We installed wide-plank, pine floors last October. They are finished with stain and tung oil...that's it. We were hoping to attain a very "worn and rustic" look, which we've achieved...and then some. We have several cats and a dog. We grossly under-estimated the damage that their claws would do to such soft wood. We don't necessarily mind the look that's been achieved (some VERY deep scratches, lots of indents, etc.). But at the rate the damage is happening, the floors will be worn to nothing within a few years. What options do we have for finishing the floors with something more durable? One recommendation was to us Varathane Renewal System. Apparenly, though, one of the criteria for that product is that none of the scratches present can be deep ones....a lot of ours are very deep. We're not looking for a way to repair the gouges/scratches, so that's not a consideration. We just want to prevent as much future damage as possible. Any suggestions? Thanks.

There is no finish/surface coating that will make wood harder than it already is. Some brands of tung oil ( Waterlox ) have resins that improve the durability of the finish but none are as scratch resistant as a quality polyurethane. You may be able to thoroughly clean and abrade the floors and apply a couple of coats of a urethane finish to them. This will improve the durability of the finish. It will not make the floors more dent resistant. Pine is soft and will dent and scratch. At this point, I'd recommend hiring a local pro floor finisher and have him apply one or two coats of Bona Traffic in satin.

Lately I have been thinking of trying a product on pine flooring to harden it. I have used it in 2 other instances regarding rot but am going to test it on pine flooring. It is called Clear penetrating epoxy sealer and thought you may be interested to see if it could help with your situation.

The site is http://www.rotdoctor.com/products/cpes.html

I am still looking into its use on a floor but does make a wood product very hard. So far the one thing that may make it a problem is the ability to stain after it has been applied.

FYI
Keith

Since you already have tung oil, why not apply a few more coats of tung-oil? This will allow it to give your floow new life. Gary is correct to say that pine will be pine, its a very soft wood and will dent easily, but you don't care about that!