tung oiled floors in kitchen?

16 years ago

we are planning on tung oiling the wood floors in the kitchen. the place selling us the wood thinks that's a fine finish for a kitchen. the installer also thinks it's fine but everyone else we talk to says it's a bad idea because if there's a leak the floors will warp.

it seems to me, the two sources that know the most about the floors and the oil say it's fine and everyone else just doesn't know enough about it but all the talk is starting to worry (and annoy) me. i'm just looking for further opinions, please.

thanks!

Featured Answer

Macswim

4 years ago

I did not use the Bona natural. Honestly I had forgotten i had complained about this. I actually really liked my floors and how they held up over the years. People always complimented them. The areas that were wild trafficked turned a bit of a lighter color, but I didn't mind it. In the wood grain ended up showing well. I did do some touch-ups with tung oil over the years. We sold the house a year-and-a-half ago and the floor still look great. My Main recommendation would be to make sure the tung oil gets into the cracks between the planks.

I did use the Bona natural on my kitchen wood custom cupboards but that was with the natural finish and no tung oil underneath.

I actually just did all of my quarter-sawn Oak kitchen cupboards in my new home in tung oil and citrus solvent! I'm not sure if that answers your question or confuses things! If you want I can go back and see if I can find pictures of the florist that I took before we sold the house.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (11)

erinmn
16 years ago
I have tung oil (waterlox) in the kitchen, and waterloxed the teak countertop and love them. Doggy dribbles just bead up, and he's a heck of a dribbler. You might consider waterlox instead of pure tung oil though, as it's my understanding there are hardening resins for further protection. It's a gloriously beautiful finish, especially when I compare it to the same wood's poly finish in the adjacent room. Still, beauty ain't everything and I can happily assure you that water has not been a problem in my dribble-filled kitchen. Even his bad-tummy accident cleaned right up. More details if you can stand them. ;-)
wmwalker
16 years ago
I, too, have experience with tung oiled hardwood floors in a kitchen. My prior house had tung oiled floors throughout, including the kitchen, laundry and utility rooms. Between my son, his friends, our dog and the visiting canines, the floors were subject to constant abuse, including tracked in snow and ice. In the ten years I lived in that house, I never had a problem with water marks on the floor, not even from water that was unwittingly left standing on the floor for a period of time.

Frankly, I don't understand the appeal of poly finishing products when tung oil (especially when cut with non-toxis solvents) is simple, durable, easy to maintain and aesthetically pleasing.

WmWalker
Related Professionals
Cedarburg Flooring Contractors · Framingham Flooring Contractors · Lexington Flooring Contractors · Morgan Hill Flooring Contractors · Orange Flooring Contractors · Panama City Beach Flooring Contractors · Roxbury Crossing Tile and Stone Contractors · Dardenne Prairie General Contractors · Midlothian General Contractors · National City General Contractors · Northfield General Contractors · Seabrook General Contractors · Statesboro General Contractors · Walker General Contractors · Security-Widefield General Contractors
acenewman
16 years ago
Hello.

I have a large family room/kitchen area that we laid reclaimed maple in. (We planed some maple that had been in an old gym floor at a school.)

After laying it, we used 100% real tung oil cut down with natural citrus solvent. We applied several layers, and it left a very velvety matte finish.

Water beads up on the surface. I have several animals and was looking for a non-toxic floor and this was it. I got the tung oil and citrus solvent from a really reputable place:

http://www.realmilkpaint.com/oil.html

Here is a link that might be useful: Real Tung Oil
mackswim
16 years ago
I wanted to follow up on this as my white oak floors are being laid in my kitchen this weekend and I am planning on doing the finishes starting Monday.
I am using an aniline dye (water based) and then pure tung oil with 50% citrus solvant. I keep hearing naysayers everywhere and am getting worried! My floor person has never used either before. Please let me know if you have more to add to this thread. Thanks!
hald
16 years ago
My first home, built in 1931, had a tung oil finish on the floors. We loved it. It had a satin matte look to it. We had dogs and birds and never had a problem with water spots, pet accidents, etc.
mondragon
16 years ago
I experience with pure tung oil on tabletops and counters is very very good. Make sure you apply it several times so that it's drenched in the stuff (making sure to wipe off the surface...). If it was my floor I'd apply at least one coat of Waterlox Satin thinned with solvent and pure tung oil to start building up a surface coating.
juukie
16 years ago
Does waterlox YELLOW the wood?
Also: same question for ' Tung oil?" Thanks
mackswim
16 years ago
Just wanted to report back on the tung oil.. I did 10 coats of the tung oil with citrus solvent a few months ago. It looked fabulous...for a while. Unfortunately, now it looks very dull and it is not showing off the wood grain. I called the realmilkpaint company and they suggested it buff it. I did and nothing changed. So, after a lot of very hard work I think I have decided to put a coat of Bona Naturale on it. That wasn't even on my radar before, but what else can I do? Any feedback would be great. Thanks.
Lisa Franzino
4 years ago
mackswim, I know this is a very old post, but did you ever do the Bona Naturale over the tung oil? If so, how did it turn out?
Macswim
4 years ago
Sorry that's Floor not florist :-)