A plywood floor was installed in the heated “crawlspace” under our cabin which was to be used as a workshop. My husband finished it with Danish Tung Oil. On 50% of it, he did a second coat which is now sticky. I suspect it was applied too thickly and not wiped off sufficiently. It has been about 5 months now and it is still tacky in spot. Running shoes stick and squeak. I tried coating it with Mineral Spirits, then wiping it off. This helped a wee bit, but not enough. Any ideas how to fix this? Can I use an oil based flooring paint or poly over it? Sand it off and start again (I really don’t want to do that!) Suggestions?
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Seems like the coats were applied like polyurethane - which is way too thick. Tung oil dries from the outside-in. This means that the inside has to dry through the "dried" top of the finish.
Using a buffer (rent by the day) with a green Scotchbrite pad, buff the floor to remove all the soft finish and then leave it alone for a week with a fan circulating the air 24/7. When dry, vacuum floor completely. Apply a coat of Tung oil throughout - a 4' wide strip at a time. Apply oil, wait 10 mins and buff off using a buffer + White Scotchbrite pad + towel (available at a flooring supply or big box. Repeat on the next 4'. After buffing last strip, allow floor to dry. Tung oil floors should have 3 coats.
Hope this helps.
Frankie
Thank you Frankie. I will give this method a try.