Clear coating bed wood

[dwcardfan]

I am getting my bed wood ready to stain and clear. Just wondering if anybody has stained and shot auto clear coat on theirs. I was thinking of using PPG clear over my stain.

[rwade]

Yes I did. I stained then used reg wood poly on it, let that cure for a few weeks with some sun time. Then scuffed that with scotch bite, then auto clear. If you try to put auto clear over that oil based stain it will want "pop" or blister. The step in between acts as a buffer of sorts. That's my story anyway

Wade

[oem4me]

I'm wondering about the longevity of an automotive clear. Obviously it would be hard enough to protect, but will it be soft enough to move with the wood?
Wood, unlike metal, is constantly expanding and contracting with temperature and humidity. Reason tells me whatever coating you apply will need to be somewhat flexible in order to endure.

[dragon65]

Marine spar varnish is specifically designed for wood in marine environments and gives excellent results. I know the truck bed is not going to be in a marine environment specifically, but given its characteristics its the best choice.. If your vehicle is going to be exposed to the elements in any way then the marine spar varnish is the correct way to go. I have seen all kinds of finish used on this forum but most applications other than poly or spar are not exposed to the elements. Auto clear when sprayed is very thin, unless you plan on not having it rained on then any clear will work especially with constant upkeep. A good tip to applying clear with good results is to coat the wood with shellac first. Shellac is very forgiving and dries in 30 min and sands very easily and closes the grain after multiple coats. Then use your choice of clear to top coat..... preferably a spar varnish.

[vin63]

I personally have never used a clear on the bed wood. I've only used a stain then a sealer.

If you're after the clear coat look on wood, it would be better to go with marine grade materials.

[nsb29]

Awlgrip has a clear called Awlwood for the marine environment look it up its grate stuff

[dwcardfan]

Thanks for the help guys.

[forestb]

I used marine spar urethane and it started pealing like crazy after a couple of month. But that might be because I applied it directly on top of the stain.

[vince1]

I used rough Douglas fir that had been in a lumber yard for many years and brushed on a coat of boiled linseed oil to all sides before installing it. The reasoning behind using the linseed oil was that it had been taking up garage space for quite a number of years. I think it looks pretty good except that the boards were cut a little narrow. I may redo them one by one next year.

[nhr3]

My bed is is teak. Prior to installing the wood I applied multiple layers of Minwax Polyurethane. It takes about three coats to seal the wood. between those coats I sanded smooth with 600 grit sand paper. The next three coats I wet sanded with 800. The final coat I wet sanded 1000, 1500 and then buffed. This technique produced a mirror shine (at the time) and can be repaired easily.

[rbkanco]

Mar K web site out of OKC did a excellent study on bed coatings with results of real weather exposure

[forestb]

Originally Posted by rbkanco

Mar K web site out of OKC did a excellent study on bed coatings with results of real weather exposure

It is to bad that the product that did the best is not for sail any more. That is the one that you can still see the wood and is not opaque black.

[Arekusu]

I clear coated my bed wood after the stain. (See build thread)

Key things

1. Get the stain shade you want on all the wood and let it dry.. like a few days / week.

2. After you shoot the bed wood, it will more than likely bubble. (This may differ depending on how porous the bed wood actually is, and temp). After we shot it, we brought it into an A/C'd environment to help prevent the bubbling.. (we shot the whole truck outside.. the cab got redone outside too.

Wet sand that clear after it dries to get the bubbles out and shoot another layer of clear on it. It should then be sealed if it bubbled so now it'll be super glossy.

Good luck.

Alex

[Arekusu]

Originally Posted by rwade

Yes I did. I stained then used reg wood poly on it, let that cure for a few weeks with some sun time. Then scuffed that with scotch bite, then auto clear. If you try to put auto clear over that oil based stain it will want "pop" or blister. The step in between acts as a buffer of sorts. That's my story anyway

Wade

Looks like you had the right/better idea with the in between step between stain and clear.

I followed what Stacy Davids on Gearz did.. it worked, but like I said above, needed to wet sand and re-coat it again to get all the bubbles out of it.

