Wood bed install

[bdmcgee]

The wood is all cut & drilled and ready to be finished before we install it. . . We were going with a marine grade varnish, but after seeing how beautiful the oak is, we're thinking about just going with clear urethane. Any and all thoughts, opinions, and/or experinces would be greatly appriciated.

Thanks guys!

[unclewatts]

Clear urethane cracks after a few years. I've seen it too many times. After that you're stuck with it. Water gets in the cracks and turns the oak black which really looks nasty. the only thing you can do is to try to grind the whole mess off and start again. I used Watco teak oil then Man o' war spar varnish and steel wooled between each of 6 coats. It came out beautiful. I protect it with a tonneau cover and park under a carport because I don't believe there is any finish that will protect wood from direct weather. Just my .02

[coloradosean2009]

I would use a natural oil with a little bit of pigment. Watco is a good choice. I prefer the golden oak color myself. After about 3 coats of that on all sides, the wood will be protected. Anything that builds a film, like poly or varnish will eventually fail. In Colorado the sun will make that happen in one season. When that happens, the wood will need to be sanded to remove the failing film coat. That will suck.

By not using a film finish, you will be able to "revitalize" the wood without sanding through a failing film. Seasonally you can reapply Watco to the boards. This will bring back the color that you had in the wood and protect it from the elements.

Unless your rig is going to sit in a garage most of its life, a simple oil finish is the only way to go.

[Green Machine]

Originally Posted by coloradosean2009

I would use a natural oil with a little bit of pigment. Watco is a good choice. I prefer the golden oak color myself. After about 3 coats of that on all sides, the wood will be protected. Anything that builds a film, like poly or varnish will eventually fail. In Colorado the sun will make that happen in one season. When that happens, the wood will need to be sanded to remove the failing film coat. That will suck.

By not using a film finish, you will be able to "revitalize" the wood without sanding through a failing film. Seasonally you can reapply Watco to the boards. This will bring back the color that you had in the wood and protect it from the elements.

Unless your rig is going to sit in a garage most of its life, a simple oil finish is the only way to go.

I agree - since we didn't want to deal with a peeling finsh either, we used Penofin Marine oil finish. Not as pretty as varnish, but when it needs redone, we can powerwash it, maybe use a cleaner to brighten the wood, and mask off and reapply.