Has anyone EVER restored a bed properly?

[georgieb51]

This is a great topic. Right now I am putting together an order from MAR-K of Oklahoma for a whole stepside bed kit and wood kit.They sent me an email of 20% off through the end of this month (code OLDSCH1820) on orders over $1,000. so this seems a good time to bite the bullet. To answer the question I have never done a wood bed with paint on the wood but I have owned trucks with evidence of paint on the wood and vowed that if I ever had the chance I would paint the wood. I have decades of experience working on wood boats so I have learned what it takes to get any sort of finish on wood no matter if it is painted, or a clear finish like varnish. Here is how I will do it:

I am ordering the yellow pine bed wood from MAR-K but unlike the original trucks I will not be using plain steel strips to hold them down. Instead I will be ordering unpolished Stainless Steel and will just paint the stainless. It will provide an extra measure of insurance against rust. With all the wood on my boats I first seal all the surfaces with a clear epoxy sealer. I prefer Smith's CPES (Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer) saturated into the wood. Then I use a marine primer ( I prefer Interlux InterProtect 2000, an epoxy primer) from Jamestown Distributors in RI. I will do this on the bed wood. I also use Jamestown's epoxy fairing compound called Total Boat Total Fair on any checks and knots the same way we would use bondo to eliminate imperfections prior to topcoats. Since Total Fair is a green color it would not work for clear coats but works perfectly for painted wood. I will treat all my boards on every exposed surface this way and then topcoat with the colored paint prior to installation. If I need to touch anything up I can just use colored paint after installation. All the bolts and metal strips and wood boards will be the same color as the rest of the bed interior.

I too have debated about using clear-coated boards on the floor, but to tell you the truth I am getting tired of seeing trucks done this way even though they can be quite beautiful. I prefer seeing the paint on my trucks look the way they were when they came out of the factory, and this includes the bed floors. This is just personal preference and it has not been easy to stick with this decision.

[Steeveedee]

I should have taken pics of the bed when I replaced the camper shell. I pulled out the damaged plywood (because the indoor/outdoor carpet was glued to it). It did a great job of protecting the wood bed, which is also painted Hugger Orange just like the truck. I would have sworn that the wood is white oak, but I can be educated. The bottom is unpainted, and since this truck has lived almost exclusively in southern California, is in great shape.

[cypressbog]

The factory used Southern Yellow Pine for their bed boards.

[ho70]

Well, My original wood has so many holes in it I had to screw plywood over it to hold stuff in the bed. I am replacing the floor with red oak. There was no evidence of paint on the underneath of the boards. For all of those who are redoing their beds....I thought I would go with stainless (not polished) and paint the strips original color. Do not get aerosol cans of color to do this, 300 bucks so far in paint to do the strips and wheel housings. Go polished and save some time and money. Someone did post previous that they por 15'd the wood and painted it original color. Said it worked great.

[67ChevyRedneck]

Man, great question. I can only recall seeing one bed in person where they had tried to mimic the original paint and that was a long time ago.

Seen a few originals with some paint left, but for the most part, everyone replaces the wood and stains it.

I went totally cheap with my truck, deck boards with no steel strips (except on bedsides)

[Steeveedee]

Originally Posted by ho70

Well, My original wood has so many holes in it I had to screw plywood over it to hold stuff in the bed. I am replacing the floor with red oak. There was no evidence of paint on the underneath of the boards. For all of those who are redoing their beds....I thought I would go with stainless (not polished) and paint the strips original color. Do not get aerosol cans of color to do this, 300 bucks so far in paint to do the strips and wheel housings. Go polished and save some time and money

Red oak has a porous grain structure and will rot right quick if it gets wet a lot. You don't see much red oak outdoor furniture for this reason.

[old51sedan]

georgieb51,
I'm thinking of painting mine also & I agree it's not an easy decision. I have until spring to make up my mind.
I just placed an order with Mar-k also for a hinge kit for my stepwise. I don't know if you had seen this or not, but it allows you to eliminate the noisey chains scratching the bed.
Good luck with you new bed, send pictures of progress.

