Hey guys, I was piddling with my roadster yesterday and crawling under it to attach those two guides for the brake rods that clamp to the radius rods when I looked up and noticed the bare woodwork. I was wondering.....what do y'all do about that? What did Ford do about that?

Was I supposed to paint or seal the woodwork before I put the sheet metal on? What can I do now to seal it out? I live in Louisiana and as some of you know we have very wet and humid weather here. Its not like she'll be parked on dirt or outside, she will be in the shop on concrete. It’s just that I know the wood is untreated and will get soaked and rot will form after a while. I POR-15 coated all of the sheet metal so its fine, what can I do for the wood?

I was thinking of maybe just spraying all of the underside including under the running boards, board blocks, splash shields, undersides of the fenders, and under the car (parts that are not visible of course) with rubberized undercoating. Would this be cool or should I paint it first with something then give it a layer of undercoating over that?

Your inputs please gentlemen

Oil-based semi-gloss black paint worked for me though I must admit that I never drove my car in the rain, never washed it with a hose, and it was stored in an enclosed garage with a concrete floor.

Yes, it would have been a good idea to seal the wood, especially if you used a readily rotted wood like alder or poplar.

I'd use a clear urethane exterior or floor finish, like Varathane, and thin the first coat for penetration - even if the instructions say not to. The No Thinning is because of vapors, not application.

Clear won't show so bad if goes where you don't want it.

I suppose you could put the rubber over a seal coat. Sounds ugly to me. It might help deaden noises in a closed car, however.

I painted the boards on the underside but undercoat seems to me to be overkill. How do you expect to hear all those little stones when you drive on gravel? ;)

Wonder if this'll turn into one of those long discussions?

Its not the water that gets in that rots wood - its the water that cant get out. I wouldnt paint it or coat it at all - it will last a lifetime (s).

Old unpainted barn siding lasts for decades completely unpainted - but painted porch rails rot in less than 10 years because its nearly impossible to keep water from finding a way in - ususally through the cut ends - then it cant get out.

You can lay an old unpainted 2x4 outside up off the ground unprotected and it will go grey and still be solid for many years. If you paint it and leave any place at all unpainted where water can get in, it will rot. The wood will wick it up to the interior. The paint will not allow it to dry out, fungus will grow and thats what destroys the wood.

Vince M

Thanks for the replies guys! Great info!

So would y'all think maybe several coats of boiled linseed oil may be better???
I can coat just about all the wood except for the stuff behind the 3 rear trim panels and the boards inside of those panels.
Inside of the body, etc is no problem.

The underside is what I'm really worried about being it will be exposed to the weather, road grime, etc more than any other part.

No one can see a rubbercoat application if done well. It would seem beneficial especially under the running boards and splash aprons.

Rubberized undercoating that was installed around here back in the 50's and 60's was very bad about becming hard and brittle after a few years. Then it would start to lift and peel off, leaving perfect pockets for the mud and road salt to hide in. Maybe the more modern products work better now, I haven't had any experience with them. Dave

Boiled linseed oil would be my preference. Rubbercoat would be the last thing i would use in this application.

Vince m