The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Bedwood for a 54 Chevy Truck

What kind of varnish should I use to seal the oak bedwood? I know it has to be sanded several times and numerous coats applied. Should I get some kind of oil sealer first to put on the wood before I seal it? If so what kind? I see light at the end of the tunnel!!!

This topic has been hit before. Try a search for Bedwood. Also I am very close to beginning this project and also need advice on sealer and clearcoat. One suggestion I found on the site is to paint the underside of the bedwood white. A coat of white primer and a couple coats of white paint. Logic, easier to see when you are working under the truck. Just a suggestion.

Thanks,
Chris

Whatever you do, I would do the *same* thing on all sides ... you don't want the wood to breath unevenly or you could see warping.

A buddy of mine swears by this stuff:
Deks Olje

I second Allan's statement to use the same stuff on ALL sides. You want as good a barrier as possible. Different coatings expand and contract at different rates and the junction will be a weak spot. If you recoat as soon as the coating needs it , almost anything will work. You gain time by using a coating designed for use OUTDOORS. They have UV inhibitors, (gaining recoat time) and expand and contract more than interior coatings, (fewer cracks). Chevy used a black coating that was very flexable and soaked into the wood. Those with "body color" paint usually had that on top of the "tar based" paint they used.

Nuts & Bolts....

1.Clear and shiney, use SPAR Varnish

2.Easy to refinish, (also clear) Tung oil with UV inhibitors, just wipe ot on then wipe up the excess (called OUTDOOR OIL by woodworkers)scratches alot

3.Color use a good exterior house paint or for those with deep pockets, Marine Topside Paint.

I'm doing my bed this summer and will use Spar varnish. No stain.I just scored some 80 year old clear Southern Yellow Pine timbers 2" thick from a barn here in Texas. I'll have to resaw them but they will make a bed that looks great and I can recycle ,too.

Ditto on what MetalMan said. Oil based black paint.

Something like this might work... I think this looks better than BLACK Go here to see Metal Man: note, no WARPING from BLASTING!!

I recently finished my bed wood and used Minwax Clear Shield satin finish. I did all sides, four coats sanding with 220 grit between coats.

RHuddle56,

Looks like there is a lot of advice on what you should do; and, some of the advice actually answers your question. Chris55.1's advice is excellent - read previous posts and you will find all sorts of excellent suggestions.

It seems you are interested in seeing the natural oak wood grain and color. The following technique has worked well for me (on bedwood and boatwood). In situations when I wanted a little color, I have used transparent or opaque stain from the same manufacturer of whatever varnish is used.

1. Sand the wood carefully. As with any paint job ( meta/wood/sheetrock), careful surface preparation is the first important step.

2. Use marine spar polyurethane varnish (Minwax is one good brand that is readily available).

3. Dilute some varnish by 50% with mineral spirits and use this for two coats (following recoat drying directions for the amount of time between coats). Coat all surfaces - take care to coat ends and sides completely (they will aborb more varinsh for the first two coats). This absorbs well and provides a deep and excellent seal.

4. Between all coats, "sand" with sandpaper or other non-metal abrasive. Then, wipe clean with a tack cloth.

5. Apply 5 to 7 "finish" coats of undiluted varnish (all sides), sanding and tack-cleaning between coats.

Oh yeah. If you want a glossy finish (I usually don't), use a satin varnish for all but the last two coats (then use a glossy varnish). This seems to provide a nice patina.

Curmudgeon

My bed is made out of cherrywood.I put about 5 coats of spar urethane on the top side.Sanded between coats,lightly with 220 paper.sprayed the last coat on.Looks great ,shines beautiful.Course I never leave it out in the weather.It is in a garage all the time except when I take it to cruisins or just out for a drive.

Let me add a little more.I left the underside bare because the wood has to breath.if the wood is well dried you should not have any warpage.

I used red oak for my bed - the first time. I left the underside uncoated - just bare wood. On top I stained it and applied four coats of Marine Spar Varnish with UV protedtion - as used on many wooden boat decks. Within months , the finish began to bubble. :mad: I resanded and reapplied another two coats of Marine Spar Varnish. The same thing happened. :mad: I took the truck up to the paint store and asked the fellow there to look at it and tell me what might be wrong. He told me he was sure that I needed to treat ALL sides of the lumber the same, but to be sure he would ask the rep from the company who supplied him with the Marine Spar Varnish. The answer was the same. :o I bought some new bed lumber and resized and refitted everything and coated all sides with stain and Marine Spar Varnish - 6 coats. That was seven years ago and not one problem, plus the underside of the bed looks as good as the top side of the bed!

My dad has a 41' yacht with a lot of exposed woodwork on it. He suggested using Sikkens Cetol Marine satin finish, which is a penetrating finish that is intended for external wood surfaces. It can be topcoated with a gloss finish and is easy to touch up if scuffed. It doesn't need to be sanded, either. It is fairly flexible and stands up to foot traffic well.
It costs $100/gallon, though. It is available at most marine stores. I'm going to try it on mine.

Josiah, let me know how that works out for you. I might want to use that on my flatbed when I re-do the wood.
Dave

The best stuf to use is a product called Eplfanes high gloss clear varnish. I worked in the marine industry as a certified Merc Cruser mechanic for years and this product can't be beat. It is made in Holland and can be bought at any good marine store. It has extra uv-filters mixed in. I used this on my 53 pickup and it came out perfict. It is a must that you do all sides of the wood to keep any product that you decide to use from going away after a short time. Mix it 75/25 then 50/50 then full strength for 5 or 6 coats.
Hope this helps the confusion.

I used marine spar varnish with the ratios just like 235 Fat Fenders said. Sanded and tackclothed between all the coats. I think that I may have put on only 1 final coat. This was on yellow pine in a 67 stepsside and it looked really good when I finished. But didn't keep that really fine luster for long. Next time, I intend to do several "final" coats like suggested. What I was wondering about is should I sand and tackcloth between each "final" coat just like the other coats? I assume that I should. wjb

I thought you posted the warping was made invisible with a 1/8" layer of bondo?
:p