So, last time I was here I asked for help with a contractor who wanted to use MinWax Tung Oil Finish on my floors.

I didn't push for the polyU because I needed to move and he was hemming and hawing about getting the floor done in time for my move. I made the mistake of hiring the guy, starting from the get go and I've learned my lesson.

Now, I want to put polyu on my floors, even though they have been "finished" with tung oil.

I would like to just thoroughly clean the area and then put fast drying polyurethane on the floors.

Do I need to do something additional than this?

I want to avoid sanding the floors again.

To be honest, I just want to protect the floors long enough for me to save the money to eventually fix the place up again.

I'm looking to finish the living room/dining room which is connected to the kitchen (open space) and the hallways. I would not finish the bedrooms yet (I don't have a place to put all the furniture).

Is this a crazy idea?

Or should I just live with the Tung Oil Finish coat until I have the money to do the floors again?

Any help, ideas, advice are really and truly appreciated.

To my knowledge, you can buff the tung oil with a fine abrasive like 220 grit sanding screen or equivalent ,vacuum,tack and re coat with an oil urethane as long as no contaminates are on the floor like waxes or oil soaps.

The best thing to do is contact minwax tech support and ask their opinion. They've definitely tested the combination and know if it works or not.

I believe you can buff and recoat it. I would just buff, put down a coating of sanding sealer, then buff again and apply a coat of finish. The sealer will help with bonding.

It all depends on the tung oil you used. Most tung oil today is actually a tung oil finish. Either way, I have used tung oil in pure form and in finish form and then applied a finish over it with no problems, as long as the pure tung oil sat a week. It does matter what kind of finish you try to put over it. I have done it with precat lacquer with no problems, as long as I mist coat on the sealer. You can also use shellac – dewaxed, like Zinssner. Poly will work fine, but as we all know, that's not a production finish and a royal pain.

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Thanks.

I will call Minwax and see what they say.

This is Tung Oil Finish, not real tung oil. When I was first told it was going to be tung oil, I thought it was the real thing and I agreed to it. When I started to see what products were being used on the floor, I realized it was the finishing blend, not real tung oil.

Buffing helps to take off the tung oil finish or is it just to eliminate dirt/dust?

The main purpose of buffing the tung oil is to finely abrade the tung oil finish so that the next coat of urethane will have more surface area to stick to..it's standard practice in our trade.

I spoke with MinWax, they said putting the polyurethane on top of their tung oil finish would not be a problem, as long as I took the steps that you guys suggested here. So, I will buff with the fine sandpaper and then put the polyurethane on top. They suggested I use the super-fast drying type, so I wouldn't need to sand between coats.

Thank you all for the suggestions and advice.