Thanks. I'd love to buy wood myself and cut/dado it to fit the strips and bed. Any specs out there on the cuts needed?

 

Here is a diagram of the wood in the bed...

 

Use 100 or 120 stearated sandpaper. Nothing too fine since you want the new paint to stick to it, fine paper will polish it and the new will not adhere as well. I would also stay away from steel wool, not only will some get stuck and break off in the grain, but it will also leave some oil that comes on it to keep it from rusting in the store and in your shop.

 

One last question: oil base or latex paint? Or doesn't it matter?

 

Donnie , sent you a PM with contact info on 1-30 .Get in touch .I have the info on the Alphatic Urethane & Lorkote products.

 

Perfect! Thanks so much!

 

I haven't done mine yet, but I just had a thought. I've seen a few,"mahogany replica boats", that I am pretty sure they fiberglass over the wood. I think I may look into that and see what or how they are doing it.

 

I was fortunate enough to obtain some Japanese Beach that was used as submersed pilings in a local harbor. I shaved off the surfaces and what I found was the hardest, least porous, most beautiful wood I could have hoped for. I have tried various finishes for looks (as truck will never be in the rain) and have settled on just several coats of shellac.
Maybe it is because I'm from the Northwest but I would not consider using oak if the wood is likely to bet wet or the truck is exposed to a lot of sunlight.

Another option if it is going to be wet is teak. Price per board foot is pretty spendy but it's a pretty small area.

 

I'm considering using Ash for my wood floor. About 6 years ago I built a shower stool out of it and put two coats of Minwax on it and it still looks like the day I put it in there. Of course no UV, so I would definitely use something like Varathane for my truck. Ash is heavy as hell, so would be good weight for the back end, LOL

 

ash is a great wood for your truck and maybe mine too. and oil base or latex in a quality paint should work just fine. just remember, DECK paint:-X2 just don't do I coat oil and I latex....that would make noise and jump off the bed right on to your mother-in-laws face! well, maybe not but it wouldn't be purty
qman

 

If you want bed wood to look like a piece of furniture, then you will have to treat it like a piece of furniture, i.e. keep it in a climate controlled living room, out of sunlight or UV light, dust and wax it often, don't let anything touch it that can scratch the soft delicate finish, never get it wet.
Even antique oak furniture turned dark, look at any in a museum that has not been refinished. Oak has an abundance of tannic acid in it's composition, which in combination with moisture and UV radiation will destroy any finish put on it in short order, making it one of the poorest choices for exterior use.
Trying to keep wood that is exposed to the elements looking like a new shiny coffee table just isn't going to happen. Some woods/finishes will hold up somewhat better than others, but they will all fail, just the nature of wood. Same as a 60 year old woman trying to keep the body of an 18 year old, even with a surgeons help it will never look the same. Any wood boat owner that says he doen't have to refinish nearly constantly and doesn't spend more time maintaining it than riding in it is lying to you.

 

hey ax
u r right on most points BUT u've never seen my wife!!! all I have to do is dust her off weekly and she's as good as she was at 17!! ( I'd be the one getting "dusted" if she ever got hold of this anyway, we all pass by the wayside....wood, metal or flesh and fat but we all fail eventually....even our beloved trucks.

by the way, as long as I'm hi.jacking. I just bought an old police cruiser, an 03' cr vic to use as (or at least try to) my daily driver. I love it!

qman

 

Pledge works wonders ( on wives )

Just be careful where you spray it

 

GOTCHA!!! some of the ladies, and I use the term loosely, that my dear wife hangs out with. mostly who think they are the upper crust of our locality, have had plenty of work done on their "grills" as much as their "back bumpers". and I'm here to say that they should have stopped when they were a recent "barn find". so, maybe I should stop it right here cuz I could get truly out of control but it is fun
qman

 

The more work they have done the more desperate not youthful they look!