kimkss, Initially we started with a clear water based poly on our doors. But for trim and hardwood floors (and cabinets in process) we went with Waterlox. The Waterlox has a stronger odor and DH says you do need to be more careful of runs on vertical surfaces than with poly. The finish is gorgeous, really brings out the details in the wood grain, rich and lustrous. It is more expensive and requires more coats but worth it. For us we are going for the "new old house" look so the oil finish goes with that ambiance. Jill

I have experience with Waterlox, which is a mixture of tung oil and resins. It is very easy to apply and makes wood beautiful. It does not completely cover the wood like a thick film of poly, but it does soak in and provide some surface protection. It is also easy to spot repair. The negatives are that is takes about 1 week before you can put the furniture back on, 2-3 weeks for the VOC smells to go away, and around 30 days before you can put the rugs down. So it is best done right before or during a vacation and may not be the best choice for those with severe respiratory impairments. I have not used the low VOC version of Waterlox, just regular in Satin. Tung Oil by itself does not really give the surface of wood much protection. It also requires the use of thinners to work it into the wood. Examples of thinners are mineral spirits or citric based solvents and both have smell issues. Some on this forum have had success with straight tung oil, but it has some limitations in durability for a heavily used floor. I don't know much about Brazilian walnut (IPE) except that it is an extremely hard or dense wood. American black walnut is hot right now both in the USA and overseas. The price of walnut lumber has been going up almost every week for the last few years. The wood has dark brown heartwood and white sapwood and the lumber is often steamed for a more uniform tone and to darker the sapwood. It is hard enough for a flooring meterial, even though it is slightly softer than red oak. Go with a satin or matte finish to mask surface scratches and dings. If you want to see some beautiful countertops with Waterlox finishes, then check out this website: Here is a link that might be useful: DeVos Custom Woodworking

Riverspots, can you be more specific about 'tung oil preps'? Reason being that a lot of so-called 'tung oil finishes' contain zero tung oil. Mulemom--I'm planning to use real tung oil on my cabinets. Used tung oil on new wood window interiors that have been installed for three years & so far, so good. Refinished w/ tung oil some window frames which have been in service 4 or 5 years & those still look good. These are old windows that need replacing--leaky, lots of condensation & interior ice, even! Extreme conditions & I'm very satisfied w/ how the finish has held up. As an experiment, late last summer I used tung oil on the redwood side trays of my outdoor gas grill when I refinished them. They've been thru a lot of rain & snow over the fall & winter with no change in appearance. Anyway, I don't have any hesitation whatsoever about using tung oil on kitchen cabinets. More labor intensive, sure, but the results are worth it to me.

skanman, Well, I did preface my comments by apologizing first but I indeed could not resist challenging an argument that, by its own merits, contradicted itself at every point, turn and conclusion. I certainly did not mean to offend bob but merely wanted to point out that just because Waterlox mixes tung oil with solvents and other chemicals to create a finish does not mean it no longer has tung oil in it as bobÂs argument implies. Similarly, just because bread is not flour does not mean bread no longer has flour in it. It is a line of logic truly in its simplest and most basic form. And, for the record, Waterlox is a very good product. Bob goes further to illustrate his point by referencing that the Waterlox MSDS data sheet does not even include tung oil as an ingredient concluding that his statement must then in fact be true. I believe the MSDS data sheet is more technically referred to as the Material Safety Data Sheet which is required disclosure under applicable labor and product safety laws to list the contents of products, certain contents of which are considered hazardous, and for which safe handling procedures are required. I must admit that I found it interesting on the surface that the Waterlox MSDS sheet in fact does not list tung oil at all. However, not withstanding my ignorance and all, I added the components as listed on the Waterlox Original product MSDS. According to both hands and feet and my trusty abacus, I came up with 75.06% (wouldnÂt Jethro Clampett be so proud!) which does not account for 100% of the material. Since tung oil in its purest form is not considered a toxic substance, could it be that the remaining 23.96% is TUNG OIL that is not required to be listed because it is NON-TOXIC and approved for use in food preparation areas? I merely speculate this to be the case but have called the Waterlox technical line to confirm (since wikipedia did not know the answer to this mystery). But skanmanÂdude! I mean really dude! Seriously though dude!!! DUDE??? Just exactly what was that in your post that started with "WHOA" ? Sorry but I could not follow it or its point past "WHOA!". I mean DUDE, really, get some ventilation in that high VOC paint room of yours. You say "sticking to your vegitarian analogy think of boca burgers containing 15-40 percent beef. youd be hard pressed to find a true pure tung oil, the only one I know of can be bought through the "real milk paint company,Â" HUH? REALLY DUDE! You need to ventilate that room of yours. BTW, your milk company has 100% pure light tung oil for $16.95 and dark for $20, not $40. OH, and wikipedia defines tannins, which I am very familiar with, but neither wikipedia nor I are familiar with tannin oils. Anyway, before you advise well wishers go to wikipedia before flexing their ignorance, maybe you should oxygenate and practice the same.