TO all you wood finishing experts, I need your help!!
I chose pine wood due to information I was given that in our area, pine typically outlasts Oak.
I've stained the pine wood with a water based Behr stain and am now awaiting it to dry completely, due to living in N.W. Indiana where the weather has been mostly muggy and in the 50's so far. My question I have is can you apply a semi gloss coverage (varnish) over water stain and if so what brand?? I was hoping to do so to give the appearance a slight shine to the wood. I've been told you can't but i thought I'd ask those that have done bed woods for their trucks.
I've posted a picture of the wood. thank you for your help.
Water is just the vehicle, the carrier for the color. It does not effect the ability to use an oil based top coat once it is fully dry. By the way, you probably never use a "varnish" - that's way old tech. You should plan to use a water based Minwax urethane if you have any concerns.
Thanks Dan, you've brought out how old I am, haha. I've bought a spar-varnish from Cabot, i was told this is ideal for using on outdoor woods, and has excellent sun and water defense. I will check out the miniwax you mentioned. thanks again.
I'm just doing mind as well, I'm going with a penetrating epoxy sealer, then 6 coats of automotive clear coat. But whatever you use, I read to round all the sharp edges to a 1/8 corner. The sharp edges end up with very little finish on them, and are usually the first place the finish starts to fail. I did mine yesterday.
thank you Canuck, I did round all corners. phew, I thought a week at the most for the truck bed, I'm hoping after all the (2) weeks of working on this wood, I'll have it sealed and mounted. thanks again.
I used z spar flagship marine varnish over my oak. Guess I'm old fashioned too but I love the look of it. Reminds me of an old Chris Craft. As Dan said no problem with the water based stain.
Hey Jim, you made me feel so much better, lol. I to have spar marine varnish to use, but chose to only seal the under side of the wood with it, I'm staying with the stained side as seen since it puts quite a shine on the wood and felt that due to the finish i have on the truck, I'd tone down the wood finish. good luck with your wood
5-6-16 UPDATE
I did seal the ends as well, just chose not to stain the underside.
Sealing only one side of the wood will allow one side to absorb moisture and swell, while sealed side will not absorb/swell, resulting in warping. I've seen NEW interior home doors that homeowner sealed only one side, just stained on the other, and they warped enough on a humid day that they wouldn't close. Homeowner wanted to replace, but we dried them, checked the fit to ensure they would close, then sealed the previously unsealed side. Problem solved - Happy customer (she didn't have to replace new doors that had warped). Repeated cycles of warping over time will not be recoverable by drying.
I've asked a lot of questions about bed wood finishing and the members have given me a great deal of help. I've FINALLY finished the bed wood and have today completed the assembly. It was a lot of work that I should have started many years ago, this 66 year old body is aching from top to bottom, but it came out nice and I'm hoping it lasts a long number of years. Here's some pics to show how it started and today, has completed. this will be all i"m doing on the truck for this year, it's time to gas up and just drive.
footnote: the wood is actually dark brown in color, the pics seem to show a more yellowish color, sorry.
thanks Jim, means a lot. As you may remember, I was dead set on doing the wood using vinegar and steel wool. well that plan didn't work well, I must have used a grittier steel wool, since after a week, the solution was still clear, so I opted for stain. again thanks.
I researched this for months when doing a 50 Chevy 5 window. I used oak and sealed it all sides and ends with a POR product called Glisten which is for metal but several people on another forum recommended highly. It has been 6 years and it looks great.
For future consideration. A product called " One Time Wood". I've used it for exterior beams and house trim. After ten years it still looks great. It is not water or oil base and it will not cure unless exposed to the sun (UV rays). There is an open can in one of my sheds that's been there for eight years and it's still liquid.
It was around $100.00 per gal. But covered around 600 sq. ft.. A qt. should be plenty to do all bed surfaces. Available in many colors. Bonds and seals at the cellular level. Not a coating, not degraded by the sun.
I like the chestnut.
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