Wood Bed Varnish...Pics please

[chevlwb68]

So I am getting ready to do my wood bed in my 68 lwb. Most likely going with Oak. I have heard many different things on varnish and stains. Can I get some recommendations and pics to back them up. Greatly appreciated.

[HuggerCST]

I researched it before I did mine too, and if you want a natural wood look, it's gonna take some maintenance. I haven't found anything that will hold up in the weather. I ended up using stain and 6 coats of Helmsman spar urethane on my white oak. I've had the truck together for about 6 months, and it already has some cracks in the coating, and a couple of splits in the wood. I think it was Mar-k that did a couple of tests on various products. You should be able to find it on their site.

[Fitz]

Originally Posted by chevlwb68

So I am getting ready to do my wood bed in my 68 lwb. Most likely going with Oak. I have heard many different things on varnish and stains. Can I get some recommendations and pics to back them up. Greatly appreciated.

Sikkens Cetol Marine. Made for the Teak on boats. It has a higher UV blocker content than any other exterior clear finish. Stands up to sun and rain. Used it on the Purpleheart bed in my truck...three years in the Arizona sun.

[HuggerCST]

I wonder if I can put that over urethane.

[gonline71]

Bruce Horkey sells a complete finish kit. sandpaper, stain, brushes, varnish, etc.

http://www.horkeyswoodandparts.com/

I used it and was extremely happy with the results.

[67vetteal]

How about a Plastic Wood Grain Composite of some kind? UV is always a problem but a good Bed Cover can eliminate that. Al W.

[gkesseru]

See previous discussion
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=391890

[chevysittinsidewayz]

drove to home depot one night and bought some oak plywood and red oak stain. used the poly clear i already had, including hardware i probably have $200 in it all.

[msgross]

good thread...

[RaceAGMC]

I wanna see MOAR!!!

[chipflyer]

McCloskey's Man-o-war spar varnish - satin. Four brushed coats per side with light sanding between coats.

Jeff

[hayhauler71]

polyurethane 7 coats and buffed but has a truck cover to protect.

[chevlwb68]

Originally Posted by HuggerCST

I researched it before I did mine too, and if you want a natural wood look, it's gonna take some maintenance. I haven't found anything that will hold up in the weather. I ended up using stain and 6 coats of Helmsman spar urethane on my white oak. I've had the truck together for about 6 months, and it already has some cracks in the coating, and a couple of splits in the wood. I think it was Mar-k that did a couple of tests on various products. You should be able to find it on their site.

Hey Hugger,

Did you not do any bed to frame bolts? Bed looks sweet and clean without them. Did you secure it some other way?

[chevlwb68]

Hey everyone,

Thanks so much for the advice.

I bought the SS Strips last saturday from a local shop, Dan's Classic Auto Parts, so no shipping

Been pricing hardware now. Have bolt count and sizes thanks to Dan's. Actually seems cheaper just to order the kit from one of the resto companies such as Classic Parts or LMC.

Then just have to get the wood. The kits are pretty expensive + shipping. Probably gonna do the wood myself since my buddy has a full wood shop and after getting him the diagrams and dimensions he says it should be a piece of cake. Finding out that lumber is a lot more expensive than I would have thought.

[HuggerCST]

Originally Posted by chevlwb68

Hey Hugger,

Did you not do any bed to frame bolts? Bed looks sweet and clean without them. Did you secure it some other way?

Thanks, and good catch! I cut off the top of the bolts and welded the studs in my cross sills for a cleaner look. Not having to drill the holes and countersink the offset washers made the wood work much easier too.

[MrBlue]

Nice Thread. My 2-cents. Wood is not like the metal our trucks are made of. It has tends to expand and contract with every change in the weather. (I also do some serious woodworking when not playing with the trucks.) So no matter what you put on it, it will eventually crack. You need to seal all 6-surfaces with the same product, top-bottom-sides-ends. A minium of 3-coats is required here. And while more is usually better, you are only deepening the shine and not adding any further protection to the wood with the addition of more coats. Now all that being said, I used the same automotive clear coat on the wood in the bed of one of my trucks as I did on the truck. Spraying the clear allows you to put down more product, and also it will dry quicker than using another methods. I would highly suggest 3-coats and then letting it dry overnight. Then a final sanding the next day with the addition of a final coat. This usually leaves a glass smooth finish.
Thanks,
MrBlue

[stllookn]

I don't know...some just like it stock!

[bigsnookmaster]

I used a product called ICA. It's a multi stage product and not cheap by any means. It's 2-part and 3 stage. Here's a pic:

[71 super]

I will have to dig out some pictures of my bedfloor but here are the basics. Cabinet grade white oak stained with a heritage oak, pecan mix to get the darker color. I followed instructions from my father-in-law who installed bowling alley lanes for many years. I sanded everything smooth, then used a high quality polyurathane clear gloss. Then the poly was dry to the touch (dries from outside in) following his instructions, I hit the clear with a buffer. According to him this causes the fibers of the poly to cross link and makes them very hard and bond tighter. I then wet sanded the finish allowed the surface to dry and followed using the same method for six coats. Buffing between each time. I did top and sides in this fashion (several day process) and then I mixed tung oil and poly together for the bottom. The oil actually drew the poly into the wood and increased the weight of each board quite a bit. This mixture got very hard and seemed to pentrate very,very well. The truck has been finished for 8 years, and there are no signs of cracks weathering spliting or other associated problems. I did allow the wood to climatize for a couple of weeks prior to any work.

[chevlwb68]

Has anyone used Hemlock for the wood bed. Pine is cheap and affordable, but worried about longevity. Oak looks sweet and is durable, but is rather expensive. I found some real nice looking Hemlock at Lowes. It is about in the middle for price of pine and oak.

Thanks.