However, most Tung oil products are thinned with some truly nasty (for a short time) solvents to make them manageable. It's not an easy product to handle in the pure state.

WmWalker's correct that the solvents in Millie"s and Waterlox are different but the statement about Waterlox not being a polymerized oil is misleading. Tung oil, when it dries, bonds to itself - it polymerizes. Polymerization of a drying oil like tung oil before application is basically speeding up the drying process so that more of the solids will sit on the top of the wood (instead of soaking in) to form a thicker protective surface and shorten drying time. Waterlox says that their product includes "resin" but synthetic resins can be made by polymerization - so both products contain oil that will penetrate and dry as well as thicker substances that won't soak in as well and will provide more of a surface finish, as well as hardening more quickly. There's no reason to believe that Millie's polymerized oil is any more durable than what's in Waterlox. It may be, but you'd only know that by testing it. The "toxic ingredients" in Waterlox is mineral spirits that evaporate out of the finish when it's dry. Citrus solvent also evaporates and is irritating to the eyes, lungs, and skin and should - like products containing mineral spirits - be applied with good ventilation until dry. Citrus solvent is in the same family of chemicals as turpentine, and mineral spirits were developed as a substitute for the more toxic turpentine. Millie's may be a great product but the text describing why they're better than other tung oil products is irritatingly misleading. I don't have any financial interest in any of them and I've used pure tung oil with citrus solvent for wood used in food prep and pure tung oil and then Waterlox for table tops. I prefer the smell of the citrus solvent but I don't get any of them near flames or use them without good ventilation.

UFSC: Thank you for the great information. I want to test the Pallman Oil further. Has it worked well for you to apply regular stain underneath to achieve the color you want? MiaOKC: I talked to someone who finishes hardwood floors and he really didn't like the Rubio Monocoat at all. He said he has seen a lot of problems, but he wasn't more specific than this. So I have ruled this out. He also doesn't like the Waterlox finish because he says the smell is just terrible, and he's had boards that still smelled two years later. So I've ruled this out as well. Which leaves Pullman Magic Oil and Osmo. I have tested the Osmo and I liked the result. I just need to play around with the colors, and the samples are pretty expensive. I'm having trouble finding a source where I can buy a sample of the Pallman oil. Can anyone help? This post was edited by TXBluebonnet11 on Mon, Oct 7, 13 at 16:50

Sorry, but I have to say I'm laughing at this thread. There is no such thing as a perfect floor finish. And, if you took the advice of some of these posters, you may come out just as disappointed. Set your criteria, what is important to you and what isn't. Then study each form of finish to find the one that best fits your desires for it. Verily, one size does not fit all. Granted tung oil will only give you a matte finish. If your top criteria was shine, you picked the wrong one. Other than increasing the vibrancy of the wood grains, tung oil is about as matte a finish as you can get. It is also an oil, if you want that feel of a slick, plastic like coating, no oil will give you that. Done right, they will still feel like unfinished wood. Yet, from what I can see from your photo, it looks like your culprit is not the tung oil, rather it's the soap you are using. It is chemically reacting to the tung oil, breaking it down. (See that milky film on it? That tells me that.) What can you do now? 7 applications of tung oil (that's only 1 coat unless you waited 1 month between applications) does mean that it's saturated in about 1/4in. Unless your floorboards are an inch or more thick, it makes no sense to try and sand them down. You are not going to get that tung oil out of those boards. After having sanded just the film off, reapply 1 or 2 applications of tung oil. Then yes, you're going to need to start waxing your floors. There's no way around it. You're stuck with what you have, deal with it the best you can. Throw the soap you've been using away, and find something less aggressive. Also insure that your wax does not do the same thing. You must use a natural wax. But, it's the wax that can easily be replenished, let it take the abuse.