Lil' Red Express Exterior Bed Wood [Archive]

MagnumThrobb

10-21-2007, 05:59 PM

I just got my wood from Dodge Connection (http://www.dodgeconnection.com) (Buy stuff from him!) And I don't know what to finish the wood with. Is there a special kind of stain for exterior wood (Like deck stain) I should use? And what kind of polyurethane? Thompson's water sealer? Regular polyurethane? I've never messed with wood that much. And never stained and polyurethaned anything that was exposed to the elements.

84 Ram

10-21-2007, 07:40 PM

I am with you on not knowing about wood. I will ask a carpenter at work tommorow if no one replies by then I will be able to help out.

MagnumThrobb

10-21-2007, 07:53 PM

Thanks! I'd hate to goof and have it all rot away within 6 months :confused:

MagnumThrobb

10-21-2007, 07:57 PM

I don't know if it matters......but it's "Red Oak".

I've always been more of a Metal guy.....I'd rather build a go kart than a coffee table..... :D

MagnumThrobb

10-21-2007, 08:10 PM

Apparently this is the decal that was on the wood above the gas filler neck on the Lil Red Express.

RAM MAN

10-21-2007, 08:13 PM

is that going on a LRE ?

MagnumThrobb

10-21-2007, 08:27 PM

Nope, it's going on a LRE wanna be. 1983 D-150 Cab/Frame, 1978 Front clip, 1974 Doors, 1980 something utiline bed. I say the bed is 1980 something because it has a metal floor. Who knows what year the motor/trans is. The truck came with a /6 with a 904 trans, it now has a 318 with a 727.

~77~

10-21-2007, 08:48 PM

Can I ask how much the wood kit cost you? I am getting ready to restore a LRE bed.

RAM MAN

10-21-2007, 09:08 PM

they used "tung oil-base spar varnish" on both show finished wood truck beds and boats

while you are deciding exactly what you are going to put on there, check that specific product out

84 Ram

10-22-2007, 08:42 PM

The carpenter didn't show up today at work but, I did find in the thread on this page listed REPRO STACKS there is a link to a web site under the name Bruce Horkey . The site has about everything that is needed to restore the floor of a LRE's bed including all of the finishing materials for the wood.

84 Ram

10-22-2007, 09:34 PM

Try this http://www.mar-k.com/wood_finishing.html . It has some literature on refinishing wood floors.

buck99

10-22-2007, 11:50 PM

What kinds of wood do ya think is best for a bed floor? :dunno:
Mine looks like it has maple or something from the factory. I'm no wood man so I don't what it is, but its not oak.

bherder

10-23-2007, 09:21 AM

well, you want to go with a hard wood. The harder the better.. Especially if you ever plan on putting anything in the bed :D

Personally I'd go with oak because you can get it almost anywhere. What flavor of oak is up to you.. ;)

CAUTION! If you haven't priced oak (Or a lot of other woods) lately, be ready for sticker-shock when you walk into Home Depot. Bring someone to catch you, when you faint and fall over...

76D100

10-23-2007, 01:40 PM

buck99

10-23-2007, 04:45 PM

I guess a lot depends on whether the truck is used for work or pleasure.

If I ever get my truck finished, its for weekend playing around so I want wood that looks good rather than wearing hard.
I'll probably only put a cooler full of beer in the box. :D

Maybe I should just line the whole box with styrofoam and make it into a big cooler. ;)

62savoywagon

10-23-2007, 06:20 PM

Before you do anything to your new wood. Get a can of wood conditioner and use it really well. Don't be cheap with it either. It will even out the stain of any color that you might use on it.

MagnumThrobb

10-23-2007, 07:49 PM

bherder

10-23-2007, 10:09 PM

What about.... A flat steel bed with synthetic wood panels, like floor tiles...?? You cant damage wood thats not there, it wont rot and in sure its harder let alone easier to replace if needed... Somthing I thought of in bed last night...

Thoughts?

I suppose you could do that.... But it's kinda' like 'Do I just put down the cheap-o linoleum squares down in the dining room, or do I make it 'right' with real hardwood flooring' kinda' thing...

Better ask the wife.. :D :D :D

bherder

10-23-2007, 10:19 PM

Thanks for all the help!

Hey, 84 Ram, did that carpenter ever show up for work? (damn lazy carpenters :D ) That page on Mar-k was pretty cool how it showed the decay of the finish over time. Thanks!

RAM MAN, I guess if "tung oil-base spar varnish" is good enough for a marine application, it should be good enough for my truck.

I guess I'll head to a marina, or a boat supply house, and see what they say.

