I need some wood!

Pickup with a steel deck in the bed, I'd like to put some 1/2  X  2 or 3" wood strips to soften the blow.  2-3" wide by 2" gaps in between.  What wood to use?  Highly visible, exposed to the sun, not a work vehicle and I like exotic woods.  Car is black, bed is stainless; what wears well, looks classy and holds up well?

1/2 X 3" Red Oak turns my head, but Philippine Mahogany has a reddish tint that may go well with a black car.

Thoughts, considerations, finishes or sealers?

Thanx, Dan

If you can find it in your area, do Locust.  It's like the hardwood version of cedar.  Probably every bit as hard as oak, but it weathers like iron.  There is a reason it was used forever as fence posts.  There are some Locust fence posts on Dad's farm that are probably 100 years old and still holding up the fence with his grapevines on it.  If you drive down to Gettysburg, some of the Locust post and rail fences are the original pre-civil-war-era construction.

I mention that because when (not if) your finish gets compromised and water gets to it, it won't rot like other woods.  It will get gray like cedar, but not rot.  Think of it as having all the benefits of cedar, but it is a rock hard wood.  I know you said it isn't a work truck, but I also know that you might be tempted some day to haul a couch or pick up a new fridge with it.  It is a truck after all.

Oak is a great choice.  It rots slowly as well.  Teak works in boats.  It is really hard and has a mahogany-ish grain look.  Phillipine Mahogany (also called Meranti from the Lauan genus) will absorb water easily and swell/warp.

Maple is pretty soft and won't last long in wet situations, but burl maple is pretty easy to find and stains beautifully.

Black Palm maybe?

For a finish, I would consider epoxy.  Put it on with a notched trowel for a uniform thickness and let it seek its own level.  It can also be tinted with solvent dye if you want to amp up the color in any direction.

Not an exotic wood but, Trex, or similar, wears well, can look classy and holds up well.

Ironwood, you have to drill it to drive a nail in it. Does not float in water.

Cypress wood works well exposed to the elements. 

White oak is extremely rot resistant, unlike red oak which rots very quickly.  See above reference to 100 year old fence posts.

If you can find some, american chestnut would be a pretty cool option. 

If you like erotic woods, I would highly recommend carpet instead. Shag perhaps?

Oh E36 M3, you said exotic. I am good with whatev.

Wood pickup beds were traditionally made from Southern Yellow Pine.  If you're drilling holes in the bed to attach strips, doesn't that negate the whole idea of protecting it from damage?  I'd get a piece of plywood or a heavy rubber mat to throw in there when needed, and then take it out when not.

In reply to Curtis73 :

Black Locust is great, however Honey Locust is kinda crap.  To increase the possibility of finding the wrong one, majority of Black Locust was harvested maybe 40-50 years ago.  From what I've seen of it, its not a very pretty wood either

As the son of a professional woodworker and antique furniture restoration expert who has listened to him discuss this extensively, virtually any hardwood is going to be fine.  Your concern is going to be the coating.  With temperature and humidity variations, the wood will swell and the coating will craze and crack.  Dad's using cherry for a transom on a '76 Alumacraft, for the coating he's using three coats of automotive clear on the visible side (Nason brand, I believe, with UV absorbers) and then two coats of brushed epoxy on the underside.

An excerpt from a 1961 Forest Products Lab study that might be of use

Check out Ipe wood.

Trex doesn't look like wood from what I've seen.    I'm good at this stuff 'cause I usually do it twice.

Thanks guys, will keep you posted in the build thread.

Dan

I just cut a 12"+ diameter black locust tree up into wood stove lengths (18").  Should have kept some for fence posts or truck beds or something.  Who knew?

What do they use in boats?  That's the direction I'd be going.  

Teak?

In reply to Streetwiseguy :

That's where I've got most of my experience in this (see avatar.)  Teak is used for most trim in boats large enough to have trim, but if you're talking about transoms for little boats then quarter sawn white oak is the traditional thing, there are problems with that as well though.  Its one of those things that gets argued about as much as what engine is the best engine, or which car is the best track car.

