I bought a Brookville Model A bed second hand, and the wood for the floor looks bad from warer stains etc. Tried wood bleach but didn't do much. Any sugestions?
Is it oak? If so, sanding should get thru the stain. Usually, the damage only goes slightly into the wood, once you sand, you got new wood again. And ready for your finish of choice. Think of it like a hardwood floor in a house, a skim cut makes them like new again. Frank
Sand or plane it to remove finish layer. Try oxalic acid solution to bleach out water stains. But, if it is oak it is likely cracked at the ends from exposure. If so, it's best to replace it. I don't like oak as it tends to split, crack and stain. I do like old growth heart pine. Looks great, doesn't crack much and is very resistant to water/stains. Downside, around 10 buck a board foot for top notch stuff. my second choice, KD yellow pine painted on all sides before installing. Clear finishes just don't hold up well if exposed to the weather often. Ok, if for show only and kept inside.
This was a new bed that was left out for awhile. There's no finish on the oak and the ends are splitting. I'll find someone to plane the boards then try bleaching..L.B.
How about teak? Perhaps a little tougher than oak, but it's a naturally oily wood and commonly used on boat decks.
The late Wood Furniture Finishing guru,George Frank said Oxalic Acid was nasty shit,and he wouldn't recommend anyone use it. This is from a guy who thought noting of combining all sorts of chemicals,and used gasoline as a solvent. So if he says it's nasty shit,I believe him. ------------------------------------------- Cracks on the ends of the boards,you've got two options. 1-Fill the cracks with colored Epoxy. 2-Replace all the boards. The big question,is why did they crack ? More than one possible answer. Figure it out, before you repeat the same mistake. First choice would be Quarter Sawn boards for the floor. Might takes some looking,but you can find it. Red Oak is "ring pourous",so it tends to move a lot, with changes in humidity.Properly finished,both sides, and ends,slows down the movement but doesn't stop it.
As a furniture maker of both indoor and outdoor furniture if there is end spliting replace them. The first choice would be IPE and my second choice would be white oak. A lot of aftermarket bed are red oak but red oak does not standup outdoors. The first and mostimportant thing to do with wood that is used outdoors is seal the end grain with a finish. Think of wood a a lot of small straws bonded together. Another important thing to remember with wood used outdoors is to allow for expansion in the width caused by moisture changes. For a semi transparent finish I use Cabot deck stain, but it need to be refreshed every year. Marine finishes last the longest. Jim H NORSEWOODS Woodworking
I sanded the boards to fresh wood, now i will cut the split ends off since I'm shortening the bed. Should I seal it with marine varnish, varathane or ? What is the best?
i gotta agree with Ipe and Teak as both good woods to use for outside use such as a truck bed... however, if you really want to use oak (personall favorite of mine) and a clear finish, spar urethane is excellent. its designed for use on boat spars, so its pretty impervious to water as well as more flexible than regular urethane finishes
Make sure you cover all 6 sides of each board. The end grain will soak up a lot. And allow for the wood to move across it's width.
I use marine spar varnish on all of the bed floors I do. Thin it down on the first couple of coats so it soaks in really well. Coat all surfaces, it keeps the boards from cupping and the ends from splitting. The stuff is pretty durable, and it can be cut and buffed like paint. Polyurethane is a better looking finish, but it doesn't hold up as well. I would avoid any oil finishes or sealers on any wood other than teak that will see weather. It really just postpones any water stains. Dave
if you use a good oil based sanding sealer before applying the spar urethane you dont need to thin it out at all... make sure your urethane and your sealer are both OIL BASED or you're gonna have a mess. the brand of urethane i recomend and use is minwax helmsman spar urethane and i also use the minwax sealer... real good stuff... also, i forgot to mention that the spar urethane is also UV resistant as well and the stuff wont yellow
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