As always, :dtrocks:

(NOTE): ;)

The absolute BEST marine-spar finish I've ever EVER used is "Man-O-War" marine-spar finish... This stuff is as tough-as-nails as you'll ever find. They make it in flat- semi-gloss (Satin) and gloss.... I've been using this in various applications for 30 years and won't use anything else on wood....

You'll have to hunt a little for it though... Probably won't be at the 'Mom n' Pop' hardware store, but you'll find it at Home Depot/Lowes ... AND, it's not cheap either. But worth it's weight in gold.. ;)

79Red

10-24-2007, 01:55 PM

What kinds of wood do ya think is best for a bed floor? :dunno:
Mine looks like it has maple or something from the factory. I'm no wood man so I don't what it is, but its not oak.

They came with pine. In the LRE trucks, they were pine painted red. That is what I am doing on mine. I'd rather spend money on gas for the truck than pay both arms and both legs for oak.

76D100

10-24-2007, 02:06 PM

I emailed the guy a few days ago and havent gotten a responce back, how long did it take you magnum?

MagnumThrobb

10-24-2007, 09:40 PM

I emailed the guy a few days ago and havent gotten a responce back, how long did it take you magnum?

How long did it take to get a hold of the dodgeconnection guy? He replied the next day (actually, his wife did). And I'm pretty sure he said he had both the bed floor wood, as well as the bed side wood (which is what I bought) in stock and ready to ship. If he doesn't email you back, leave him a voice mail on his phone. The number is on his website. He had the best price I'd seen on LRE wood. And it's RED OAK(!)

bherder: I did some more research today and also heard that "Man-O-War" was about the best stuff you can buy, so I guess if a local source has that brand of "spar varnish", I'll buy that. What does "spar" mean??

76D100

10-25-2007, 08:54 AM

His wood wont work for me, its too short...

can you give me his email adress please. for some reson the one i found doesent seem to work... atleast if i havent gotten a reply in about 4 days im assumeing it doesent work....

bherder

10-25-2007, 09:06 AM

bherder: I did some more research today and also heard that "Man-O-War" was about the best stuff you can buy, so I guess if a local source has that brand of "spar varnish", I'll buy that. What does "spar" mean??

It's a special mix of varnish and phenolic resins .. Makes the finish a lot more resistant to water and sunlight/UV rays...

MagnumThrobb

10-25-2007, 07:04 PM

His wood wont work for me, its too short...

Thats what she said.......

The email address I contacted him with was: dcsalesnservice@comcast.net

2356keith

11-02-2007, 11:30 PM

I read a custom classic truck article and they finished the wood with multi coats of automotive clear and they said it could be scuffed and buffed if needed.

MagnumThrobb

11-11-2007, 07:03 PM

Check it out! :rck:

RAM MAN

11-11-2007, 07:14 PM

looks great

thanks for sharing the pics

wish that truck was mine ...

84 Ram

11-12-2007, 07:22 PM

Thats a cool truck! I would like to find a rear bumper like whats on your truck, I think that it would look nice narrowed to the width of the bed.

NeDodgeguy

11-13-2007, 01:30 AM

Those smooth bumpers are the cats meow...

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c44/pcross_53/Trucks/DodgeDiplomat121906006.jpg

Nice job with the wood, but does your truck need a buff/polish or is just my screen?

MagnumThrobb

11-13-2007, 05:42 PM

I would like to find a rear bumper like whats on your truck

Those smooth bumpers are the cats meow... Nice job with the wood, but does your truck need a buff/polish or is just my screen?

I got my bumper from dodgeconnection (http://www.dodgeconnection.com) I think it was about $130.00

As far as the paint job, I painted it myself. I know it sucks. A ton of over spray. I'll take it to the paint shop. They'll do a better job.

buck99

11-15-2007, 09:11 AM

I think that it would look nice narrowed to the width of the bed.I've got a bumper off of a Furd Bronco that is the same width as the bed and fits perfect, brackets and all.
...and the best thing is you can say the Furd is always behind ya :)

84 Ram

11-15-2007, 07:23 PM

I take it you mean the 1st gen Bronco. I will have to look into were to ge one of those since it will be cheaper than buying a bumper cutting it down then having to pay to have it rechromed. Can you post some pictures of this bumper?

buck99

11-15-2007, 10:10 PM

I've got this truck all ripped apart right now so I don't have a better pic of the bumper on the truck. Going through a frame off resto...

