Yes... I would polish the aluminum.. I used to work for a Gasoline Tanker company... we polished entire 48ft long trailers..near chrome like..
nice suggestion BigPop.... I am averse to the
oak for gouging, cost, and maintainability reasons....I considered going with a wood called
"apitong"..I believe..hope I didnt spell that wrong..it is used on the decks of flatbed 18wheeler trailers.... but I will probably take the time to do the aluminum...I really think the solving of the aluminum bed problem ... materials and fab won't be completely taxing... it should be a fun adventure... polishing might take me
half a day for a really top flight job if the
initial material is condusive....
I also considered going to the boneyard and cutting the bottom of the bed from a regular
73-87 Chevy longbed...this would give me a factory ribbed look for NO money...then just cutting it to fit my 57 stepside and welding it in.If the sides of the bed were munched on the donor you were cutting on...you'd pay nothing.
I'm pretty set on the aluminum...I really love polished aluminum in almost any application..
...it is so easy to make look nice...and it doesn't rust... care, even when polished,is very
minimal....
