When i was redoing my box I had thought about going with Teak. Then you can oil it anytime, with the box assembled. You dont have to worry about varnish pealing, yellowing or moisture getting under it. Just a thought. Teak is most commonly used on the outer decks of boats. Even the might MO has a teak deck.

 

Oil is a good choice for almost any type of wood . Any type of finish that goes on the wood instead of in the wood will eventually blister and peel . With an oil finish you can put on additional coats as necessary without a lot of surface prep . With wood like white oak it takes a lot of coats to get a good seal but it then is easy to maintain . I like Minwax oil but there many others that are very good .Just allow plenty of time to dry between coats or you will wind up with a sticky mess .

 

I did a deck for a client years ago with Trex, and it did leave a gummed up edge when cut. Maybe it is better now with less plastic, but I would still never run it through my planer. Just my opinion, but then I am partial to wood being a woodworker for the last 35 years...

 

I too am a woodworker, and love a beautiful fine piece of wood as nature's artwork, but I also think it's properties should be respected and there are places where it should not be used. Attempting to use anything but painted utility wood for bedwood is a lesson in frustration unless it is not going to see light of day. Who would leave fine wood furniture out in the weather on their patio and expect it to look good for long? If you want to use a natural finished wood for show reasons then you'll need to protect it from the weather and sun with a bed cover and under a sun/weather shade when showing it outdoors just like you'd do with a fine dining room table. Man has yet to come up with a clear protective finish for wood that will withstand the elements. Ford stopped using wood for bed floors many years ago for a reason, there is other more suitable material available, it just may not look as "pretty" or fit with everyone's esthetics.

 

There is one way to natural finish wood that might possibly protect it and stand up to the weather. I don't know if anyone has actually tested it because of cost and application difficulty.
The finishing method I'm talking about is using cyanoacrylate resin aka "superglue". It soaks into wood, filling the cells and intimately combining with the wood fiber as well. Trex uses other resins and pulverized wood fiber to make their product, the difference would be the CYA would only penetrate a short distance into the natural wood plank. I have used CYA mixed with wood dust to fill and repair damaged wood turnings and soaked areas to stabilize soft or decayed wood and to harden and strengthen it as well as to waterproof it.

 

Howdy,


Another thing you might consider, the stuff is fairly slippery.

It's sort of like having a bedliner. Everything in the back will slide around if it's not tied down....

 

This is the product I am considering Horizon Decking Comparison | Composite Decking, Fencing, Deck Railing Products - Fiberon . It comes with a 25 year fade and ware warranty.

 

I used Trex ("Brasilia" color/style) for my '54, because I had a lot left over from building a deck. It ain't the prettiest bed, but the truck is a daily driver and the bed gets Used. It's been in there about 4 years now, no special supports, no issues.

A local rock yard here has an old car show sometimes. It was really nice to go to it, and when we were done there, drive Ol' Betty around to the front and start throwing a bunch of ~1 sq.ft. lava rocks into the bed. The looks I got from some of those guys was PRICELESS!

 

What would be the best material for a bed for a working truck? I am wanting to pull trailers, haul wood and use my truck for what Mr. Ford wanted it to be used for. 1948 f6

 

The best thing about a trex-type bed: no scratch/gouge problem at all! Not only are gouges very hard to see since the material is the same inside and out, gouges don't open the bed to rust (metal) or rip open the finish or need re-oiling (wood).
While trex-stuff doesn't support long term weight (a little sag in my deck from a heavy planter for years showed me that) our truck beds usually have pretty close support points compared to decks anyway (4 support points on my 6 1/2 ft bed). Plus the bed rails carry a lot of the weight. The boards are already close enough to the right size (1" x 5 1/2" actual), and no real need to mill in rail guides, since, well it's just trex. No tight fit guides means no expansion problems from heat/cold too.
I love real wood on my truck, have it all over (bed rails, a removable trunk, rear trim, & working on a dash expansion). But for the bed that gets used and abused - Yay Plastic Wood!

 

And, maybe I can figure out how to post a picture of it.....

Instagram

 

Here you go DadOh1 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

That's true, but my urethaned wood is even slipperier.