84 Ram

11-16-2007, 05:42 PM

Thats a good looking truck. I am looking for a smooth bumper I have a step bumper that I had just taken off of it, I bet that some Broncos may have come out with smooth bumpers I'll have to research it. Oh how wide are those back wheels? I have a set of 10" police wheels coming from Stockton wheels.

buck99

11-16-2007, 10:34 PM

Not sure. I'll go out and check.

bherder

11-16-2007, 11:00 PM

I'd bet if you checked out a few 'on-line' sites and looked at what they had to offer ... The actual bumper for various different rigs would be the same thing ... Brackets being the only difference, I'd bet ... ;)

I've got this crappy ol' 83' Bronco ... And looking at the lines on it (Rear bumper) I'd bet ya, it'd fit with the right brackets ... :D

buck99

11-17-2007, 10:11 AM

Oh how wide are those back wheels? I have a set of 10" police wheels coming from Stockton wheels.
Back wheels are 15x10 c/w 295x50 tires
Front wheels are 15x7 c/w 245x60 tires

They were rusty old white spokes that I bought at a garage sale. Sandblasted and painted them. :)

The 1st gen Bronco bumper I have bolted on with the original Furd brackets. I drilled one extra hole in the frame on each side. :)

NeDodgeguy

11-17-2007, 02:42 PM

I got my bumper from dodgeconnection (http://www.dodgeconnection.com) I think it was about $130.00

As far as the paint job, I painted it myself. I know it sucks. A ton of over spray. I'll take it to the paint shop. They'll do a better job.

No worries, your truck still looks great :)

buck99

11-17-2007, 08:11 PM

It does look great. Definitely better than some of my paint jobs.
Some of the best restorations and customs in the world come out of someones garage and if you don't try you'll never find the way.
Sorry to hijack your thread on the bumper thing.

84 Ram

11-18-2007, 10:50 AM

I do paint and body work for a living, I hear people all the time saying that there is no way they can paint their own automobile, so when I see that someone has pulled their truck into their garage and give it a try I give them a thumbs up. I would bet that if someone pionted you in the right direction that you could do just as good as any of your local body shops. If you decide on redoing it and have any questions as far as what kind of materials to use or how to do something give me a shout.If I can do paint work so can you.

67coronet

11-19-2007, 04:42 PM

I was thinking of painting my truck. I wanted to do it in my garage but my wife is giving me a hard time about it. She says I am either gonna smell up the whole house upstairs or blow the place up!

84 Ram

11-19-2007, 06:15 PM

If the garage don't have a good exaust fan than it would stink up the house. I have a friend that painted a Camaro in his garage and his wife griped forever.

67coronet

11-19-2007, 06:33 PM

So what would you suggest to get rid of the fumes? What about leaving the garage door open about 2ft at the bottom and sticking a couple big fans pulling the fumes out?

buck99

11-19-2007, 07:20 PM

I've got an old 3 speed furnace fan mounted on a frame that I stick in the window. It has a length of 12" flex on it I shove under the car. Then I have an old screen door with a couple of furnace filters screwed to it I stick in the walk door. Turn the fan on at low speed. Seems to work well.
There always seems to be a little dust settle into the paint but it usually buffs out.
A HVLP paint gun helps a lot too.

84 Ram

11-19-2007, 08:12 PM

That sounds like a really good setup buck99. What you have just described is a do it yourself down draft paint booth. I would definately use the filters in the exaust to keep from making EPA and your neighbors really mad at you. As was stated if you get dust in your paint it wil most generally buff out unless you get it in you base coat and thats not usually a problem unless you are spraying white. I like to use a HVLP gun for two reasons it cuts down on the cost of materails and it keeps the overspray down. I know that I am just repeating what was stated by buck because there is nothing better that I could add other than you need a intake for the exaust fans so if you have windows in you shop open them. I know that might not sound right but if your fans are doing what they are suposed to no paint will escape through the window. Oh you may want to cover the open window with the same filter setup as you used in the exaust so that you don't pull in any debri from the outside that might settle in your paint.
After rereading buck's thread I see that he was using the screen door with the filters as a intake so he covered everything. Sorry buck I should have paid alittle more attention.

buck99

11-19-2007, 08:18 PM

I live out in the country so I don't have to worry about neighbors. Just dust. :)

bherder

11-19-2007, 08:19 PM

If the garage don't have a good exaust fan than it would stink up the house. I have a friend that painted a Camaro in his garage and his wife griped forever.

Women .... They just don't get it.

I guess that's why they refuse to pull the pan plug and have searing-hot oil dumped all over their hand.

