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Apr 26th, 2026 | | AD Chevy Trucks  Over 6,000 pictures Brad Allen has an awesome collection of Chevrolet factory pictures that he has set up from film strips. Check them out!
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| | | | Joined: Jun 2005 Posts: 86 New Guy | | New Guy Joined: Jun 2005 Posts: 86 | I want to take the bed wood out of my 53 bolt. Am I going to run into any trouble if I simply remove the bolts along the metal strips? I just want to sand the wood, stain it and put some satin 'thane on the wood. I am concerned about getting he bed misaligned... | | | | | Joined: Apr 2005 Posts: 1,107 'Bolter | | 'Bolter Joined: Apr 2005 Posts: 1,107 | if you go to the truck show next week in macungie ill gladly show you the results of mine  i had to dedo mine in late winter as a result of having my bed removed and covered for two months while the truck was getting painted and was not in the plan of things. the existing coating which i think they used plain polythane was all curled up and flaking and needed to be redone. since mine is a flatbed all i did was to remove the frame which needed painting anyway. i just used stripper on it and removed what i couldnt scrape off. since the bed is a 7'x9' bed with ten boards and nine strips i wasnt going to mess with dismantling it. after i had it stripped and washed i put six coats of minwax gloss spar on it. other than a couple of places where its layered uneven it looks excellant. all i did was tape off the strips but made sure i got the seams coated well between the strips and wood. i was surprized of all the compliments i got with it at southbend on how it looks. i did what i would call a hurry up half [censored] job but then i also use the bed and in time it will get all scuffed up and marred again so i wasnt looking for total perfection and im an anal kind of guy. | | | | | Joined: Jun 2005 Posts: 86 New Guy | | New Guy Joined: Jun 2005 Posts: 86 | So, you just took off the metal strips and left the boards still fastened while you were refinishing them? | | | | | Joined: Jul 2001 Posts: 3,887 Cruising in the Passing Lane | | Cruising in the Passing Lane Joined: Jul 2001 Posts: 3,887 | Shmoo - the strips are what fasten the boards, they 'clamp' into slots along the edges of the boards - Mike covered the strips with masking tape ... taking the strips off won't bother anything, the strips only attach to the cross sills, the bed itself is held down by the 6 or 8 countersunk bolts that go right to the frame and only hold a couple boards - but if you remove the strips and those main mount bolts so you can remove all the boards, you won't 'misalign' anything either
if you only recoat the top of the boards you're wasteing your time and money, to last, the finish must be applied to all 6 sides of each board to seal against any moisture causing the top finish to fail and the boards to warp or cup
Bill | | | | | Joined: Jun 2005 Posts: 86 New Guy | | New Guy Joined: Jun 2005 Posts: 86 | Bill--
Thanks for that great advice. I will coat all 6 sides on the new boards!
Shmoo | | | | | Joined: Oct 2006 Posts: 843 Shop Shark | | Shop Shark Joined: Oct 2006 Posts: 843 | To answer one of your questions:yes if you take the boards out,the box will flop all over the place.As Bill said the floor ties it together.When I did mine I ran those cheap ratchet strap,corner to corner to keep the box sides still.Blocks of wood between the frame and box to support it.When you reassemble have a friend help.I did it alone,,it was a hard lesson.I've had Minwax "Helmsman"on mine 3 yrs now.It's great.Have fun
Boyd | | |
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