The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Making a Stovebolt Bed Bed Wood Replacement

Is Mar-K still the go-to guy for highest quality bed wood (as far as fit and finish)?

Three days in the rain at a show last weekend, and one of my yellow pine boards checked and split along the grain. Looks like hell. I think I'll replace all of it with oak this time. It seems like a shame, since I'll be painting the wood black, but I don't feel like I can trust pine again.

Any input greatly appreciated!

From reading the Mar-K site, they seem to take wood very seriously. Specific info about origin of wood and etc. I would think they are at the top of wood suppliers. They will not be the least expensive. My test:(1953 short step) Mar-K $800, Classic Parts $575. Oak, stainless strips/Bolt kit and shipping.
Classic says: Hand picked oak pieces to insure quality.
This is a large enough difference in price, in my opinion, to take careful study.
Bruce Horkey: Specializing in bed wood. About $760

Mar-K is the standard by which all others are judged. That being said, if I could PROVE the wood was the same quality and fit as Mar-K I would more than likely buy the cheaper.🛠

The type of Oak tree, age, density, it's grain, it's milling, whether it is/how it is dried or aged and the quality requirement, if any, by the seller is hard to examine. I doubt if there are any bad boards sold by any of these companies. Maybe there are reviews on the web. We will hear from members who have use these sources I'm sure. A concerned person would search other "truck" websites. I would. A major factor is the reputation and return policy of a company. I highly doubt there would be a fit problem. They would all be milled on a machine with accurate settings. Just the grain/looks and dryness/after warp.

All wood will pickup moisture in the rain. The best you can do is seal it very well. Double the coats you put on the end grain. 3 or 4 coats on the face and edge and double that on the end grain. Mar-k did a finish study. They all will fail either by moisture or UV. Water based paint or just stain can be reapplied where as a clear finish must be stripped. If its just discolored you can strip it, bleach it stain it and reapply the finish.

Improper kiln drying will result in rejection of the applied finish. If you have ever had that happen to you, you would not go with the cheapest supplier out there.

Wood beds require maintenance just like everything else on these trucks. IMO it's just another routine and part of the experience. My '37, even though it's a "garage queen" most of the time will need some TLC in the next year or so. It's been 10 years since the last effort.

Read up on how fine wood kayaks and canoes are finished. Buy 2-part epoxy resin by the half or full gallon, sand the wood smooth then seal with the epoxy, then sand before your choice of varnish, etc. Wish I'd known about kayak techniques before I did my bed in varnish only (never again!). With a decent wood the epoxy will encapsulate and virtually eliminate any chance for moisture intrusion into the wood, ever again.

And when applying varnish, study those kayak techniques...foam brush, always stroking into the wet edge. I built this kayak kit by clcboats.com, they're a good resource worth a look by anyone who wants a fine wood bed in their old truck. Then again, if a mirror shine isn't what you want...never mind.

In general we feel that the long term durability of a wood bed is mostly dependent on the finish applied, not so much on the wood species. Of course you have to start with good wood, proper drying, selection, and machining. Years ago we searched for some comparative tests which would help us recommend finishes, but found none we were comfortable with. Hence the tests we conducted at that time. The most durable is the use of POR15 under exterior paint, which was somewhat accidental. We just had POR 15 on hand and decided to try it. The last test samples have been outdoors 24/7 for 12 years and still look good. Its a test environment and no guarantees yours will last 12 years, but it is the finish I used in my personal truck bed and what our testing indicates to be a durable finish. If anyone has data indicating a better finish, we would love to know about it to pass along to our customers.

We tried a sample with the West epoxy, it did not last very well. That product is generally highly recommended so I suspect the problem was with our technique. We did not do further testing with the epoxy but the idea of totally sealing off the wood to prevent moisture is correct. However epoxy is not generally UV resistant and needs additional protection to prevent damage from the sun. Be mindful of the critical narrow time window for applying following coats over the epoxy as well as over the POR15.

Mar-Ketch

If your truck is a sunny day garage queen, you can use any kind of hard shell glossy/satin finish and it will last a long time before you have to strip it and redo.
But if you are actually going to use it like a truck, any coating from varnish to epoxy, is only good till it gets scratched or chipped and then it's just a matter of time till that grows into a mess.
Pick a wood that's the color you want so you don't have to worry about stain and finish the wood with Thompson's weather seal (not the water base). 2 coats all sides, extra on the ends.
Doesn't matter if it gets scratched, cut or dinged, wash the dirt off and recoat the top every year.
Works great on quarter sawn oak, Douglas fir, heart pine, etc
If you want it dark, I did the '48 2 ton (12 ft bed) in black walnut and it looks great. Correct amount of gloss (or lack of it), color and carries real loads.

Thank you for all of the thoughtful replies. It looks like I have more homework to do. The bed needs to be finished in flat to 10% or so semi-gloss black (it's a high-point restoration, not a work truck any more). I will post any progress.

"high-point restoration"

Yellow pine will hold up as well as any non-original-type wood if you use the Mar-K painting technique (POR and Behr). The semigloss blacks will look similar to the original black.

I did the Mar-K technique with Behr black a year ago. My truck sits outside exposed to the weather year round. I am happy with the results. Holding up well after a year of sun, winter weather, standing water in the bed and wet debris from the neighbor's tree sitting on it.

Bruce: Very nice, well done truck.

Being an experienced woodworker I built my own wood bed. I bought kiln-dried Cherry and Purpleheart wood from a very respectable lumber dealer in my area. I planed and finished the lumber in my workshop. I have 7 coats of Helmans spar urethane on all sides and ends that were sanded between every coat. This is the same procedure boat builders use! After 10 + years it looks as good as the day I installed it!