decided that I still wanted to protect it but I for personal reasons, I didnt want to use anything like deck sealers, I wanted some kind of paint. So I tried an acrylic primer with rattle-can automotive paint. It lasted about 5 years and still became very mushy, and the paint was cracked and peeling. Was not happy with it. This last time I decided I never wanted to try replacing that floor again, too much work. LOL. So I used a marine grade paint. I was very happy with it, never had any more issues. I used it for another 10 years until I sold it. I saw it again about a year ago and talked to the guy, the paint is still in excellent shape, he's had it about 6 years now. So 16 years this time. I am now a big believer in using marine paint for exterior wood if you want actual paint. just my .02 cents worth

[J.Cagle]

That looks sweet kieth! I guess I'll just get all oil base product and paint em. Now, should I spray or brush?
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[64fleetside]

I brushed mine using auto enamel w/o hardener, thinned the first couple coats 50/50 so it would soak into the wood. Looks good so far, its a daily driver, been a couple years but truck lives inside at night.

[theastronaut]

I painted the oak floor in the '65 I restored. I used an oak kit from Trucks USA that we painted black to replicate how it left the factory.





The paint process:

Layed the strips out to prime them. I used Benjamin Moore Fresh Start all purpose primer.


I brushed the first two coats on and let it dry.


Still rough after priming; I didn't sand it before since I knew the grain would soak up the primer.


After sanding with 80 grit on a DA to get it smooth:




Test fitting the floor before the final coats of primer. Didn't need any trimming, just had to mark where to drill the perimeter holes. The wear strips were powdercoated satin black. This pic also shows the color matched Line X spray in bedliner.


Two more coats of primer, sprayed with my Sata KLC primer gun with 2.5 tip. Then sanded with 180 on a DA just enough to remove the orange peel. I didn's sand enough to remove the grain of the wood though.


I sprayed the wood with two coats of Benjamin Moore Low Gloss exterior latex, thinned with Floetrol.


Smooth, but still shows the grain:


Back in the bed: