Wood bed finishing recommendations??

[zacut]

I am in the process of installing a new oak wood bed and am interested in finish suggestions. I plan to actually use the truck lightly vs a full show truck finish.

Currently I am planning to stain the wood and then spray a couple of coats of Spar marine varnish over that, but I am wondering what good and bad experiences others have had.

If I had it to do over again I would have used a simple teak oil finish on teak wood. That way as it wore some I could have simply added more teak oil.

Thanks.

[kyull67]

I've got Red Oak and I sealed it with several coats of teak oil and then clear sealer over that.

[pat]

I stained mine, then put about 10 coats of marine spar varnish, semi-gloss, on the wood. I have been told by several people to put about as many coats on it as you can.
Also, after putting on all those coats, it made the wood thicker. I had to pound the crap out of the wood to force it to fit in the outside corners of the bed. You might wanna take off an 1/8" off the thickness of the ends of the boards if you plan on putting a lot of varnish on it so it will fit easier.

[zacut]

Thanks for the advice.

If I were to try the teak oil on oak route, what type of clear did you apply? Polyurethane?

[kyull67]

If I were to try the teak oil on oak route, what type of clear did you apply? Polyurethane?

I don't remember exactly but it was a type of polyurethane. Go to www.mar-k.com and check out their section on bed wood finishing. They have alot of great information.