Bed Boards

[steve23116]

I saw a 1951 chevy the other day that had what looked like fiberglass or some kind of composite boards in the bed. They looked really good, I was wondering if anyone knew anything about them of where to get them? Thanks

[britnjc]

just use composite decking and cut to size and route the edges

[MrTucker]

I'd shy away from the composite decking. I've heard way too many stories of that stuff falling apart in a few years. My mother in law's deck is less than 3 years old and it's literally crumbling.

I've seen some guys sand and paint their wood, but I'd think that swelling/shrinking wouldn't be too kind on paint

[63 & 64 Bowties]

There's a thread about this in the 60-66 section. I remember two issues were the composite boards being so thick. And, concern about exhaust system melting the boards from underneath. You may do a search over on the 60-66. I thought I had subscribed to that thread. I looked but I guess I didn't.

[Thadious]

Just about to do mine and looking at an doing an oil based ebonizing treatment. That combined with a black truck and polished stainless strips should work nicely.

I've looked and done a ton of reading about finishes on the beds of the truck but no matter what you use, it seems within a year or two, you'll be stripping them down for a refinish. Atleast with an oil based black finished, it's a simple wipe down for recolor and treatment with no hard shell to fade, peel and crack.

But then again, I don't think I'll be hauling with it anyways, that's what the second box trailer is for

Cheers,
Ted.