Hot Rods Finishing a wood truck bed

I just bought a wooden bed kit for my '55 F100 and i have never finished a bed before. Where do i start?

 

Start with sand paper. Smooth the wood down to 240 or 320 grit.

Then apply Marine Spar Varnish. Multiple coats. Letting it fully cure between every other coat. Resand with 320 or 400, and apply more coats. Think of it as cutting and buffing multiple coats of clear over paint.

Results should end up like this.

 

Or if you plan on using it oil it instead of the varnish. You have to replenish it yearly but it is way easier to replenish the oil in the finish then to repair scratched varnish.

 

I sanded mine with 180 an then 320 grit... Then applied a light coat of red oak stain then 5 coats of marine spar sanding with 00 steel wool between coats...

 

i always start by fitting it to the bed.....then sand and varnish. they never fit the way i like them out of the box.

 

Make sure you varnish both the top, bottom, and the ends of the boards so they do not "walk" or curl up on the ends on you .... been there and done that mistake ....

 

All of the above, plus make sure to finish the ends. Wood looks like a thousand straws on the ends and the results are the same.

 

Minwax Helmsman is very good. Keep everything very clean.Keep the varnish warm when applying. Don't dip the brush into the can. Pour the varnish into another container. Painters Tack cloths must be used. https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=...I5UycdHSpB6Baoa7A&sig2=pcw7-QVl430ChZGu6u116g

 

I got my bed kit from Northern Classic Trucks. The wood fit perfect but the wood had many imperfections from plaining. I had to sand with 80 grit on an orbital for 5 hours just to flatten them out. I will post a picture of the back side which I didn't sand smooth. I wouldn't recommend getting your boards from them.



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Here is the test fit.


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I stained the boards with Behlen Solar Lux medium red mahogany. It's alcohol based dye. It worked great.


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If anyone thinks that automotive clear doesn't soak into the wood you are wrong here is the first two coats and you can see the grain is soaking it right up.


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Here are the back of the boards with a total of 8 thick coats of automotive clear.


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Here are the fronts after a total of 20 coats with 220 block sanding every 4 coats. This is the final block sand with 320 then a wet sand with 400. Ready for a final 2 coats.


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Here they are after their final 2 coats. Just a final color sand and buff a week later.


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Here the boards are installed after a color sand and buff. There was a lot of cloud cover so I didn't get a bright picture to share. I added a photo of the dye I used. It had no reaction with the automotive clear. I actually used it in with the clear to give me a guide coat as to not sand all the way to the wood during all the block sanding. Mixed it in 4-1-1. Mixed and sprayed out just fine. The entire process took about 6 weeks. Giving each 4 coats a full week to fully harden and cure. I am very happy with the result. Now we will see if the clear stands the test of time.



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^x2
Oil, not varnish......Watco Danish oil.....to replenish, just add more oil. When varnish needs a redo the old varnish needs to be removed, which is way more work. Watco, just wipe on and wipe off.....repeat as needed......it's a satin finish. I think it is way better than varnish for house floors too!

 

Half the posts are about using Marine Spar Varnish, so it may seem odd that a guy with a lifetime in the the boat biz would be saying "Oh Good Gawd No!"
But I will. It's soft, cloudy, and starts to yellow damn near immediately.

With many years clearing new wood raceboats, and some antique wood restorations, this is Mark's quick and easy method:

Ease the edges, and flatten any tool marks with 80 grit.

Refine the surface in steps with a DA through to 320 grit.

Mix up some over-thinned epoxy (my preference is West System). You want it not quite like water - more like a milkshake. Pour it on, and squeege it over the surface firmly with a plastic squeege. You want to force it into the grain, but leave very little on the surface.

DA again with 320. Tack it. Shoot with three coats of catalyzed automotive clear.

Wet sand and buff just as you would the metal parts.

This produces a tough, UV resistant surface with beautiful depth and clarity. Haven't used varnish on anything in 30 years. But this is much less work (and less costly) than building up a gazillion layers.

 

The floor in my 32 delivery is finished with tung oil. What the hell is tung oil? How versatile would it be in the elements? I have a new Mack Hills 32 Ford bed and the wood fits really well. I don't want a show car finish as it's going to be a shop truck, but I want the oak to survive the elements. Some form of oil sounds good to me.

 

Watco Danish Oil is tung oil!

Also there isn't any problem with dust.....just wipe it off with a tack rag, and it is ready for tung oil.
With varnish the dust seems to rise from the grain, and when the first coat is dry you have to sand off the imbeded dust before applying a second coat of varnish. With Tung oil, just wipe on another coat, and wipe it off following the directions on the can......no sanding needed!

