I've done a few HWO jobs and it doesnt offer the same protection that film forming urethane finishes do. the only real advantage of HWO is in my opinion the ease of fixing such accidents, like a scratch or a spill. without having to call a professional out to fix.

The other thing i would like to note, ANY liquid that sits long enough on any wood surface will penetrate through and stain. a HWO may provide a little time before the stain, and a 3 coat urethane finish may last twice as long or more before it stains.

so a wine spill for 4 hours probably not going to last on any wood surface. the advantage of HWO is that you can fix the stain the next morning when you sober up.

Thank you for your comment, this is exactly the 2cents I'm hoping for. And we certainly enjoy our evening wine, but the experiment was also intended to simulate the scenario where we wake to find one of the dogs has been sick (or had an accident) - leaving the mess for us to clean up in the morning :( Your point still well taken, I'm sure that any liquid left long enough will stain. Guess I was secretly hoping some posters would reassure me saying their Hardwax Oil floors are holding up fantastic, but that just may not happen. No point in having gorgeous HWO finished hardwood in the closets but the main living spaces a mess. Thanks again!

i think a lot of it depends on lifestyle too. kids and dogs dont mix well with any hardwood floor with any finish. so that should be factored in. Doesnt mean you shouldnt get hardwood, just its probably going to take a beating until they get older when the major contributors to damaging the floor becomes a non issue.

It sounds like you already know all the pros and cons. For a tough decision I try to picture an imaginary scale stacked with the pros and cons of each finish and determine which way the scale tilts. Would it be worse to have a floor that stains with red wine than one that's hard to touch up if it gets scratched? I'm currently in the midst of refinishing my living room floor was finished with gym sealer and wax over 40 years. I've decided to use Rubio but haven't decided on the color yet.

Of all the HWO floors I've done the only staining issue has been with dog urine on a White Oak floor finished in white. The client insisted on a zero VOC finish and I warned her the main problem would come if there was a dog accident. She assured me her dogs were all well behaved, then she got a puppy.

Thank you jfcwood, and the GardenWeb community. I think your comment seals my resolve that as much as I like the look of HardWax Oil, it's not going to work for our lifestyle. Similar to the example you gave, we are also going with White Oak (Rift&Quartered) and will always have dogs in our home. Don't really want to turn into a monster obsessing over my floors beyond what I already have :) Thank you all again!