Depending on the year of the car, if its something that a WWII vet would have built, then you could research what the early WWII flight decks used.  Some sources say oak, some say douglas fir.

I like teak but it's awful dark.  Lowes sell this stuff that looks almost real enough.  Heavy, bur no where nears as heavy as the bustle and gate I removed.

Dr. Hess said:

I just cut a 12"+ diameter black locust tree up into wood stove lengths (18").  Should have kept some for fence posts or truck beds or something.  Who knew?

Be careful burning too much locust in your wood stove, especially if you burn at low temperatures. It's full of creosote, which is good when you want weather resistance, but lousy when it builds up in your chimney and causes a fire.

Teak and holly is a very nautical combo that gives me wood.  It is expensive but there are plywood veneer versions that can help keep the costs down.  Apply the veneer to a lesser wood and varnish with many coats.  

Purple Heart.  Just go for it. 

In reply to 02Pilot :

Yeah, I really only cut it to stove length just to cut it to something.  A 75' tree laying there had to go, one way or the other. I might slip some in with the oak occasionally.

In reply to 914Driver :

Red oak isn't very weather resistant. White oak and BlackWalnut are extremely decay resistant   My house is built with all black walnut timbers  and trim on the outside and some has  been exposed to the weather for over 20 years with no paint or other finish. No signs of decay in spite over heavy rain and snow..

Warning;  decay resistant woods are very high in tannins. Tannins will attack steel, cause it to corrode. In turn the corrosion acts like an acid and rots the wood.  Stainless steel and brass / bronze are immune to those issues. 

Tamarack can be a spectacular wildly figured grain and has moderate decay resistance. Redwood and Cedar too!  

Spar varnish is your best finish for wood exposed to the elements There is a Swedish one that is the good standard Sikens I think is the name but my spelling could be way off. Spar varnish has a gold tone to the color. 
 You can use clear Lacquer but it doesn't have the required flexibility that spar varnish does . 

Wood absorbs moisture and expands, loses moisture and shrinks. That's why a flexible finish is required. Even if never driven in the rain the daily/ hourly change in humidity  will cause the finish to fail. 

Mr_Asa said:

In reply to Streetwiseguy :

That's where I've got most of my experience in this (see avatar.)  Teak is used for most trim in boats large enough to have trim, but if you're talking about transoms for little boats then quarter sawn white oak is the traditional thing, there are problems with that as well though.  Its one of those things that gets argued about as much as what engine is the best engine, or which car is the best track car.

Depending on the year of the car, if its something that a WWII vet would have built, then you could research what the early WWII flight decks used.  Some sources say oak, some say douglas fir.

I served on both the Ticonderoga and Bennington both WW2 Essex class carriers with wood decks.  
they would never use white Oak.  The tannins in it would cause the fasteners to rot and would rot the steel underneath it.  
Douglas Fir it was. But treated Douglas Fir and then an antiskid  rubberized membrane was put on top. 
 

The Missouri class battleships built about that time used teak decks.  They were daily washed down and holy stoned.  ( pretty sure a holy stone was just a brick of pumice with a hole in it to scrub back and forth across the deck).  

John Welsh said:

Teak and holly is a very nautical combo that gives me wood.  It is expensive but there are plywood veneer versions that can help keep the costs down.  Apply the veneer to a lesser wood and varnish with many coats.  

Don't use the plywood teak!  Three years as the engine cover on my Sea Ray and it's junk!   
The rest of the teak on my boat ( and there is a lot) is 42 years old and still in fine shape.  

Shadeux said:

Check out Ipe wood.

Ipe is the name of an ironwood, I was trying to remember.  Pronounced "ee-pay"

In stock 15min from my home  http://ocfp.com

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=ipe+wood

A brazillian walnut Fire, Water, bugs, and abrasion resistant

Don't try to drive a nail or a screw into it!  You can probably drill and tap it!

Using Trex in the bed of a truck= another thing I learned from the GRM board.

Build in room for expansion so the material does not buckle or push apart your structure.