Finish/sealer/stain factory used on wood beds?

[10drum]

Greeting,

I am going to replace the bed wood on my 69 LWB. I will install the pine kit from brothers, because pine is what was original. Does anyone know what was used as a finish? The best I can remember was, they were oiled, with what, who knows?

[GR8-68]

Actually they were painted normally whatever the color of the truck was

[10drum]

Larry, now that you mention it, they were painted, but it was not automotive paint, it was like a latex or something, you could see the grain of the wood. It's been so long, and back when my truck was new, I was 16 years old, and could care less about the wood in the bed of a pickup. My truck bed was replaced with maple, which is in decent shape, it has a urethane finish, it's slick as snot when wet, and it just looks stupid, I have it covered with a bed mat for now.

[firedemon]

it was probably lacquer back then it will suck into wood and you would be able to see the wood grain

[davepl]

I would highly doubt that if they were using a special paint on the wood bed that they'd do them all body color (I think they would have been natural or black or something more like the 67s, if I'm not mistaken about those).

The fact that they're body color tells me, though it's just a hunch, that they shot the bed with whatever they were painting the body with. Back in those days it would be laquer, and as someone said, that gets sucked into the grain like a stain almost.

My guess only, not facts.

[jocko]

Yep - that's sure what my white wood bed looks like - shot w/same paint as body. Doubt the assembly line could accommodate the pains we go to today to make our beds look like we think they looked when original... Was 67 the first year for body color bed wood? (66's and earlier in that era were black).

[Shaky]

I bought my truck from the original owner. He put a steel plate down on top of the wood shortly after he bought it. I took the plate off for the restoration. Here's what I found:

[Ken B]

I have no idea what they used for the paint but my orange 70 Longhorn had the original wood in the bed. I bought it from the original owner, he told me that the wood bed was already painted orange when he bought it off the dealers lot..

[Shaky]

Another pic from after I disassembled and washed the boards:

[10drum]

Shaky, thanks for the photos. It is apparent the boards were painted after they were installed. I may keep the boards, and paint them flat black. Thanks for the replies.

[Shaky]

Originally Posted by 10drum

It is apparent the boards were painted after they were installed.

Yeah - the metal strips in between were painted too.