Thread: Tung Oil Floor

"Any pro's and cons would be welcome."

I did a similar job on a blue gum floor a few years ago. Started with Linseed oil and when that had soaked in (about a week) I put tung oil down. Once the tung oil had soaked in a coat of bees wax went over the top.

The pros are that it looks nice and is easy to touch up if it gets scratched. The cons were that it didn't look nice for long and needed regular buffing if I was going to keep any real finish on it. Also, I discovered that I was VERY allergic to the tung oil (very common I'm told) and once it was in the house I was stuck with it. That had to be the worst 9 years of my life. I had never had an allergic reaction to anything prior to that and now get fairly regular allergies.

I recently finished around 40 square meters of Vic ash floor using Tung oil. I really like the stuff. Over the years I have tried a few different Tung oil based products and have found Intergrain to be the most consistantly excellent product. Three coats straight on a hardwood floor gives a lovely, hard wearing 40/50% gloss sheen. Easy applied with an applicator too.

I reckon it feels warmer and softer to the touch than the two packs but still produces a durable easily cleaned finish with no need to buff or wax. It dulls down after a while and gives a lovely glow.

My experience with using Linseed on softwood floors is that it can leave black stains. A Tung oil based finish straight down is the way to go...Easy.

If you like an eggshell finish Feast W make a China tung oil floor finish that dries matt so you can wax it. Only three hours between re-coats too as against 12 for the others.

Tung oil... I wouldn't use anything else

My inlaws’ house is just a bit less then 3 years old. They have Tas Myrtle and Tas blackwood floor boards, absolutely beautiful stuff.

The builder suggested Tung oil finish and wax. “Let the timber breath” he said. That sounds great and you've got to listen to the builder sometimes.

The trouble with tung oil is it requires constant maintenance. So to keep the floor in good condition and look, he waxes the floor every 12 months. Each time he has to remove all the furniture (with my help of course). In fact he is doing it right now. Each time it takes him 2 weeks to do the whole house, one room at a time. The poor bastard is 67 years old and as he gets older it gets harder. The truth is he just can’t keep doing it. I think He really regards listening to the builder now. Let the timber breath my arsX he said.

My opinion is finish on timber floor is like finish on dining table top. A hard wearing surface requires a hard wearing finish. If you use anything else then it will make your life like hell.

Originally Posted by Wongo

The trouble with tung oil is it requires constant maintenance.

Pure tung sure does. Thats why I recommended tung oil based products from Intergrain or Feast Watson. Tung oil forms the base with additives to speed drying times and provide a durable, hard wearing finish. No waxing required but still gives the soft pure tung sheen. I've used pure Tung oil on hardwood floors and found it is best when hand applied with steel wool. A cracker of a finish but not for the faint hearted. (or those with crook backs or knees)

"Thats why I recommended tung oil based products from Intergrain or Feast Watson."

I used the Intergrain product on the same blue gum bench tops in my kitchen and it gave a beautiful and hardwearing finish. I regretted not having used it on the floor too. I would definately recommend it for a hardwood floor. Way to go Dr

I finally got around to biting the bullet on the floor issue by sanding the 40 sq meters of cyprus which was covered in a white glue from some previous disaster. After spending two days on the sander I had a very reasonable surface except for the white glue in the groove where he tongue and groove meet.

A further three days with hot water and a lot of cleaning each groove out seperately and a finish off with a small steam cleaner. (the glue was semi soluble with hot water) Then apply three coats of Estapol Tung Oil produced a fairly nice finish. The floor is in a a shop we leased out so a bit awkard getting pics at this stage. Thanks for all the input

Regards Mike