Original bed wood?

[Cman60]

I'm not really sure if I'm believing what I'm seeing.

I think the bed wood and wood finish on my recently acquired 1968 K20 is original.

The truck has low miles, long term California owner-original black plates.

All the paint inside the bed looks original, as does the wood finish.

There was a period correct camper on it, in mint condition, and I was told it had been there since nearly new. I removed it yesterday. The tailgate was removed and boxed when new- the original paint doesn't seem to be worn off of the hinges. I cant find any rust on the truck and was told it was always garaged.

My question is:
If I want to use the truck, and I don't want to do a full refinish on the wood, what should I use? I think my main concern is UV protection to prevent discoloration. I will be using it sparingly and it will continue to be garaged.

Thanks for your help!

[rockyrivermark]

I could be wrong but it's my understanding that these Trucks originally came with yellow pine that was painted black.
You're bed or oak.
Use spar varnish. That's what's used on mahogany boars
RRM

[FirstOwner69]

Original wood was pine that was painted black in the early years Of this generation (I've heard here at least 67, maybe 68) After that it was painted or primed black. Then the top was painted body color.
Here's a picture of my 69 before I blew it apart in 2010 still showing some of the body color paint. 100% original.

[Old_Gold]

Right, originally they would have been southern yellow pine. Early trucks were black, then switched to body color, not sure what year. The floor looks like it was well done, so a little scuff and some new finish, and it will look fantastic!

[tdangle]

in early 1970 they used yellow pine and painted the top body color. At least that's mine and it is original. Not in good shape though.

[FirstOwner69]

I posted this picture of a '70 in the Craigslist Finds thread yesterday.

[Stoli]

My 67s bed is black and has the date of build stamped into the wood.

['68OrangeSunshine]

On my '68 Stepside the top wood was black, and the strips were 516 orange body color. Had it since 1973. I usually kept a cut-down sheet of 3/4'' plywood over it.
So that's a nice bed, but some one took the time to restore it.
*EDIT*
I lied. I checked today while unloading some fuel cans, and it was the OEM 516 Orange once. Kinda hard to tell, since it's mostly burned/worn off and the wood is not in good shape at all. But in sections it's still orange. I usually had a succession of plywood sheets for decking, so that's why I was confused.
Just to set the record straight.

[ShortCST]

My '68 short fleet has the original body colored paint on the wood.

[Shaky]

The original owner of my '67 put a steel plate over the wood bed back in '67. 45 years later I took it off. Here's what I found:

[faribran]

Shaky, yes I clearly recall the truck I have came from factory looking exactly like yours!

[tutone]

Beautiful bed Cman60, I love wood beds and the one above on the 67 painted black bumfuzzles me. I have ,for some reason, thought all these years, that the metal strips were body color. Great thread.

[Stoli]

If you look at the left side of crack you can see 11/22/66. I guess thats the day the bed was made

[Cman60]

Thanks for all the replies and photos. I learned quite a bit about my own truck and bed wood generally. Stoli, I especially appreciate the date code!
It would seem a sand-and-refinish is in my future. Are there any further opinions on the best product to use, preferably one that blocks UV? I'm a bit closer to the equator than most folks. Some people say treat it like a boat. Others say treat it like a deck (boats have decks). What do the "woodie" restorers use, I wonder.

Cman

[FL71C10]

The Mar-K website has an interesting test they conducted over several years of different finishes. Some failed right away, and some took a while before showing signs of failure. They only one that didn't show any failure was the solid painted finish.

Most of us do not subject our wood beds to the constant outdoor exposure that they did in these tests, so there are non-paint finishes that should hold up for a collector truck.

If you go to the tips and tricks section of their website, you can see the links.