Finishing Bed Wood with oil: Does it last, Let's just see

[HenrytheWound]

Originally Posted by jeffahart

Any shiny spot is oil that's not dry. The oil takes a really long time to dry. I'm talking a month maybe more depending on where you live, humidity and such. Unless it's thick like a run, then you can scrape it lightly with a putty knife. But the oil is not dry so you cannot sand it... it would be like sanding wet tree sap.

j

I think this is heat-related bleed out. It's super hot and somewhat humid in Tucson right now and this issue started after I did the bake in the sun step. I had the boards bottom side up in my driveway on sawhorses for most of the day. Apparently there was some seepage on the tops which I didn't see until it was too late to fully wipe away.

Some of the recent shiny spots are wet and able to be wiped away but others have dried to some extent and cannot. Some of the thicker spots produce a waxy residue if I scratch them with a putty knife but most of the shiny spots are just shiny without any topography. I assume these are bleed out spots that I didn't wipe down in time and they have dried into a thin shiny film atop the wood.

I found a lot of woodworking forum posts describing tung oil bleed out especially in woods like red oak which is what I am using. I will be more diligent about keeping an eye on the bleed out from here on out but I'm not sure how to fix the spots I have already.

[jeffahart]

Originally Posted by HenrytheWound

I think this is heat-related bleed out. It's super hot and somewhat humid in Tucson right now and this issue started after I did the bake in the sun step. I had the boards bottom side up in my driveway on sawhorses for most of the day. Apparently there was some seepage on the tops which I didn't see until it was too late to fully wipe away.

Some of the recent shiny spots are wet and able to be wiped away but others have dried to some extent and cannot. Some of the thicker spots produce a waxy residue if I scratch them with a putty knife but most of the shiny spots are just shiny without any topography. I assume these are bleed out spots that I didn't wipe down in time and they have dried into a thin shiny film atop the wood.

I found a lot of woodworking forum posts describing tung oil bleed out especially in woods like red oak which is what I am using. I will be more diligent about keeping an eye on the bleed out from here on out but I'm not sure how to fix the spots I have already.

You could try rubbing it out with more oil, you may be able to get it reconstituted and get it workable again. It will eventually all dry hard and all look the same anyway though.

j

j

[Palf70Step]

This was on my old 81 stepside, but same thing applies. I used Danish oil. Bed was white oak. The first time I did it was 6 or so years after the wood was put in (prior owner). The guy I got the truck from did the bed about 5-6 years ago. It stayed in a garage mostly until I got it. I drove it a lot more, and it sat out in the sun a lot more because of that. A friend who has wood working business recommended this Danish oil. I used a scotchbrite to scuff up the wood and used a microfiber rag to wipe the oil on. I put 4 (maybe 5 I forgot) coats with 24+ hrs in between coats. Before the last coat I did a 1000 grit lite sanding, then rubbed in the last coat. I was told to do it until it looked like the wood was not sucking in any more. Since the bottom doesn't get (or abuse by me), my friend said I really didn't need to worry about that as much. I was told with the way I was driving it, maybe every other year do the same thing. It probably wouldn't need as many coats.

[jeffahart]

Did some maintenance on my bed wood last week, so I thought I would follow through with an update.

This time I decided to spend a bit more time to clean things up. I am really happy with my decision to oil the wood. With a bit of extra effort it looks really nice… even after seven years of abuse, I think it even looks better.

What I did.

I hosed off the wood and used a mouse sander with a green pad and got all the embedded dirt and grime off.
I hit all the wood with 220 grit sandpaper and some spots with 120. It created a white film on the wood. Then the magic happened… as I wiped the wood clean with a cloth, the white film disappeared and turned into a polished sheen. At this point there’s enough hardened oil on the wood that it can be fine sanded and polished. Wow, imagine if I decided to do some #0000 steel wool!
I put a fine coat of oil on the wood anyway and gave it a fairly good rubbing.
I also took some white rustoleum and touched up the strips. If you look at the after pic in post #69, you see the wood looks decent but the bed strips and tailgate look beat up. So I decided to take a bit more time on the maintenance this year.

At this point I am very happy. All in, my maintenance and touch up took me about three hours. My bed has turned out to be everything I wanted in a wood truck bed. It is all truck, I love it! I use the crap out of it and I can spend a couple hours to make it look decent.

The tung oil experiment is turning out to be a win for me.

j

[cornerstone]

Looks incredible!

[bobinbc]

Thanks jeffahart for making, and especially for updating, this post! I've used Danish oil on furniture (our dining room table) and wooden steering wheels I've restored and plan to do the same on the wood in my truck when the time comes. I consider where you live and how you use the truck be a torture test compared to the mild climate we have here on Vancouver Island BC and although my truck will likely sit outside most of the time, it will probably get babied at least a bit.

One of the great things about the oils is they show off the character of the wood while still protecting it.

[Rust_never_sleeps]

It's good to get a rec from someone in the know, because there are lots of "oil" or "danish oil" products that contain little or no oil. These aren't necessarily bad products, because BLO and Tung don't wear well, but it's good to know what you're using and how long to expect it to survive in the wild

[jeffahart]

Originally Posted by Rust_never_sleeps

It's good to get a rec from someone in the know, because there are lots of "oil" or "danish oil" products that contain little or no oil. These aren't necessarily bad products, because BLO and Tung don't wear well, but it's good to know what you're using and how long to expect it to survive in the wild

I've been using "HOPE'S 100% Pure Tung Oil" I get it off Amazon.

J

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[jeffahart]

Originally Posted by bobinbc

Thanks jeffahart for making, and especially for updating, this post! I've used Danish oil on furniture (our dining room table) and wooden steering wheels I've restored and plan to do the same on the wood in my truck when the time comes. I consider where you live and how you use the truck be a torture test compared to the mild climate we have here on Vancouver Island BC and although my truck will likely sit outside most of the time, it will probably get babied at least a bit.

One of the great things about the oils is they show off the character of the wood while still protecting it.

And the best thing about oil is the easy maintenance. Just att more oil and elbow grease!

[jeffahart]

Originally Posted by cornerstone

Looks incredible!

Thanks! I love my wood bed. Just basic southern yellow pine and I'm happy!

j

[71meangreenc10]

I am going to oil my bed on my stepper. Used a marine product and it didn't even last 6 months up here in the Vista outside. I have used Tung Oil on my house door and I like how it turned out. What are your thoughts on applying it without thinning?


Thanks

Smitty

[jeffahart]

Originally Posted by 71meangreenc10

I am going to oil my bed on my stepper. Used a marine product and it didn't even last 6 months up here in the Vista outside. I have used Tung Oil on my house door and I like how it turned out. What are your thoughts on applying it without thinning?


Thanks

Smitty

Thin it! It will soak in more plus it will take forever to dry if you don't thin it. If non thinned coat hardens it will be more like a shell. You want to get it soaked in on the first couple coats. You can even go 70/30 thinner to oil in first coat. It dries slow, but it will dry. I do my annual maint coats un-thinned it's more like a rubbing than a coat now.

j

[71meangreenc10]

I will pull the bed, strips and re-sand my boards then re-start the process. The bottom of the boards still look great with the Gleam 2.0 on it...Top sides, not so much.

Smitty

[Rust_never_sleeps]

This might be common knowledge, but you can add a product called "Japan Drier" to oil finishes and it will speed up the cure time. It's a catalyst, so also forces a cure throughout the film(otherwise it's from the surface in due to air contact, which can particularly suck with porous woods like oak)

"Japanning" is an old term for lacquer, btw, ICYGAS