Tung Oil

[Mark Kelly]

I have never used Tung Oil, however, recently, I have heard that Tung Oil is a good finish for flooring! Is it really this durable? Is it possible to put on multiple coats of Tung Oil to build up the finish or is it similar to BLO that seems you can only put on so many coats before it doesn't make the finsh any better?

Or maybe what they meant was that a tung oil FINISH is what is durable.

I appreciate the help!

[Donnie Raines]

Mark,

Pure tung oil is not a very durable finish...and it takes almost forever to dry. There are products on the market often reffered to as "tung oil finish"...which is a polymerized tung oil finish.....in other words it is wiping varnish. Personally...I would use neither on my hardwood floors. While the tung oil finish is much more user friendly when compared to pure tung oil(in terms of durability and cureing time).

I would use good ole' polyurethane for this one.

[Dennis McDonaugh]

I guess it all comes down to what you consider good. It wouldn't be very durable, but it would be rapairable which is good because you'd be doing a lot of that. There are much better finishes made for specifically for flooring.

BTW, you can't tell what you'll get when you buy "Tung" oil. Take a look at several different brands in the store and you'll see what I mean.

[Dave Anderson NH]

I use a lot of tung oil based products. Pure tung oil is very slow drying and depending on temperature and humidity a coat can take from 24 hours to a week to fully cure. A partial answer is to cut it with turpentine or mineral spirits by about 40% which acts similar to a metallic drying in BLO. Tung does build much more than BLO and will produce a film finish though it takes a number of coats. Application is similar to BLO in that you need to wipe off the excess after each application or you will end up with a sticky mess.

Another product which is tung based is Waterlox Original Finish. This is polymerized tung oil with a small amount of phenolic resin based varnish added along with about 50% evaporative solvents. Being polymerized, it dries within 12-24 hours and has a high level of build. Usually 3-5 coats is plenty unless using an open grained wood like oak. Just make sure you decant the finish into a smaller container after use or it will gel on you before you can use the rest of the can.

My current favorite is the Lee Valley polymerized tung oil. It's available in both a penetrating sealer and a high gloss finish. You buy a can of each, apply 1 coat of the sealer to seal the pores of the wood and let it dry (usually 24 hours or less). Depending upon what level of gloss you want for a built up finish, you mix varying amounts of the 2 products together based on instructions on the can for all subsequent coats. This produces a very good finish and as a bonus, you can repair it in the future by adding more coats. Unlike other cured finishes, additional repairs coats DO adhere well and don't have the problem of delaminating or showing witness marks.

[Mark Kelly]

Hey, thanks Dave. That helps a lot. Especially the idea of using Lee Valley's stuff. However, the cost might be too high to do a floor unless they sell it wholesale somewhere!

Can the waterlox finish also be repaired like the Lee Valley product?