Probably wouldn't work with a truck that sits outside in the rain constantly, but if it is garaged and when rained on it gets wiped off, it should be fine. If it gets wet often, you might have to wipe on another coat more often to keep it looking nice.

 

Then again, if you're going to use it as a truck, might try good old black paint. I don't know what Ford used, but this is what Chevy did in the 50s.

 

There is a link in below to my F1 build. I used oil based polyurethane and it came out awesome. In California we can only get water based products but my parents have a place out in Arizona so I picked up a quart out there. Much better than a thin coat of oil or varnish because it is quite durable.

 

If you want a cheap protective coating and plan to use the truck. Mix up some Diesel and used motor oil. Not as pretty as what others have posted but I like it.

 

Yep, 8 year old thread. I am looking for suggestions on clear for the wood in my pick up. I found a stain my wife approves of (that didn't sound quite right), now I need to know what to clear it with. Car clear coat? Spar varnish? I would like to spray it on to apply it. I want it thick and deep (damn it) and durable. What are your suggestions in 2023? I am using yellow oak, stain is called Jacobean, a dark brown that looks good with the black paint. I have a variety of spray guns, but prefer HVLP. Tell me what you used, tell me what nozzle size, sanding between coats? How many, what grit? I am no carpenter so be nice.

 

Glad you brought this thread back into the light as I’ll probably redoing my Fargo next year.

 

Always found varnish problematic, unless its a show car where the bed never gets left outside, never gets used to carry goods or never ever gets wet.

Oil is more durable, more weatheroroof and is easier to maintain on a daily driver.

 

Hello,

I have worked with all sorts of wood planks, interior walls, plus wood for indoor and outdoor usages. Oil products like Watco are nice, but are more of a surface highlighter and not necessarily a protector of wood surfaces. We used plenty of Watco on our old antique oak furniture during that phase. It did make the oak stand out and smelled like a vintage furniture store. But, it was indoors only. The Watco covered wooden, beach sling chair frames had a nice sheen, but the constant salt water rubs and coatings from beach usage did a number on the wood… that is until we resurfaced the wooden parts with outdoor Polyurethane.

When we went to the next phase of our family life, we sold all of the oak furniture and had a custom made wooden trestle table with extensions made for our space. We wanted a surface that would fit in with young son’s play area and not have to worry about destruction of antique furniture. We also had the same builder make some benches with backs for a secure additional play area and for our dining usages. Indestructible for many years and it had a mild hand wiped varnish coating.

One thing that we kept from our old antique oak furniture days was a folding high chair with hand woven cane seating. When fully extended, it sat as high as a normal table and our son fit perfectly in place, while we were all at the table. But, in the initial phase, the coating on the high chair was a normal varnish and with his utensils and normal daily usage/cleaning, the wood was getting damaged.

So, I did a full sand and replenishing of the surface protection liquid. My neighbor had used this Outdoor Polyurethane, sold by various company brands.

Jnaki

When we coated the prepped surfaces, it left a deep wood look and the surface seemed relatively hard. I had bumped it in the garage and nothing was on the treated surface for cuts or marks. Not even a scratch. So, when our son had his meals on the elevated high chair, the wheels were up, creating a secure stance. When the whole unit was lowered, the wheels came into play and now, he could sit in the kitchen while were were busy cooking or doing some work.

With several coats of the Polyurethane liquid, fine sanding between the coats made a solid protective surface that could be taken outside and hosed off for cleaning if needed. The wood always looked as good as it did back when it was new. His constant usage of his utensils banging against the wood surface was enough to make marks on a normally varnish treated wood surface.

But, this polyurethane coating was almost bullet proof for marks or scratches. Granted, a toddler high chair is not a truck bed, but the wood is the same variety as most hardwood surfaces. Since those early days, we have used the same polyurethane in upgraded variations. The wood surfaces on our long line of sailboats wooden rails, doors, and hatchboards were well preserved. They lasted a long time in the harsh salt air/water splashes, constant moist air attacks daily and nightly, plus our constant bumping left no marks on the surfaces. YRMV

Note: A lot of truck beds have chrome or stainless steel accessory trim. That should add some level of protection from the boxes and stuff going into the bed. But, the polyurethane coating will keep the rain or daily foggy moisture out of the treated wood surfaces. Do not just coat the top, all edges are to be treated with several coats of outdoor polyurethane so no leakage is evident. The brand will be your choice, but the Varathane brand always gets great results.

 

^^^^excellent information JNAKI!

 

From an 80 year old carpenter on the East coast (Atlantic is 150 feet away, tough environment) - - jnaki nailed it! No substitute for sanding, wiping, ever finer, several coats, same ol, same ol. Poly spar varnish with UV filter is very durable as long as you're not hauling rocks. Golf clubs in a bag should be fine - even two bags! Truck is great!