Bed wood stain

[Lo1dakota]

So what are you guys using to protect your wood? I have blue pine I picked up and although it's a soft wood I couldn't get over how beautiful it is. My truck will likely not see rain, and will be garaged. But there may be some weekend trips where it can be out. I'm looking to keep the wood in it natural color. There may be times the bed gets use so I'd rather not have an oily finish.

So what's your recommendation?

[Foot Stomper]

Stain it. Any clear coat you put on it will not adhere over the life time of the bed. Please read the clear testing results on the MAR-K site. They prove what I say. No clear coat of any kind will work !! http://www.mar-k.com/final_summary.aspx

A good stain will not be "oily" if done properly.

[torchlight]

I used water-based spar urethane from Old Masters and I was very happy with how it came out. Brushed on smoothly and dried flat. Easy to lightly sand between coats. I ended up using the satin finish because I didn't want my boards to have the "clear coat" look. Just has a nice soft flat appearance. I did use a light water-based stain on these boards before the urethane. Bruce Horkey recommended this stuff to me.

[_Ogre]

I'm looking to keep the wood in it natural color.

blo (boiled linseed oil) will keep the natural look, darkening the wood just a bit
i would apply it before installing the boards, let it sit and wipe it off
blo is used in furniture applications where oily would never be appropriate
it can also be reapplied as needed

i agree with foot stomper (and mar-k) any clear finish on bed wood
sunlight and washing the truck is enough to peel the edges around bed strip very quickly

[HUSSEY]

A guy on the AD social forums on the HAMB used recycled motor oil thinned with a little diesel fuel on pine decking boards. I thought it turned out really good looking. If you're the type that likes to brag about how little you spent then I don't think you couldn't find a better solution.

[OrrieG]

I believe the original black used on bed wood was lamp black and linseed oil. Later they went to paint.

[my56chevytruck]

I also bought pine and just stained it. My stain is a water based mahogany that i got from Home Depot and I put 3 coats on. My suggestion is to put a coat on, wait a day, then another, wait a day and so on, till you get the shade/color you want. I made a mistake and put 3 coats on in the same day and it took nearly a week to dry. of course living in NW Indiana and having little to no sunshine didn't help. I did use a oil based spar varnish used on boats for the underside, 2 coats in 3 days and wiped it down after each coat.

[OrrieG]

Originally Posted by my56chevytruck

I also bought pine and just stained it. My stain is a water based mahogany that i got from Home Depot and I put 3 coats on. My suggestion is to put a coat on, wait a day, then another, wait a day and so on, till you get the shade/color you want. I made a mistake and put 3 coats on in the same day and it took nearly a week to dry. of course living in NW Indiana and having little to no sunshine didn't help. I did use a oil based spar varnish used on boats for the underside, 2 coats in 3 days and wiped it down after each coat.

Usually when I build furniture out of pine or other soft woods I use a pre-stain conditioner to even out the stain finish (get rid or dark and light splotching).

http://www.lowes.com/pd_506352-678-1...5-f5fee210a9ff

[Lo1dakota]

Whatever I get I do not want to change the color of at all possible.

[my56chevytruck]

Since I'm not a furniture builder and had never done this before, I take what was said about stain conditioner as a good tip if I do this again.