As my hero Fred Reed says "Without men, civilization would last until the oil needs changing" ..... :D

And as my other hero, Super Chicken, would say to the wife ... "You knew the job was dangerous when ya took it."

:D :D :D

84 Ram

11-19-2007, 08:21 PM

Weve never really worry about escaping overspay at our little garage that we use to paint our own cars in but, we have to worry about it where I work we get inspected every now and then.

buck99

11-19-2007, 08:26 PM

Seems like everything inside my garage is covered with overspray. Tools, parts, beer fridge....

84 Ram

11-19-2007, 08:38 PM

My father used to hang heavy gauge plastic up in one of our bays, he would leave just enough room so that he could manuver around the vehicle as he was painting. That would keep the paint confined to one area as well as keep dust down.

buck99

11-19-2007, 08:47 PM

Ya, I should be doing that but I get lazy, especially when I'm in the primer stage.

You should see the messs I've got going now. My son and I are fixing up a second gen Camaro which we sanded down to bare metal. I think all that dust is just as bad. It gets into everything.

84 Ram

11-19-2007, 08:59 PM

We have a two bay garage. If we are going to paint something we sand and prep in one bay and paint in the other. We still have the mess to clean up but.we don't have to worry as much about dust getting in our paint.

buck99

11-19-2007, 09:15 PM

I've got a big garage but no divider and quite a high ceiling. Hard to partition off. I don't paint that often so we just have to do a good clean up. Cover all the bad places up with plastic. I've tried hosing the floor down with water to but it seems to dry up so fast.
I have this portable one car tent I thought might make a good spray booth. I could set it up inside the garage. I think I'll try that next time.

84 Ram

11-19-2007, 09:23 PM

That sounds like a good idea. I wet my floors down to but, I have been told that it isn't a good thing to do because as the water evaperates it settles on the car and is being forced onto it by the pressure of the gun. I haven't had any problems with doing it but it does make sense.

buck99

11-19-2007, 09:26 PM

Never thought of that... Would that cause "fish eyes"?

84 Ram

11-19-2007, 09:33 PM

I wouldn't think so, the only thing that I know of that causes fish eyes are liquids with petroleum in them like WD-40, motor oil, basically anything that is made to lubricate. Oh and silicone.

buck99

11-19-2007, 09:38 PM

I have a smaller Devilbiss air dryer. About the size of 2 stacked up oil filters. Do you think that is big enough or what would you recommend?

MagnumThrobb

11-19-2007, 09:42 PM

Sorry to hijack your thread on the bumper thing.
No worries on that, were all just shootin' the **** here!

I had to paint mine outside :o I used a $20 harbor freight gun to paint it, with cheap paint. And the only reason I painted it was to get it all the same color. (my boss was ragging me pretty hard) You should have seen it before! (see attachment) And that picture was taken after a ton of body work!!!!

It was known as the "Amazing Technicolor Pickup" for a while (I used whatever rattle-can paint I had on hand to cover the bondo work, green, blue, white, whatever) :o

Thanks for all the compliments too, guys. Makes all the work worth it. I had a motorcycle dude pull up next to me the other day and say how cool my truck was. :D

84 Ram

11-19-2007, 09:58 PM

If I were you Magnum Throbb I would keep on with the body and paint work. Research or ask for advice on what materials to use, take your time with it and I'm sure that you can have a nice painted truck for alot less than you would pay to have it done even if you messed up and had to redo something.

buck99

11-19-2007, 11:18 PM

Body looks pretty straight and no rust. Thats half the battle. :rck:

84 Ram

11-20-2007, 04:17 PM

I have a smaller Devilbiss air dryer. About the size of 2 stacked up oil filters. Do you think that is big enough or what would you recommend?

It depends we don't have a problem with our drier (same as yours) but, a guy I work with used one and it would constantly fill up and have to be drained. If I were guessing I would say that he had a problem with his compresor or the air he was pulling into his compresor was full of humidity.

buck99

11-20-2007, 04:58 PM

It depends we don't have a problem with our drier (same as yours) but, a guy I work with used one and it would constantly fill up and have to be drained. If I were guessing I would say that he had a problem with his compresor or the air he was pulling into his compresor was full of humidity.Thanks. :)
Mine seems to work fine but I haven't used it for paint yet. Wasn't sure whether it was big enough. Never has more than a 1/4 cup of water in it on any given day.
I used to hang a 100 feet of hose in coils on the wall and that was my air dryer. Pretty primitive.

I have a 7 1/5 HP vertical compressor but it's starting to use a little oil. Think thats going to be a problem? Will the air drier stop any oil from coming through on the air?