Bedwood sealer

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Nov 8, 2005 | 09:38 PM

#16

abe

Fleet Owner

Joined: Dec 2000

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From: Central PA

bed wood

Quote:

Originally Posted by truckdog62563

The pine should work if the bed isn't used hard. The pine is soft and will get beat up worse than the ash, as Bob suggests, or red oak. Ash is a much tighter grain and would be easier to seal than would oak. I've had discussions with Bruce Horkey (of the wood bed company that bears his name) about my bed and he too suggests using several coats of marine spar varnish. Stu

Ford originally used yellow pine in the '53-'56 beds. Now the yellow pine of the '50's wasslow growth, close grain wood which was much harder than the yellow pine that they pressure treat today. If you have old bed wood, cut a cross section and compare it to a cross section of yellow pine today. It will look similar but the new stuff's rings are further apart and therefore softer.

abe

Nov 9, 2005 | 06:33 AM

#17

AXracer

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From: Durham NC

My house was built in the 30's with SYP framing. Some of those 2Xs are so hard you can't drive a spike into them. Our 2nd floor flooring is t&g yellow pine.
I've never examined bedboards, but I'd expect they were quartersawn (end grain vertical) to reduce warpage and present a hard face. It doesn't make for much "figure" in the wood tho.
ALWAYS finish all 4 sides equally. leaving the sides or bottom unfinished will guarantee warpage. relief cuts in the bottom of the planks is a good idea as long as you seal them completely. ~ 1" apart 3/4" deep is enough. If your saw arbor is long enough stack 2 sawblades together to make a wider kerf. If you are planning on painting the bottom of the bed, after sealing the kerfs, run a bead of good quality acrylic latex caulk into each kerf then immediately wipe with a wet finger to smooth it to a slight concave. The caulk will keep junk and moisture out but be flexible enough to move with the wood and will give a smoother surface for paint. Don't use a pure silicone caulk or paint will not stick!

Last edited by AXracer; Nov 9, 2005 at 06:52 AM.

Nov 9, 2005 | 08:13 AM

#18

brewster1

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Mountain Pass

Joined: Feb 2002

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From: northeast texas

I have the old CCA treated wood that is 1 inch by 6 inch and smooth on one side. Down here we call them corral panels as they are often used on cattle pens. Guess I better not groove the two smiley boards.
Thanks,
Jim

Nov 9, 2005 | 05:35 PM

#19

jgrady

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Anything that forms a water proof skin will flake off..i did mahogany bench at seaside, one year later flakes and white places. Bolts crack it where you put them too, unles you leave them loose. I think oil is the answer..probably teak oil, or tung oil ,or whatever it is..no worry about scratches either..pour more on. Most of the stuff about how great these urethanes and varnishes are is pure BS..Look at a RR tie for the concept..

Nov 9, 2005 | 10:08 PM

#20

51ford fan

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Joined: Apr 2004

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From: Seattle WA.

Check out this site http://www.mar-k.com/installation_hints.html

Rod

Nov 9, 2005 | 10:28 PM

#21

brewster1

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Mountain Pass

Joined: Feb 2002

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From: northeast texas

I treated the boards with 2 coats of Superdeck today. It has tung and linseed oil in it as well as other ingredients. I had sanded the boards to clean them up and the Superdeck 2010 (natural) stained the boards a little darker than the unsanded cutoffs.
I appreciate you guys turning me on to this product. It worked well, was easy to use and looks great. I opted not to groove the boards since they were not all grained correctly.
Jim

Nov 9, 2005 | 10:41 PM

#22

AXracer

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From: Durham NC

That was an interesting read, but I didn't see where they tested a penetrating oil type finish other than linseed oil.

Nov 17, 2005 | 09:31 PM

#23

John Boyd

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Joined: Jun 2005

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Something you may want to look into is a Beyer product called deck preservative or dock seal, etc. My dad pointed this out to me when I needed some heavy duty preservative years ago. It was formerly known generically as "Cuprinol" which derives from the Dutch (I think) for simply "copper in oil"; chemically, it's copper naphthenate. I did some checking and supposedly it's been tested to be as effective as creosote for wet, below-ground service (think telephone poles). Like many or most copper products, it's a green color, so whatever you paint it on is going to be stained green, very dark green, a different hue than PT. Copper naphthenate is still legal since it's not especially toxic to humans and doesn't contain arsenic. However, it is toxic to fish, so you don't want the wet, undried stuff contacting fishable waters, etc. The biggest risk to humans is that it'll cause severe eye damage/blindness if it gets in your eyes; if you use it, wear goggles or phase shield when you're painting it on and don't slosh it around like whitewash on the back fence. Not sure about the UV resistance, but I know it'll stand up to water. Hope this helps.