I acquired enough Santos Mahogany to do my '54 F-100 bed. The price was right and this is beautiful wood! Has anyone tried this and if so, are you satisfied with the results. Pictures would be great. Thanks, Steve

 

Haven't used it or ever seen it used in a pickup bed but I've never seen anything made of mahogany that wasn't beautiful. If you can afford it why not? Obviously, you plan never to haul anything in the bed...good luck with it!

 

Santos Mahogany is a common name for a tropical member of the balsam family which only somewhat resembles true mahogany. It is an oil rich wood that is best known as a source of balsam of Peru, an extract that is widely used in perfumes and medicinals.
It is harder than mahogany and dulls tool somewhat quicker than average.
Being an oily wood, I would avoid trying to use any water based finishes, and wipe the surfaces with acetone just prior to applying any glue or oil based finish. Other than that I wasn't able to find much more info on it's working properties. Being an oily wood like teak, I would expect that a penetrating oil finish such as pure tung oil (Parks or Watco) or boiled linseed oil would be more suitable than a surface finish like shellac or varnish.

 

I love the information I get from this site! I won't even ask Ax how you got so knowledgable on wood from Peru but I truly appreciate the feedback The wood has a deep maroon color and fantastic graining so I know it will look great in a (planned0 maroon F-100. And you are correct GNW about not hauling anything in this truck . That's what the D*d*e daily driver is for. This is my retirement toy. Now if I can only finish it before I retire!! Thanks guys

 

Behr makes an exterior tung oil that I really like. It is great on darker hardwoods as it is quite yellow (uv protection). Just be sure to coat all 6 surfaces before you install the bedwood. It can be sanded in the future if it gets scuffed up and you can reapply more oil. You can re-oil the wood in-bed as any excess will wipe off the bedsides etc. Great product IMO.
...Terry
ps. you will not notice the yellow color from the oil on a dark wood, it will look great.

 

I have a masters in jewelry design with a minor in wood design. I like working in wood almost as much as metal.
I really like penetrating oilf finishes like Tung for finishing wood. I built the display cases in my store from clear fir and finished them with tung oil 19 years ago and except for a wipe down with linseed oil about every five years they have been maintainance free and look like new. Tung oil is so easy a finish to apply. Sand the raw wood with 180, 280, 400 sandpaper, wipe with a wet but not dripping rag to raise the grain. Sand again when dry with 400 paper. Apply the Tung oil liberally with a soaked cotton rag continously adding more as it soaks in for ~ 20 minutes, not allowing it to dry completely. Wipe any and all excess off the surface with a clean cotton rag rubbed vigorously until the surface feels dry and not sticky. Allow to dry overnight. Next day apply another generous coat using a green abrasive nylon pad until the surface is as smooth as a baby's butt. Again rub off all excess on the surface until surface is dry and not sticky. Allow to dry overnight and you're done! The finish will be a soft matt sheen with a very "natural" look. Should the surface start looking "dry" or get scratched in the future, apply a little more Tung or boiled linseed oil with a piece of the green pad and as always rub off all excess on the surface. For extra protection wax with a good old fashioned paste wax like Simonize in the yellow can from the Hardware or grocery store or Butcher's wax.
The only finer finish IMHO is if you know how to properly prepare and use a cabinet scraper rather than sandpaper before applying the oil.

 

I picked up wood this weekend from Don Mackay; will treat this week. I'm going with a black stain (paint) that I will rub on the oak, then wipe off.


Ax, what's you take on best way to apply a black (oil paint) stain, then tung oil or boiled linseed?

Tom

 

Sorry, I am not fond of staining wood, especially using a non penetrating stain. Paint based stain can react unfavorably with penetrating oil finishes.
If I had to stain I would use an analine or alcohol based penetrating stain. If I wanted to blacken oak I would fume it. Oak has very large open pores and a lot of tannin content. Tannin will react with ammonia fumes and turn dark. You can rig a fume tent out of plastic sheet and a few pie plates filled with ammonia. make sure the plastic does not touch the wood and the wood is supported on the point of triangular shaped wood stickers so the fumes can reach all surfaces. Household ammonia from the grocery store (be sure to get real ammonia, NOT ammoniated cleaner) will work, tho slowly, concentrated ammonium hydroxide from a chemical supply house will work much faster and give a much darker color, to almost black. This max darkening is called "ebonizing" in the furniture trade. Check a test sample regularly if you use this process there is no going back! wipe the sample with a wet cloth to simulate the final color after finish is applied.

 

Thanks AX; I will review your input, then decide which way I'll proceed.


Tom

 

great info.. I am about to finish the bed wood myself..

The truck is a darkish green metalic (base+candy+clear), and the interior will be tan and brown. the bed needs to be a lighter color with all that dark green.

I have read all the horror stories of peeling stain and clear coats, and don't want that. I will be going with hidden bolt strips. and the wood sits on top of the bed side panel lips.. (to get it above the rear pumpin when the airbags are down).. with no metal except at the tailgate with a polished stainless lip edge.

How dark will the tung oil take the oak?

Sam

 

I too have used Tung Oil for years...rich, trouble-free finish that is easy to apply and looks good for years without any more maintenance than an ocassional dusting.
As for the bed wood...Bob Baxter used that wood in his truck and it looks great. It's actually his wife Barb's truck...it won best truck at the last Grand National Roadster Show if that's any indication of it's appeal!

 

Pure Tung oil will not darken the wood, just bring out the natural color. Wiping the raw wood with a wet rag will simulate the finished color. Most all woods will darken somewhat with exposure to the air over time, resulting in a very rich color. There is domestic white oak and red oak available. I prefer red oak for it's richer color and more grain contrast. White oak will finish to a lighter color with less grain contrast. Pecan has a grain that resembles oak but with even lighter color and less grain color contrast.
Ash would be another good choice for a light color with some grain pattern. Baseball bats are made from ash. Maple or birch will give the lightest colors with a very tight subtle grain pattern, My very favorite wood tho is cherry, after exposure for about a year, the color and grain is absolutely beautiful!

 

Ash was used for the bed wood on the FirstRide.Milled at my late fathers lumber mill yrs ago so it is very ,very dry.First rabbited edges & 1 end.Sanded the bare wood w/ 80 grit on up to 320.Then a light oak oil stain was applied to all 6 surfaces .Left to dry for 2 days then applied 2 coats of sealer w/ a light sanding of 320 in between .Applied 8 coats of Alphatic Urethane w/ 2 hrs of block sanding on the 8 boards in between coats.16 hrs of block sanding.With the polished stainless carriage bolts,chrome strips, & polished stainless fender bolts the reflection is awesome.The boards look like wet glass.Plan to be at the F-100 bash in Knoxville May '08.Denny (a life time woodworker)

 

AXracer, I never knew you were such a wood guy. I just sold two pieces of mahogany pattern makers lumber. One piece was 24" wide, 2" thick and 16 feet long. The second was 30" wide, 1 1/2" thick and 16 feet long. These were some of the biggest boards I have ever seen, and I know they were at least 50 years old. I still have one board 2" thick, 24" wide and 16 feet long. I also have about 1000' of sugar pine. Could you imagine a truck bed done with two pieces, side by side?

 

I wouldn't be afraid to pile stuff on mahogany. I have a cousin who runs an onion farm in Europe and he has a 75 year old sorting machine that is made of solid mahogany. It must be a hard wood to stand up to all those years of farm use.