The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Paint and Body Shop Anyone painted bed wood with car paint?

Has anyone used car paint and primer (not Por-15) to finish their bed wood with? How well did it work? I decided to try and use Benjamin Moore Alkyd Enamel Underbody sanded down and then BM P-22 paint, and this stuff is crap compared to the catalyzed car primer and paint I'm used to using on car bodies. It would sure make life easier to use the car stuff if it would stick to the wood, and the results would be so much better.

I used regular auto acrylic enamel brushed onto mine. Leveled out great and has lasted so far. I thinnned the first coat so it would soak into the wood.

I am considering staining then using serveral coats of clear coat. I guess it depends on where you live and if the truck will be outside or not. There's been several reports and testing thats been done between paint, varnish, etc...

Check out the Mar-K web site for their findings.

Using acrylic enamel makes sense. The Benjamin Moore P-22 is an alkyd enamel; alkyd enamels were the precursors of acrylic enamels. I was wondering if some sort of 2K automotive primer could be used as these would build up better than wood primer and allow for better sanding and thus a flatter surface. The BM alkyd enamel underbody I used didn't build up very well at all and didn't sand worth a darn.

My logic behind using the BM alkyd enamel (besides being recommended by the BM dealer) was that it was probably similar to what GM originally used on the beds. After I painted them with it I realized I could see every imperfection in the boards so that's what led me to use the alkyd enamel underbody. The pine boards I got from Mar K were full of all kinds of dings, gouges, and planer marks, and sanding and/or scraping them just seemed to bring up the very hard grain. They were awful.

I've studied Mar K's tests on bed finishes and they seem to indicate that Por-15 covered with Behr latex house paint is the way to go, but I can't see how that could be. How would Por-15 create any kind of bond with the wood, especially if it is used full strength (which is pretty thick). Then how would latex house paint stick to the Por-15 (unless maybe the Por-15 was scuffed well).

My 71 GMC has a factory painted wood. It is orange like the truck. A lot of the orange is still there.

My wood bed is painted with Rustoleum satin black, and it holds up well...However, it lives in a garage, and seldom sees rain. Remember, paints that get hard and are designed for metal will not take much stretching. Wood, by nature, expands and contracts with temperature and moisture changes. I used enamel on a park bench, and after a few years, it cracked and the wood rotted where the moisture got in.

That's why I thought 2K urethane products would be good to use. Urethane, and especially polyurethane, tends to be pretty forgiving. A flex additive could even be added to the automotive products if a person really was concerned about the expansion and contraction of the wood, but I don't think it would be necessary.

Was hoping there was an update on this topic? I just uncovered part of the bed that has traces of the body color paint (1956) on the wood, strips and bolt heads. I have been trying to stay original but not to the point of obsession. It would be good to know if it is as easy or easier to prep and shoot body color than the work then other non-original options.

from Jim Carter:

"For the perfectionist: originally, bed wood planks were not sanded smooth and varnished. Trucks were for work and the idea of bed wood with a furniture quality appearance was out of the question. Prior to 1955, bed wood planks were covered with black paint (excellent protection from water and sun). Beginning with the 1955 second series, they were given a protective weather seal and often sprayed body color over this."

"For the perfectionist: originally, bed wood planks were not sanded smooth and varnished. Trucks were for work and the idea of bed wood with a furniture quality appearance was out of the question." LOVE THAT - I talked to guy once at a show who used a wood called 'purple heart' and yeah, it was purple. He said he spent $3200 for the wood and cutting, and then another $600 in finishing it in laquer and marine varnish. "zippity effing do dah, 38 hundred on bed wood, super!" i thought in my pea brain... Pass the yellow pine and lamp black, please.

There are several posts in several forums about what is correct, black vs. body color. Since there are traces of body color on my wood, strips and bolt heads, that is what I would like to restore it to.
Question is what is the right materials to use and the correct preperation for those primers, sealers and paints?
Thanks, Joe

MAR-K has been testing bed wood finishes since 2004. If you go to their site and look through the technical articles for their bed wood tests they are also testing a black Behr finish and it describes how it was applied.
www.mar-k.com/

From my marine experience with boat construction I've used a wood epoxy system for sealing and glueing. That is my strategy when dealing with the wood bed. I plan on using a marine epoxy sealer on all surfaces and then consider a clear or painted finish. Food for thought