Texastodd, I'll be following your post with interest. I'm just like you, had oak for 30 yrs and thinking of walnut with the Waterlox finish. I like the idea you can add more finish to the traffic areas w/o any sanding.

OT: I saw a fabulous Distressed Black Walnut countertop at HD Expo that was finished with Waterlox. I know its not flooring, but you might want to chk it out. The display island is an accurate photo of the DBW, the inset photo is too light.

Here is a link that might be useful: Craft Art Countertops

I have experience with Waterlox, which is a mixture of tung oil and resins. It is very easy to apply and makes wood beautiful. It does not completely cover the wood like a thick film of poly, but it does soak in and provide some surface protection. It is also easy to spot repair. The negatives are that is takes about 1 week before you can put the furniture back on, 2-3 weeks for the VOC smells to go away, and around 30 days before you can put the rugs down. So it is best done right before or during a vacation and may not be the best choice for those with severe respiratory impairments. I have not used the low VOC version of Waterlox, just regular in Satin.

Tung Oil by itself does not really give the surface of wood much protection. It also requires the use of thinners to work it into the wood. Examples of thinners are mineral spirits or citric based solvents and both have smell issues. Some on this forum have had success with straight tung oil, but it has some limitations in durability for a heavily used floor.

I don't know much about Brazilian walnut (IPE) except that it is an extremely hard or dense wood.

American black walnut is hot right now both in the USA and overseas. The price of walnut lumber has been going up almost every week for the last few years. The wood has dark brown heartwood and white sapwood and the lumber is often steamed for a more uniform tone and to darker the sapwood. It is hard enough for a flooring meterial, even though it is slightly softer than red oak. Go with a satin or matte finish to mask surface scratches and dings.

If you want to see some beautiful countertops with Waterlox finishes, then check out this website:

Here is a link that might be useful: DeVos Custom Woodworking

jrdwyer, happy to hear you have experience with Waterlox. Where did you use it - flooring, countertop, cabinets? I've not talked with anyone who has lived with it. Do you think it would make a good finish on a floor, rather than polyurethane? Your "cons" don't seem to be an issue for me. I especially like the fact you can recoat the traffic lanes w/o doing the whole floor. Do you know if you can use a stain in conjunction with the Waterlox? Do you know how often it would have to be reapplied? Sorry, I have so many questions. TIA

I used it on our floors in Fall '05 for a remodel I did myself (wife helped too). It is a good alternative to regular oil-modified polyurethane because it is very easy to apply. Waterlox flows very well and does not set up really fast like regular poly or water-based finishes.

Waterlox is not a super hard finish like the two-part commercial finishes or factory finishes and so it probably scratches more easily. That said, all flooring finishes can be scratched by dog claws and pebbles in shoe soles and Waterlox is perfectly fine for everyday family use. The best idea is to mask or hide imperfections by using a satin or matte finish and/or a wood with lots of grain or character.

How often you reapply depends on how picky you are with surface scratches. With all the beautiful grain and color of our R&Q red oak floors, I don't really notice the dog nail scratches. All we have done to date is just dust with Swiffers and clean up any spills. I will get around to using the Waterlox floor cleaner I purchased sometime this spring. It was by baby, so I get to clean it. No Hoover wet vac for this hardwood floor.

Here are some pictures taken after the install. You can zoom in with these shots for a good close-up of the grain pattern . The lighting in front of the bed is natural.

Here is a link that might be useful: Waterlox on Oak

american and brazilian walnuts are completely different in appearance. american has a very distinguished and beautiful (stunning, in fact) flowing grain. it's much softer than brazilian and softer than oak. (you'll have to check the chart). can't say much about brazilian walnut since i didn't give it a thorough look. i saw the american and fell head over heals in love. brazililan just didn't do it for me. i'm debating whether or not the american walnut will hold up well enough to go into our new build so i'll be watching this thread... but, i did want to tell you that i have never seen a more beautiful floor and if i were to choose something over the american walnut it would undoubtedly win because of hardness, but will only be second in my heart!

I forgot to mention that I did not buff or screen between any coats with my application as this is not necessary with Waterlox. If you desire a furniture-like finish, then a lite screening after one or more coats to get rid of nubs/stray hairs/air bubbles would be needed.

You could use a dye or stain prior to applying Waterlox or you could add either to Waterlox as a tint. Stains are like a layer of paint and the large particles rest on top of the wood, whereas dyes are smaller particles that soak down into the top portion of the wood. Some products are a mixture of both. Stains are generally more colorfast than dyes. The are many brands of oil-based stains and dyes available that would be compatible with Waterlox. I recommend you experiment by getting a floor board sample and some Waterlox trial packs and some stain or dye.