My '49 F-1 is ready for the oak wood bed kit bought sometime back. I've been told several dozen "best ways" to stain & coat these before the stainless hold down strips go on. Best so far is from a boat guy who used automotive clearcoat over his teak decking strips and he says its as new 6 years later! Other tell me to use water based stain, then clear coat while others say NO!
Use Danish oil & no varnish while still others say varnish...!!! Thoughts here especially with experience seeing the result years later would be appreciated!!

 

I used automotive clear on my boards and they didn't last very long before they started peeling. When I redo them I am going to use a marine type varnish.

Just my 2 cents

 

ANYTHING that builds up a coat will eventually peel when exposed to the elements. Seems like I saw something on the net awhile back as to someone testing various finishes to determine the best long term finish. Test was incomplete when I saw the article so can't help you pin it down.

I went with tongue oil. Not shiney like poly but a slight coating with some penetration of the product to protect from water.

You don't mention how much your truck will be out in the elements. That would have alot to do with my choice. A trailer queen who would never see wet weather could probably get by with a poly finish for many years.

Hope this helps!

Tim

 

It boils down to: is there anything that's really permanent? Ans.: No. So you can either plan on periodic re-finishing (sanding and re-coating with a UV-inhibited urethane), or use an oil type of finish that is easy to replenish without bed disassembly.

I went with urethane on my birch plywood boards, because rain is just not much of a problem in New Mexico, and oils aren't very good on plywood. If I lived in Portland or Seattle, I'd be tempted to use deck finish. Better yet, buy a tonneau cover!

I ran into a Behr Paint factory rep at Home Depot one weekend, and put the question to him. He said there is no wood finish on earth that is rated for exterior, horizontal surfaces exposed to sun and rain. I tend to believe him.

 

Dead solid perfect advice.

I am using solid oak so an oil works just fine. The UV inhibited urethane makes for a really nice finish. However, it will not hold up to wet weather for the LONG term. How long depends on how good a job you do putting it on in the first place.

 

Has anyone used conversion varnish? The four rails in my panel are conversion varnished and are as hard as rock, almost un-scratchable. I am considering the same finish when I build the floor. My application will be different in that the floor will not be exposed to weather. I haven't found any reference to experior use.

 

I guess you could cough up the money for the plastic boards. They do fade somewhat but they won't rot on you. It won't absorb moisture and rot out the bed sides.

 

Plastic boards? I haven't heard about those...

 

I bought a wood kit from Dennis Carpenter and had it shipped west. The boards came presanded and rabbitted, but without finish. First I put on several coats of shellac, sanding between each coat, then 8 coats of marine spar varnish. It takes varnish 24 hours to dry, so after the first coat was dry, it was sanded and another coat went on. A tack rag was used religiously. After the last coat of varnish was dry, I them sprayed polyurethane over the varnish, sanded, added more poly. Finally I coated the underside of the boards with a bed liner material I bought at Auto Zone.


The wood, materials and labor was a birthday gift for a long time friend (we first met at Harrahs Swap Meet in 1967) and the wood was installed in his 1954 F100, which has been his daily driver for 26 years.

 

Ok, thanks all for the advice. I'm going with Behr Tung Oil. Not super shiny but looks to be a quick & easy recoat every year or so.

 

Al, you should be fine with tung oil. Apply it very thinly after you have finished sanding with 180, then 220, then 320 (320 on the finished, visible section) paper I would "rag" it on, that is, wet a tightly balled up section of lint free fabric, about the size of a half dollar, and spread several coats very thinly, 24 hours apart, sanding with 180 tween coats. 220 and 320 are for after your next to last coat. I reiterate, do not brush it on thick! I just did new boards on my '55, and used tung oil as the sealer. 4 coats. followed by 8 coats of satin Miniwax spar varnish. Good luck.

 

I can't believe varnish will stick to oiled boards? I haven't ever used tung oil but that seems like painting on top of grease?

 

I agree with the Behr paint guy. Horizontal varnish in the sun is a pita. I maintain a fair amount of varnish or Cetol on boats. The woods are teak, mahogany or oak. Ten coats of spar varnish over bare wood and then 2 maintenance coats per year. That is what I do on the boats. I do fine with vertical varnish generally but really fight with the horizontal varnish. Cetol is somewhat better but some people do not like the pigmentation. With Cetol (a marine product) I use 3 coats of the pigmented cetol followed by 2 coats of Cetol gloss clear over bare wood. I then do 1 or two maintenance coats per year. I can't keep the sun off the boats for the 6 months of the year that they are in the water.
The best solution is to not keep the varnished surface continually exposed to the sun. UV is the enemy. I had a 38 Woodie (see my gallery pic) which becaue I normally garaged it did fine for 5 years. That was spar varnish (10 coats which I sprayed) over maple and birch faced plywood.
In short if your truck bed is coninually in the sun, clear coatings will need very regulary maintenace. There is no free lunch.

 

PURE tung oil dries hard like varnish. Oil is a component of varnish. Teak oil remains in suspension, and "wet".