[dagnabbitt]

Pretty crazy that GM presumably had a carpentry division all the way up until 1987. I think about that sometimes. How many people worked on the beds? Were they as much of a PITA to assemble new, on the factory floor, as they are now? Were all stepside boxes made in one location and shipped to the various factories? .

My 1981 had a respray at some point, over the factory paint, and they did a particularly half-hearted job on the box wood. You can still see the original blue in places. And the wood isn't in bad shape. I might not only try to save that wood but go with factory colour again. Great thread.

[Boog]

I don't know about how "proper" they were but I've refloor'd two trucks so far. The first one I used oak for strength and painted it black. The second one I used #2 southern yellow pine and painted it black also. These were daily drivers, not show trucks. I wanted those floors to last. I didn't have the luxury of a table saw. As a matter of fact I don't think there were any floor kits available back then but I managed to whip up a jig to hold the boards while I ran a skill saw down the edges. They turned out real well. I imagine that's how I will do this next one too though I might use clear pine this time. I will most likely give them several coats of paint on all sides and edges to seal them as well as I can.
I just can't justify spending a lot of bucks on a floor kit for a non show truck and like someone just said it seems everybody has stained and varnished bed floors. I think I've even seen some laminate flooring used.

[special-K]

A friend bought a medium blue & white '72 Cheyenne Super/20 Custom Camper with a wood floor that was shot. His plane was to go over and sell. The paint was good original but the wood was shot. He asked me to do the floor, so I got some Georgia pine heart wood, milled it up to specs, and put thinned out medium blue paint on to make it fit in best with the all original truck.

[Orange67]

Was it an option to have body color or black on the wood? My bed is typical of a 67, rotted and cracked. The original owner had the truck under coated, so that helped I think. Anyway, looking at the strips on mine, I would swear it looks like the remnants of black paint, not medium red like the rest of the truck.

[jocko]

I believe some or all 67s may be an exception to the body color rule - carry over from the 60-66 era. But not sure - your truck could be that proof!

[sboris]

Originally Posted by jocko

I believe some or all 67s may be an exception to the body color rule - carry over from the 60-66 era. But not sure - your truck could be that proof!

I don't know if this relates to 67 only or not, but a buddy of mine has 2 NOS 67 bed wood sets. Bought from a dealership going out of business in the early 80s. Both sets I seen were painted a thin coat of what looked like satin colored black.. I actually borrowed a set for the dimensions years ago.

As far as what I am running now, my truck gets light use, so wasn't real keen on the idea of the paint peeling or flying off. I am running bare wood that gets oil treated once a year.

[Orange67]

Originally Posted by jocko

I believe some or all 67s may be an exception to the body color rule - carry over from the 60-66 era. But not sure - your truck could be that proof!

That would make sense. Seems 67 got quite a few carry over designs at the very least from the 66 year. My truck is a Custom Camper, and I realized when I got it 20 or so years ago that the fender emblems are the same as 66.

Truth be told, my SPID is long gone, and never have located a build sheet. That being said, I had already decided that I was going with pine from MAR-K, steel bed strips and painting it all satin black.

What is funny, is my wife still argues with me. She wants me to do oak, varnish, and stainless. I told her to get her own truck. (Thankfully she hasn't, and we are still married.)

[jocko]

Originally Posted by Orange67

I told her to get her own truck.

You Go!

[Orange67]

Originally Posted by jocko

You Go!

Hahaha that was awesome. But in hindsight, a truck would have been smarter. She bought a Mini Clubman. Not even turbocharged or supercharged. Can barely get out of its own way, (BTW, my wife isn't on this site, so sush...)

Dave, I will figure out a way to clean (CLR I hope) some of my bed strips just to see what I come up with. I will post some pics here as soon as I can.