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I just got done cutting the side grooves on my wood floor boards (red oak) for my 62 chev truck. What should i cover the boards in? I looked at "outdoor" varathane (Diamond wood finish) and it looks like it would be good stuff. I just want a clear finish, i do not want to stain or change the colour of the boards. Any info would be greatly appreciated. P.S. the site http://www.gmcpauls.com/47-72%20BedWood%20Info.htm where it shows the end view of the boards, the dimentions of the grooves and widths seem inacurate to me for 60-66 trucks anyways. The lower cut does not have to be that deep and the whole width of the shallow cut does not have to be that wide. But it all depsnds on how much gap you leave between the boards etc. I suggest betting a few scrap boards and making some practice cuts first to determ how much space ya want between boards then make your groove cuts according to that.

Go to a boat supply place and buy their best varnish. Resistance to ultra violet light and scuff resistance are your main considerations. Put on many coats, coat all 6 edges.

The groove is wide to accomodate expansion so the boards can float. Bolted down tight the bed would buckle with a change in humidity. The boards expand much more width-wise than they do length wise.

The machine shop at my old job had a wood block floor. One night the roof started leaking, the blocks swelled, and there was a 12" high hump from the blocks expanding. Surprising to see. It dried out and the blocks went right back into position.

A guy on another board was having trouble with the demensions given on GMCPaul's site also. Here's GMCPaul's response to his post:
Click here , if you want to see the whole thread.

I agree, that it's always good if you can make a "trial run" with scrape pieces.

I used Spar Varnish and was real pleased with it. The first two coats were brushed on, after it dried I wet sanded just like paint and then sprayed the other coats on. Each board got 5 to six coats on each side. It took about six months or more for them to really dry. Joe

I have had automotive clear coat on my red oak bed for nine years with virtually no failure. There is no spar varnish or urethane that I have seen that will hold up as well as this automotive clear has. I got the trick from Bruce Horkey , who builds bed boards and beds and finishes them for a living.

Now interestingly enough, I notice on his website linked above that they are indicating "spar varnish" finishes available but I'm not sure if that's an indication that they are no longer doing the clear coats. Bruce told me a few years ago that the cost of doing bed boards that way is just too expensive because it is built up over a period of days and then rubbed out over a period of days so there's a lot of labor involved and he was not able to recoup the labor that was used.

The bottom line for me is that my bed looks today pretty much the way it did in '93 when I put this on. I have some breakthrough on the end grain, but the face grain is all holding up like brand spanky new.
[img]http://www.oldgmctrucks.com/photos/huckbed3.jpg[/img]

You have to thin the clear 50% and brush on the first three or four coats, knocking down any raised grain with 220 in between coats. Then start laying on the clear and then the final coats you can spray. After that you rub out the finish like you would any automotive finish, but it is built in so many layers that it's bulletproof. Being as flexible and UV resistant as it is (don't forget they use it on flexible bumper covers) it works great.

I am actually doing the first touch up work on some sections that have a little breakthrough this winter but all in all, it's held up 10X better than any spar varnish or spar urethanes that I have used.

The only drawback is you can not use clear if the wood is stained. Most wood stains will not work with the clear chemistry.