The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk wood beds....painted vs. natural/varnished

Tell ya, given my experience with Shelley's bed, I'm strongly considering painting the wood that's in the '67. You just CANNOT keep varnished wood nice in a vehicle that's out in the elements. I tried for many years before Shelley was kept in a garage and had no luck, outside of unbolting all the metal strips, removing, refinishing, and reassembling the wood every six months...no thanks.

Factory wood beds in '67 were either gloss black or body color weren't they? Paint gets a little dingy ya just apply another coat. Very easy to keep it nice, and a gouge is no big deal. You can always have a nice glossy coat in there. With natural wood finish, it gets a little grayer and more bubbly every day. Hate seeing that.

Guess I could try a tonneau if there's one out there without snaps and also waterproof.

Back in the old days they used linseed oil to keep the wood beds from splitting.I think your idea of painting sounds good.Before you paint apply a coat of linseed oil and give it a chance to soak in,then paint it.This is just my idea,maybe someone else will tell you different. Dale

Why can't you put on a new coat of varnish with the metal strips in place? I would just do a light sand and a fresh coat every so often with a good Marine varnish. Boats don't get their woodwork redone that often and can look great for years. What varnish did you use?

Before painting (or varnishing) check out a product called "Penetrol" (manufactured by Flood).
I 'soaked' the bare/sanded oak pcs. with it and mixed it in with the varnish. It makes varnish or paint flow real nice.

I don't know what kinda varnish is on the '67. Sanding without disassembly is a decent idea except if you don't do it immediately when needed the wood will start to turn gray in spots.

On Shelley I've always used the best outdoor varnish available at Lowes/Home Depot and applied it very thin at first with progressively thicker coats, just the way Brownell recommends in his "How to Restore" book.

May need to search the boat sites to find out exactly what they use.

The grey spots are areas the varnish, or protective layer, have worn through and the moisture reached the wood. Your method of varnishing sounds great. Build up a nice thick coat of a UV resistant boat varnish and maintain that layer on a regular basis. It would be similar to scratching your paint and waiting for it to start rusting before covering it up.
Check your yellow pages for a boat supply place. Or even online.

Here we go again.If you are gonna use varnish,I prefer spar urethane it is gonna be mostly for show.It looks just great,but you dont want to be throwing stuff on it ,anything that will scratch the surface.Also when you sand and add a new coat it is a good idea to take the boards out and do the job right.for everyday use,daily driver,hauling stuff,the truck is going to be setting out in the weather,I think treating and painting the wood is a better idea.And it still looks prsentable.

On my trucks I stained the wood dark, then applied the clear wood perservative used on outside decks.Every year or so I slop on another coat right over the metal strips,it drips underneath gets between the wood and metal.
Like the others say, varnish is a surface treatment not meant for rough loads.

Painting is just as much just a surface treatment as varnish is. On top of that there are varnishes that are a heck of a lot harder than most paints and so offer more protection.

If the edges are properly coated before installation just do thin in between coats of either on a regular basis with the strips installed. A little masking tape goes a long way. JMO

Just get urself some creosote and dump it back there works fine. Let it soak in and set in the sun. I've also treated with used engine oil--slop it on let it soak in. No need to mask--first load of dirt or sand will clean it up--the oil gives a nice black patina to yellow pine--sheds water gud. Course if ya got a trailer queen or show truck--these practical bed treatments may not be desireable.

To be considered original ,doesn't the wood need to be painted black ? I read somewhere that GM did it that way from the factory.

I agree with Dale937. I put the spar urethane on wood for my 37 and its been on there for 4 years. It does need to be freshened up this winter but over all it has remained pretty darn good. I went with "spar" because its suppose to expand and retract without cracking thus letting in moisture to ruin the wood. I keep it inside the shop and I don't haul rocks in it so I guess thats why its lasted so long??

I would like to add that I put 4 coats on ALL sides to keep the moisture from coming up from the bottom of the boards. I know it helps. The bottom looks as good as the top and right now probably looks better!

KK

Ur right the original beds at least on AD trucks were painted black--I'm no purist and certainly don't have one of those concourse champ vehicles, but it sure seems to me that the rules are being bent about those show trucks being allowed to have furniture quality bedwoods all varnished up with the owners polishin em with lemon pledge. Seems like points ought to be deducted for nonoriginal beds. :rolleyes:

Probably depends on who's running the show. I guarantee that at a VCCA (Vintage Chevrolet Club of America) show you WILL get points deducted for a non-original bed.

My .02, As I'm a guy that puts varnish on those boats, I would have to ask what type of maintenance regimen you want to do? The simplest method would be the deck stain, or black paint. Easy to touch/freshen up. For Spar varnish, I would recommend "Epifanes", six coats minimum to start(both sides, and all four edges). The problem with varnish, paint, or any hard, glossy coating, is when you torque down the bed strips, you will invariably break that coating open, exposing the wood to moisture, and the deterioration begins immediatly. I'll be using the deck sealer method on mine, just much easier to maintain. If you are really bent on a clear, glossy look, "West System" produces an epoxy with UV inhibitors, and is extremly durable, and buffable, so you can fix it, if you scratch it. Kinda pricey however.

as an aside, what WAS the correct colors for the wood bed in a 67? My wood is so deteriorated, it's hard to tell, but it looks like at one point, both the metal and wood was painted black, and there's also a hint of red paint on the metal. Was the bed black with body-color strips, or varnished, or what? This is a base model truck, so there isn't any chrome anything on it...

Matt, I clearly remember as an 8yr old, playing in the bed of Dad's brand new '67 short fleetside. The wood, and strips were black. But then so was the body color of the truck. According to the restoration tips in the front of Jim Carter's catalogs,(paraphrasing) "the yellow pine planks were painted black, 1955 and earlier, and black OR body color 1956 to '66. '67-'72 wood beds and strips were painted body color. Oak was last used from the factory in the late '30's." HTH

hmm...well, that gives me an idea of what to do with the strips...now, to paint the wood black, red, or varnished...hmm...I really like the look of varnished wood, and since I"m painting mine dark blue, black wouldn't show up too well...I'll probably varnish 'em.