[Angrywood]

I think this is the closest thread ive found that deals with what my question is. I just replaced my bed wood last summer. I put linseed oil to soak in real deep then stained it. After that dried for a few days i started my spar polyurethane coats. All six of them. Most of the bed looks fine as i kept it covered for awhile. But now there are some areas that developed the white haze. Ive searched and haven’t found a way that works. The perfect fix is to remove the wood and doing it all over. Has any one else dealt with this? After its fixed im going to starting putting a carnauba wax on top for extra protection. Thanks in advance. Ive attached a picture to to show how it came out…but it doesn’t show the haze. I just hosed the bed down when i took that picture. Its not that shiney.

[forestb]

I think something happens as soon as wood is made into a bed. It becomes impervious to any kind of wood finish. I wish I could help but all I have are stories of wow.

[1restorick]

I replaced my original bed wood last summer. I used Black Walnut wood and then stained it with Expresso stain. I used a product from Total Boat called Lust. It was a very fast drying polyurethane and I had some challenges getting my desired mirror finish. I ended up putting seven coats on and sanded out the nibs as needed between coats. This product was thick,but applied well when thinned with solvent. The struggle was to apply an un-thinned final coat as recommended. The original results were a mirror finish. However, now I can start to see some of the grain pattern in the finish as it has completely cured. If I had this project to do again, I would either use their slower drying product called Gleam, or I would consider a grain filler before the stain. I also think that a high quality 2K clear would actually work well for a garaged show truck. Here is a link to the Total Boat's products. They do work well and I have no complaints:


https://www.jamestowndistributors.co...t-detail/98160


Rick

[The Rocknrod]

That looks great 1restorick.

[bigmoe]

https://www.totalboat.com/product/penetrating-epoxy/

Haven't used it but was recommended for a sealer after stain. So you would do stain, penetrating sealer and clear coat.

[AcampoDave]

Always seems to me the sun is just as hard on finished wood as water.

[Angrywood]

Originally Posted by AcampoDave

Always seems to me the sun is just as hard on finished wood as water.

Without a doubt. That’s why I went with the spar urethane because of the UV protectant.

[Killer Bee]

from a previous thread - https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...5&postcount=14

I was looking for a durable finish for the farm truck that would show off the beauty of the real wood and hold up to the abuse.. I did some extensive research and along with my wood finishing experience and some field experts advice arrived at TotalBoat marine products from Jamestown Distributors.. they advised a high performance epoxy to seal the wood and multiple coats of spar varnish for uv protection and it has worked far beyond my expectations..

I've posted at length the products and process I used so I'll just leave some links here

product links
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...24&postcount=6

detailed process notes from my project
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...1&postcount=10

these are the basic ingredients;
prep, prep, prep
high performance professional products
patience
attention to detail

it wasn't cheap
it wasn't fast
it wasn't easy

but I couldn't be more pleased with the results so much that I have purchased the exact same products for my second longhorn..

only been two years but after numerous loads of brush, wood, and other various farm chores it still looks as brilliant as the day I put it together..

good luck!


2019








2020







2021

[forestb]

Originally Posted by Killer Bee

from a previous thread - https://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/...5&postcount=14

I was looking for a durable finish for the farm truck that would show off the beauty of the real wood and hold up to the abuse.. I did some extensive research and along with my wood finishing experience and some field experts advice arrived at TotalBoat marine products from Jamestown Distributors.. they advised a high performance epoxy to seal the wood and multiple coats of spar varnish for uv protection and it has worked far beyond my expectations..

I've posted at length the products and process I used so I'll just leave some links here

product links
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...24&postcount=6

detailed process notes from my project
http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...1&postcount=10

these are the basic ingredients;
prep, prep, prep
high performance professional products
patience
attention to detail

it wasn't cheap
it wasn't fast
it wasn't easy

but I couldn't be more pleased with the results so much that I have purchased the exact same products for my second longhorn..

only been two years but after numerous loads of brush, wood, and other various farm chores it still looks as brilliant as the day I put it together..

good luck!


2019








2020







2021

Is your truck kept inside? Is it exposed to sun and rain?

[Killer Bee]

Originally Posted by forestb

Is your truck kept inside? Is it exposed to sun and rain?

yes, parked in a barn