My grandfather did the same thing to his truck many years ago. The plywood has rotted out some now, so I tore out the plywood last night and went to work on the old wood (also partially rotted ergo the plywood installation)and strips. He put a clear sealant of some kind on it like a varethane or urethane finish. It looked great but was starting to rot in the corners. I plan on going back to yellow pine, though I haven't decided on the type of metal strips yet (thinking about going for the purtty stainless steel strips to dress the old truck up a bit
).
