Wood Preservative
 

All,

I have ordered my white oak for the bed of my truck and it will be arriving soon.

What is the best way I can go about preserving it?

I have done a lot of oak furniture for our home and have
always sanded, stained and then tongue oiled.

What do you guys do to preserve your wood?

The Texas sun can be brutal!

Thanks for your time :)

Re: Wood Preservative
 

Keep it indoors, or paint it.
I've had varnished boats and varnished outdoor furniture, but life is too short to try and keep up with outdoor varnish.

In your shoes I'd look at Deks Olje D1 or a similar penetrating oil finish. The advantage is maintenance is to just clean and wipe on more finish. If you get a scratch, just wipe on more. No need to strip and sand.
The disadvantage is it probably needs that attention more frequently than a varnished finish

About 25 years ago I did a cedar strip kayak with a west system epoxy brand 2 part finish, it has stood up very well for all that time, but is never stored in direct sun. That particular product was discontinued, I don't know if there is a replacement

Re: Wood Preservative
 

I'm with the penetrating oil group. I had a boat with teak finishes and thats what worked best. it was under a canvas boat cover when not in use but still needed to be oiled fairly often. it lived outside year round.
with that in mind I used a steel bed in my old project. i would consider a composite decking bed otherwise. since you have the wood already I would say use an oil that has good UV protection and, after you have fit the pieces in mock up, take it all apart again, apply several coats on all sides until it won't absorb anymore, come back in a few days and do it all over again until it won't absorb anymore. then let it sit overnight, wipe it down and install it. keep the oil handy for future applications.