Help needed with dark hardwood floors

[Gary McG]

We're refinishing our approximately 90 year old hardwood floors, we want them to be very dark when finished. We have completed two rooms using dark tinted tung oil finish and a urethane topcoat. The floors look spectacular, but are already showing wear from our dog. The floors seem to be easily scratched, and then the urethan flakes off, it doesn't seem to be adhering well.

My question is this: Is there a good solution to darken floors and apply a very durable finish?

Any knowledgeable suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance

Gary

[Ian Stirling]

Time for a toenail trim?

[Roger]

First of all, poly varnish will not stick well to an oil base, as you discovered. In my experience I know of no way to darken floors outside of removing the existing finish by power sanding, then solvent (non-oil, non-rubbing) staining, followed, after days of drying and fine sanding, by a hard modern clear varnish, such as polyurethane. Relying on varnish stains is a very short term approach, as the wear surface quickly abrades, exposing the original wood color, whereas solvent ( low viscosity) stains penetrate into the wood, while the poly finish preserves the wood. Then, touching up damage is a matter of brushing on varnish where needed.

[MSH]

Tung oil is not an accepted product under polyurethane on a floor. You should be using a stain specfic for the products you use. That product should be specific for floor use. All the problems you mention are a direct result of that tung oil. Any penetrating floor stain will give you the color you want, they are available in any color of the rainbow.

You will need to shop for a retailer who will sell the good stuff. Bona Kemi or Basic Coatings are by far the best floor finish manufacturers. You should buy the top of the line, about $80/gal. Bona makes a very good, fast dry stain. Dura Seal (Minwax) makes an excellant stain but they require long dry time under a water base finish. A very dark color such as Coffee Brown or Ebony is pigmented which lays on the surface rather than penetratring. Longer to dry and they generally won't last as long. You will also need to pop the grain before staining for more penetration, darker color and better adhesion.

[donald girod]

If you had used oilbase poly as the topcoat (at least 4 coats for durability) it probably would have worked ok assuming the tung oil stuff was dry. If it was water-base poly, you are SOL. This is sad. You are going to have to sand the whole floor again, and then either stay with a complete water-based system as other posters have suggested, or use oil-based stain and oil-based poly.