I found this information in a post here:
http://hotrodders.com/forum/journal...39&page=2&perpage=5&reverse= rodders Bulletin Board > Journal > willys36 Journal
I had a problem deciding what kind of wood to use for the bed. In my 1990 restoration I used yellow southern pine. Tried to keep it varnished but it quickly split, cracked, warped and turned ugly gray. You can see some shots of it in later posts here. Oak is another popular option but it seems to go bad very quickly too, regardless of the car it is given. I finally decided to try Ipe, a Brazilian hardwood used for outdoor decking.
http://www.ipe-deck.com/ 15 years ago this stuff was a nuisance plant that the Brazilians knocked down and buried. These are probably the photos you see of them 'destroying' the rain forest - this stuff grows so fast and so huge it takes over the forest and must be eradicated. It is what the Atlantic City Board Walk is made of. it has in recent years become very popular for patio construction. It is so dense it sinks in water, has the same fire rating as concrete, contains a yellow resin that kills insects and is super stable once cured. It is so heavy, I should have great traction in my old truck! Cost is similar to oak.
Photo 1 is a picture of one of the boards. This board is 13" wide which is common. You can see the yellow stuff in the grain.
This should avoid the degradation that pine or oak experience. Claims are that this stuff will last at least 100 years on an outdoor deck! If left untreated, it will weather to silver gray but not split/splinter and decay like common woods. I am going to try to keep the red/brown color by finishing it with a UV protection oil coating like
http://www.penofin.com/products_exotichardwood.shtml Ads say a coat every 6 months or so will maintain fresh color. I'll believe it when I see it!
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Anyway.... I thought it was interesting. Another option to consider when redoing the bedwood.
-W
