Factory Bed wood finish on 59 Apache

[Zoomad75]

Ok guys I'm neck deep in a 59 Apache frame off restoration at our shop. There is some debate as to what we need to be doing for the finish of the new bed wood and strips. My research has led me to find that beds on 55 and earlier were sealed with linseed oil and lampback (sp?) and the rails were painted black. From 56 and up the wood was sealed and them painted what ever the body color was.

In our case the bedwood had been exposed to the elements far too long and was completely rotten. No evidence to prove anything even though it's a 77k mile original truck. Now my brother in law picked up a very original 53 that's only had one paint job, but the bed wood was left alone and it's most certainly black. So that at least proves out the pre-55 part of the story, but still am at a loss for the task force era at least.

I did order the pine bedwood kit from Brothers but need to get the plan ready when we get to the reassembly stage. So anybody have any notes or references to point us in the right direction? Thanks!