Hi. I'm currently applying tung oil to pine flooring. I started by looking for advice on the internet and found a lot of conflicting advice. I bought some Liberon Pure Tung Oil and read the instructions on the tin. I guess with all oils, the wood will absorb it to a certain degree, then i think you will reach a point of 'saturation'. I started by thinning the oil with 50% white spirit and made up 1 Litre of this solution. (500ml Tung with 500ml White Spirit). I brushed on the oil and wiped off any excess after about an hour. Be careful and don't be too generous with the oil! It helps if you can look across the floor into a light (window) as this will highlight any missed areas. Leave it 24 hours and apply another coat. I've just finished applying my second coat today. I'm going to leave it a further 24 hours before i apply the 'neat' Tung oil. I've tested this process on a small table, so i'll check the look of this before I commit myself! A long drawn out process, but satisfying once done. It feels nice under foot, and thinking about is a lot more forgiving than varnishing or waxing(!). Tung oil is apparently very resistant to water, alcohol and food acids. Hope this helps. Warren. Here is a link that might be useful: Power Tool Warehouse.

I have to say in regards to Waterlox: it is a wonderful finish when first applied. For the record I have laid yellow/heart pine and used poly to finish, I laid 900sq' of eastern white pine and covered with Waterlox. We built our own home 4 years ago and used waterlox original on the entire 900sq' of the downstairs. It gave is a yellow orange tint which is eactly what we wanted. It did darken over the 3 years we lived there as when we moved last week and lifted the rugs there was a very noticable difference in coloration. Application was horrible. I used a quality paint respirator in january. Since it was cold I had the windows closed. Eyes burned so I used goggles. When I would take the respirator off to readjust etc the fumes almost knocked me out. After the 4 coats over 2 days I shut up the house (opened windows at timed intervals to allow new air in). About 3 weeks later we moved in and could still smell the waterlox. A few days before we sold our house I did some touchup work since our yellow lab left several claw marks down below the finish. I simply put a little waterlox on a rag and applied by hand the 1'x1' area. You could smell it upstairs with the door closed. We had to open windows in january. Waterlox finish very much resembles poly. It never chipped on us but had the same type of appearance with the scratches. Repairs. Don't let anyone fool you. If you have a dog scratch your floor and it is deep you now have fresh unstained, unweathered wood showing. It will look very white next to the tinted weathered finish. You can apply new waterlox but it will not tint the scratches to match the finished side adjacent to it. It will reseal it and tint it a bit but you are going to see the scratches. Not as bad a poly, but you will see them clearly. Fast forward. Economy goes bad, decide to sell our home and purchase a cheaper fixer upper and try to pocket a little cash in case of job loss. The new home has pergo, yuck. I have already found a dealer for red pine this time. (should be a bit harder than the eastern white pine we had in the last home.) Plan on installing red pine in the entire house less the 2 bathrooms. Equates to about 2000sq'. The big debate. Tongue oil or more waterlox. We did lover the finish of the Waterlox and always got great compliments on the floor from guests. I don't really want to evict my family(young child) from the home for 7-10 days while the new finish gases off while drying. I have heard mixed reviews on the citrus solvent as being almost as bad for you as mineral spirits. I loved the finish of the waterlox and it did bead up nicely and cleaned well. I have never used the tongue oil and hope I am not making a mistake by taking that route. We love the matte finish of the waterlox along with the slippery feel to it. Does the tongue oil leave a smooth slippery texture also or do you feel the wood grain more? I have used a marine based tongue oil on a boat I built and that was not something I would want to walk on every day.

Certainly, there is no rule that says you cannot leave any wood "natural," that is, without stain. Pine will develop a nice patina over time. I like the look of shellac on pine. It brings out a lot of chatoyance (luster). It's a fine finish on its own, but most bunk beds are for children and see "extreme use." So you may want to apply a varnish top coat. (Poly[urethane] is just one type of varnish). You can apply any varnish over a dewaxed shellac base coat (such as Zinsser's SealCoat or Bullseye _Aerosol_). You can apply non-poly varnishes over dewaxed or waxed shellac (Bullseye in a can). If you mix your own from flakes, it will say dewaxed if it is. Yes, you should apply multiple coats, whatever your finish choice. The first coat, when properly done, will largely be absorbed into the wood surface. More light coats work better than heavy coats. Too heavy coats is one of the most common flaws in varnishing (or shellacking). You end up with brush marks, runs (curtains), puddles, and that "plastic look." The rule is, "Apply as little as possible to ensure complete coverage." For a typical table or desk top, I'll typically use about 1/4 cup of finish per coat, as a point of reference. Finishing before assembly is fine. It is sometimes easier to reach the tight spots, reduces the number of concave corners, and makes keeping a wet edge easier. The only problem is if there are joints that need to fit together and/or be glued. Glue will not stick well to a finished surface. Either mask them off or go ahead with the assembly first. IF there is KD hardware, you should be fine.

Thank you, Todd. I appreciate your advice and i will ask if staining/painting before installation is an option with this painter. If not, I will make some other calls to see if I can find someone who has experience staining/painting window sashes, frames and extension jambs and has a warehouse. It makes sense to have them finished before installation. That way, only the new interior trim, sill and apron will need finishing after install (or would the painter do that in advance, too?) Also, Andersen Woodwright has a wood jamb liner but a 5/8” wide “balance channel“ that comes in gray or white. Trying to decide whether to be consistent on the color of that balance channel throughout the house on all windows (mostly stained/some painted windows) but wonder if white balance channel will be too stark against stain. it’s hard to tell because, of course, showroom sample is unfinished pine (not stained). Exterior window color will be white. Have you (or anyone reading this) ever seen a stained Woodwright with a white balance channel? If so, I'd welcome your thoughts on that, too. Gray balance channel (seems close in color to Andersen “stone“ sash lock) This is a strip of poster board painted Andersen White to help “simulate“ appearance of a white balance channel. Thank you.