Thanks for the compliments on the truck bed; the technique for coating was three brushed coats POR-15 on the bottom & sides of the boards - let them sit & cure 24 hrs; then three brushed coats POR-15 on the top of the boards - let them sit & cure 24 hrs. Each coat of POR-15 on a short wheelbase step side 55.2's bed wood requires about 8 ounces of POR-15. (In the context of the wood being "top-side & bottom-side"). This calculates very close to their "96 sq/ft per quart" claim on the can.

I rolled three coats of Behr Exterior latex enamel on the bottom & sides of the boards and let it sit for 24 hrs, even though it dried within an hour (40% humidity all week was a HUGE blessing & a HUGE departure from the normal in Alabama). For the top of the boards, I used a good brush & worked in sections painting the board's strip groove a couple of feet, then the bottom groove a couple of feet (from my perspective), finishing by painting the face of the board for this same length. I let them dry over night & lightly sanded them the next morning. I painted the boards a single coat each night, and light sanded the following morning with 400 grit for the first coat, 800 grit for the second coat, and wet sanded 800 grit prior to the third coat & the fourth coat. At this point, I was just tired of fooling with it & quit after the fourth coat of paint. Not much of a technique, really, but it worked for the times of the day I had available (0500-0600 & late at night).

Mr. Tim, the angle strips are attached by willpower in the pictures; they are bolted/capscrewed on now, and awaiting dome head cap nuts for the finishing touch.

Brad

Wrench Fetcher, PhD