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I know this has been discussed before, but I'm looking to get as close as I can to the appearance the bed wood had when it was new. The truck is a 1950 1 Ton with the 9' bed, I have the 9 pine boards already to go cut to the correct widths and the edges milled. The pre-punched wear strips are being delivered today. I want to get the black appearance for the wood and was wondering what the best recipe is for this. This truck is completely stock and I want it to look that way. Thanks in advance! Tom
You might want to look in the truck bed section if this doesn't get moved there? I restored my original wood with a mix of Boiled Linseed oil and Marsblack. Lampblack would have been the original ingredient, but I couldn't find a small quantity. Here is a link to my post: https://www.stovebolt.com/ubbthread...store-original-bed-wood.html#Post1381523
Thank you both for the response. I think I will try the Lamp Black for this project. The boards are new, so I'm sure it will take a couple of applications to get it to look good. I also have to get some more hardware and a bed mounting kit before I can get it all back together. Looking forward to it getting it done this Spring. Have a good day! Tom
When we wanted to stain wood a dark color we would wet it down with water in advance of staining. By doing this and letting it dry, we would be raising the grain ( or knapp ) of the wood. This provides more surface area and results in a darker look. This was usually done with hardwoods but you might do a sample pine piece, 1/2 wet down and 1/2 not, to see if it gives you a different look before the main event. Also if the wood has been planed it is more polished and will absorb less color so you might consider hand sanding with the grain to darken the boards. Again, sample pieces ahead of time could help you decide which is best. The coarser grit maybe 100 or 80 grit gives you more surface. Using the underside of your boards could work as your test area. Best of luck! Ricster
Ricster, great advice, I will use the underside to do some experimenting. Maybe do all of the underside first and see how it works out and hopefully learn something so the top sides look like I know what I was doing.
John, thanks for sharing the picture. Wow, the bed wood looks great after all those years. Amazing what a little used oil will do.
