This is a pic I found online, which I found to be true when doing some samples on my red oak floor. If you want water based you might want to stain first or add a tint vs just the poly on oak. Oil mellows some vs water based will not change in color. Here is a link that might be useful: pic

I'm in the same boat here as far as having to choose between the two (oil/acid or water based). As part of a gut to the walls remodel, I'm having about 650 sq ft. of CVG fir floors installed. I've talked to my flooring installer at length about the relative pros/cons of the various finishes. The conclusion I've come to is that yes, durability can be equal or better with a water based finish, but depending on the wood, the look may or may not be what you want. The guy doing my floors is a one man operation, hard to get because he is so much in demand for the quality of work that he does. He told me that, at least for the fir that I'm doing, although the durability would probably be the same, I most likely would not be happy with the water based finish, even Bona Traffic. He said that for some woods it's great, but does not bring out the color like Glitza does, at least for the fir. We are going to do the first 2 coats with Glitza acid cure, then the top coat with Glitza's new water based finish. According to him, the new water based finish from Glitza is truly state of the art, the best there is at the moment. So, I'm going to sacrifice & find a place to stay for couple of days (with my two cats) while the initial two coates of Glitza acid cure is applied. We are then going to cover the floor with a felt cloth and masonite, finish the rest of the work on the house, then at the end, do the final finish coat with the new Glitza water based finish. I really want to bring out the best in this flooring. It is old growth, 200+ probably year old Doug fir, sold in a hazardous tree sale by the forest service. It was rough milled and stored for about the last 6 years. The material for my floor was hand picked, then sent the the mill and milled into flooring for my project. My interior doors, entrance door, and all of my base, case and window trim has all been custom milled from the same batch of wood, so I'm really excited to see it come together.

Well, first, thanks to all for not abusing me for failing to realize there is a GW Flooring forum. Duh. I have hung out for years on the kitchen and appliance forums and just assumed this would be the place to post. Appreciate all of you helping despite the mistake. At any rate, I did search Bona Traffic and clearly it's the only water-based poly that gets props. Otherwise, oil based is regarded as more durable than other water based polys. Not sure if we'll like the yellowing with the oil, but the floor guy is willing to do some samples so we can see. Would you reject water based if they can't do Bona Traffic (which I gather requires some expertise, and not all vendors will use it) and go with oil based? The location is second floor hallways and master bedroom, not super high traffic areas, but also the stairways, which do get a lot of traffic. Finally, can Bona Traffic be used over existing water based poly? It's time to rescreen our kitchen floors, which were done with generic water based (before I got smart and posted on GW).

For people looking for a durable domestic hardwood our hickory has been a very popular option. Because you'll be finishing in place your installer should be able to stain any color you want but make sure to see how it looks on the specie and grade you choose. The hickory has a very noticeable color variation between the heart wood and sapwood and because of this will stain a little differently. As far as finish goes we usually recommend a tung oil finish because of the fact that it is spot repairable. This allows you to re-finish or touch up areas where the dogs make their loop, leap, or general jumping around. I know pointers can sometimes be a little high energy and this will allow you smooth out those areas without re-finishing the entire surface like you would need to do with a traditional poly finish. Another option that many large pet owning customers have really liked is our saw kerf texture. This does give more of a rustic feel to the surface but it also disguises many of the "accidental blemishes" that can happen with your flooring. What ever your decision we wish you luck!