The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Making a Stovebolt Bed Wood bed finish

I'm finally getting ready to paint the ole girl and install the new oak bed. The truck will be used for pleasure and the occasional trip to Home Depot so I'm not so interested in a show quality high gloss finish but rather one that will look good and be durable. Best suggestions would be appreciated.

You know, you are going through a lot of trouble and spending good money on oak wood. You might as well put a nice finish on it. A good finish is going to be durable. Mar-K has finish test that they did here. Why not take a look at it. Here is the site.
http://www.mar-k.com/wood_finish_testing_i.html

I used Minwax Helmans Spar Urethane, 7 coats, sanding in between coats. Nice gloss finish with lots of UV protection. You can check out the bed wood process on my site at the bottom. Any questions, just ask!!!
Coach Frank

coach frank, I'm plan on using minwax on my bed. How much do I need to buy? Will two quarts do it or do I need a gallon?

I bought a gallon, had some left over. 2 quarts would be real close to finish it off.

I've heard marine varnish works great (see Mr. Lang's truck bed here) - it's tough enough to protect wood on boats at sea, so I bet it would be more than good enough for a truck bed. He used Epiphanes varnish.

I'm curious as to how you came about 7 coats. I did the same thing is why I ask, but I'm just curious as to why you chose 7 coats.

I had some rough sawn pecan (hickory) that I had cut down to size. I used Cabot deck stain. Then I put 7 coats of McCloskey's Man O' War Spar Varnish. I will get back to you on how well it holds up in my daily driver once I put it in and get on the road.

I went with 9 coats on mine, using Halmsman Spar Varnish. I consulted with my dads cousins husband, who is a professional woodworker about it, that was the product he suggest (he even gave a 1/2 quart of it). He suggested 8 coats, I went one more as I had some leftover. Took about 2 1/2 quarts total, my truck is longbed 1/2 ton.

For what it's worth I used Minwax Helmans Spar Urethane that I got at home depot. The bed was oak and I used the truck as a daily driver. After about 6 months (including an east Tennessee winter) signs of black mold, a bit up cupping and cracking on the ends of the planks appeared. I think I had applied 3 coats.

Nothing was hauled in the bed during this time.

I think next time around I will use yellow pine like the original AD trucks and leave it bare (the next truck will only be a weekend driver).

I also used Minwax Helmans Spar Semi-Gloss Urethane (7 coats - do not ask why, I do not know). I thinned it 50% on the first two coats in an attempt to get better "penetration". This seems to have worked pretty well (13 years). However, I have a heavy rubber bed mat and try to keep from damaging the surface seal of the varnish.

One of the most important things to be careful about when applying a varnish as a moisture sealer is to cover all six sides of the board (end edges are especially important and can suck-in a lot of varnish). Also, if there is ever any mechanical damage to any part of the board - damage that breaks through the seal, you will 100%-certain have expansion and contraction from changing internal moisture. Cracking is then assured.

A boat restorer friend of mine told me he uses 7 coats of spar-urethane on the mahogany boats that he restores. He says with the sanding between coats you need at least 7 coats to have a durable finish on boats. Being a woodworker myself I know moisture will be absorbed by wood, so all sides need the 7 coats so that moisture is absorbed evenly by the wood. Oak has a tendency to turn black with any moisture that gets to the bare wood. The cupping and cracking again was the result of moisture getting to the wood. If there is an area that the urethane did not fully protect moisture will find it! My bed is going on three years now and it still looks great.

memdonjo, a fellow bolter,Swradial, turned me on to a little trick several years ago. Stand your boards up on their ends in some of the product your using and let the ends soak over night. I used the helmsman spar urethane in 1999 and it works good. It does stay inside most of the time but it has seen its share of rain..... then, about two years ago, I refinished mine and did like Tim, SWraidal, suggested and the same boards look nice today. Just SOAK those ends.

My floor is pine and I used 2 heavy coats of Minwax sealer, stain and protector on it followed by 3 or 4 (can't remember) coats of spar Varnish. It hasn't held up well at all. The high Colorado altitude UV rays have done a number on it. I may end up replacing the pine with oak but really don't want oak just because everybody has it.
Anyone have a good idea on salvaging the pine? It's still straight.

Dave, I took the boards out of my pickup and took them to the guy who built all my cabinets when I was home builder.
He ran them through his planner and took off enough to barely get the old finish off. I measured it and doggone it, you couldn't tell he took any off!! I then redid mine using the Helsman Spar Urethane finish and it still looks nice but I must admit it stays in the shop most of the time.
Nevertheless, the planning sure did the trick. I had a couple of small low places about the size of a silver dollar and a paper dollar but sanded those by hand so as to not cut anymore off. Oh, and it was Oak.

I did one a few years back using I think 6 coats of Helmsman-did fine all winter but the summer sun killed it quick, I ended up painting it. I don't think anything other than paint will hold up on a daily driver.

Agree. We tested numerous clear finishes http://www.mar-k.com/wood_finish_testing_ii.html and none lasted as long as the painted finishes. The black painted sample has been outdoors in the weather 24/7 for nearly 6 years and still looks great.

Mar-Ktech

what grit sandpaper did y'all sand the in-between coats with?
Thanks, Pete

I used 220 Pete, then used a tack rag to get the sanding dust off. Be careful not to sand thru the finish, just sand enough to get the bumps and imperfections out of the finish!!!

Thanks Coach Frank, as soon as I return from New Brunswick I'm starting.

As a woodworker, I sure love finished oak in a bed. BUT, unless it's a show truck, as mentioned above, I agree painted is the way to go for a daily driver (like mine.) It is also easy to touch up if you scratch it up.

I noticed someone gave you the link to our wood finish tests, but we also have some wood finish suggestions on our site at this link:
http://www.mar-k.com/wood_finishing.html

Also there are 2 finish tests for you to look at.
http://www.mar-k.com/wood_finish_testing_i.html
http://www.mar-k.com/wood_finish_testing_ii.html

Hope this helps.