TUNG OIL FLOOR COATING

I'm not sure what caused the tung to flake. any reason why it should? Oily timber? timber not sufficiently dried/cured?

Satin finish?
http://www.feastwatson.com.au/FloorFloorseal.asp
yeah its a tung oil base but it has a good reputation among restoration people.

Shellac?

Floors are very touchy. I hope somebody can suggest something that will do a proper job.

Email these guys. They have a good rep with restoration people and might have some good suggestions.
http://www.grimesandsons.com/Grimes_&_Sons/Welcome.html

Also suggest posting your query here ...or seach the forums
http://www.woodworkforums.com/

The wood that was used in our addition was an old factory floor that was at least 100 years old (We have these guys around us that tear down old buildings and offer up the original stuff for restoration contractors. The reason we bought this wood was that it wasnt tongue and groove, it is actually held together with BOWTIE joints made of walnut. Its a neat look but you do bump your feet against the shrinking bowties every so often at night (Mostly when I step over the dogs and come down on a bowtie with my bare feet). The floor boards were dry as far as I know but the entire floor was installed in the heat of the summer so I dont know whether there was any humidity problems that the painters didnt tell us about. As I recall, it took almost 3 days for the damn floors to dry.

So are you guys fans of tung oil over top of old tung oil?

Hee hee, I do visit the woodworking forums. My handle there is VLAD THE NAILER.

I had never considered tung oil for floors, but I can imagine that it would look good. I have used tung oil on many other projects and have found that a refinish of tung oil over a clean surface works just fine.

I don't, however, quite understand the flaking part that you mention. Of course, that would have to be addressed first.

The walnut bow-tie part sounds like a nice touch.

Really i have no experience with floors. All mine are wall to wall (crappy) carpet or lino
I'd sand back the old stuff first.
I wonder if there is some moisture barrier or layer between coats or if there was some kind of contamination of the timber in its previouse incarnation like (formaldehyde?).