Bedwood

[JimT]

Any suggestions on what type of poly to apply on my new oak bed wood? I've heard a good quality marine poly provides good UV protection and doesn't yellow. Thanks!

Jim T
1966 GMC Fleetside
Scituate, MA

[FetchMeAPepsi]

Any suggestions on what type of poly to apply on my new oak bed wood? I've heard a good quality marine poly provides good UV protection and doesn't yellow. Thanks!

Jim T
1966 GMC Fleetside
Scituate, MA

I've toyed with the idea of putting marine spar varnish on Cecilia's wood when I get it in, but like all coatings that show the grain it doesn't last well.

One place did a test and found that since our trucks had black painted wood to begin with, a coating of Por 15 and a topcoat of black outdoor paint was the absolute best, longest lasting thing you could do.

I just don't see why they can't make a see-through varnish that holds up and still shows the wood grain. It's 2018 after all. We can preserve blueberries for 25 years or more and keep them edible. We should be able to preserve wood for at least that long!

[1960HDGMC]

I've toyed with the idea of putting marine spar varnish on Cecilia's wood when I get it in, but like all coatings that show the grain it doesn't last well.

One place did a test and found that since our trucks had black painted wood to begin with, a coating of Por 15 and a topcoat of black outdoor paint was the absolute best, longest lasting thing you could do.

I just don't see why they can't make a see-through varnish that holds up and still shows the wood grain. It's 2018 after all. We can preserve blueberries for 25 years or more and keep them edible. We should be able to preserve wood for at least that long!

Rub the Blueberries into the wood. It will look fine for 25 years. Actually, I suggest a catalyzing dock stain product called "One Time Wood". It worked out great for me. I have Bald Cypress, and it has not grayed at all. It is guaranteed in full sun for 7 years. It shows grain great,but only comes in satin/matte. 100 bucks a gallon too. Stinks to high heaven until it is fully catalyzed in the sun for a month. But it beats all the other products I have seen folks try. Worth looking at at least, GM.

[rusty66]

I used the marine spar varnish on an oak bed kit in 2013. I put on several coats. It looks fine so far. But it is garaged and covered most of the time, so take it for what it's worth. Good luck.

[jbgroby]

I went with factory black, but if you go to Mar-K's web site they have several pages (pasted below) of bed wood with different coats and how well they have held up to the elements.

http://www.mar-k.com/_assets/images/instructions/wood-test-1.pdf

http://www.mar-k.com/_assets/images/instructions/woodtest2.pdf

http://www.mar-k.com/_assets/images/instructions/2007finalwoodtest.pdf

http://www.mar-k.com/_assets/images/instructions/2010woodtestupdate.pdf

[JimT]

Wow, awesome recap, thanks for posting!

JimT