Bed Wood Finish

[70short]

OK I got my truck back from paint last Sept. and have been slowly puting it back together. The paint was a big pocket book "ouch"!!!!!!!!!! Anyway's I am getting close to finishing my bed wood. I have decided on Marine grade Spar Varnish. I want to buy the stuff here in town and what I am leaning toward is McClusky"s. Anybody's views or opinions on this prduct or any other suggestions? I took my truck out the other day and took a cell phone pic, and it needs washed real bad but what do you think?? And yes the wheels are just temporary.

[BossHogg69]

not sure about the bed wood varnish (although any info would be great since I'll be replacing my bed wood soon), but your truck looks awesome. Is that a late model GM color?

[70short]

Its the paint code for Eleanor the mustang off the movie gone in 60 seconds. Thanks for the compliment

[69GMCLonghorn]

I have heard that you either want to use a marine grade finish as you mentioned, or find the stuff that they use on gym floors. That is supposed to be the toughest stuff. I did mine a couple years back and listened to some cheese ball that didn't know his varnish from a hole in the ground. When I find the time, I need to redo mine in a bad way! Keep us posted on how it turns out

[PanelDeland]

Bed wood needs to be sealed on all sides.Make sure you do the end grain and side grain also.I would recommend a marine grade varnish or better yet an epoxy like used on strip built canoes or kayaks.It can be had with a higth gloss and since it waterproofs and seals it seems like it would be the ticket.The downside is it has no UV protection so if the truck will be outdoors for any length of time I would also clear coat it with Automotive clear.
This is strictly the opinion I formed after reading thru some of the posts on this site.

http://www.mikenchell.com/forums/

I figure if these folks spend all that time and effort to build something that looks that good they probably have done a lot of research on what works to keep wood nice.

[COACHMEASON]

Posting so I can find it again down the road...nice opinion panel

[LONGHAIR]

Every kind of SPAR varnish that I have ever seen has UV screeners and/or UV absorbers. As long as it is rated for exterior use, you should be ok. It big question is "color" and gloss. Part of the sun blocking ability of these types of finishes is in reflectivity, so they are all full gloss. So you are kind of stuck with that, but that is what most people are looking for anyway so.....
Color is part of it too. Most varnishes are at least slightly amber colored and the more coats applied, the darker amd more noticable this becomes. If you are staining first, be aware of that and pick your stain accordingly, it will get darker.
I have used THIS with great results. It flows nice and builds quickly.

[cdowns]

the first coat or 2 should be thinned quite a bit to allow for deep penetration into the grain of the wood //its very important to do all edges and ends of the wood to complete seal the wood so it willresist allowing moisture being absorbed by the wood// after every 3 or 4 coats lightly sand to get it smooth

[big mike71]

With the color of your truck the product they use on Trucks on the 64 would look awesome. nice truck.

[big_al_71]

love the color....dont know anything about the wood bed though,,,sorry.

[chipflyer]

I used the man-o-war spar varnish when I did mine last summer with good results. I used their satin finish and I have 4 coats brushed on both sides of the boards, which did take a little time to finish. If I do another I might also consider spraying automotive clear, it also offers excellent UV protection and would be a bit more fun than brushing on the finish.

Jeff

[Botietruck]

I used Bristol Finishes 2-part marine varnish and topped off with 4 coats automotive clear. As chipflyer said, spraying is much easier.

[stllookn]

McCloskey's, Man of War is a great marine spar varnish. That is what I use on my boat bright work and on just about any wood I finish. I love the old school bright work...8-10 coats...looks like glass!

[MAR-Ktech]

70short: Nice looking truck. They build those Eleanor knock-offs up the road from us. It is an awsome car.

We have done tests on bedwood finishes for several years. You might be interested in looking them over. http://www.mar-k.com/wood_finish_testing_ii.html We tested Man-o-War in 2004 and it didn't last particularly well.

If you require long term durability in the weather, consider painting the wood as in our test. Gloss black exterior paint over 3 coats of POR-15. No other finish tested comes close. This test has been going outdoors 24/7 in Oklahoma weather for 4 years and the black painted wood has zero failure, still looks nice. All others failed to some degree in less than a year. I could see glossy black or charcoal color wood with aluminum strips in your truck.

Mar-Ktech

[70short]

The truck will spend most of th etime parked in my garage. other than when I am driving it which will probably be only in summer type weather. I do have a daily driver that gets way better gas milage. Plus I have another hot rod to share the spot light. and my wifes daily driver is a 04 BMW M3 and that is alot of fun to drive.