if it is a dark wood try old english scrach gaurd first it cover many light scratches Here is a link that might be useful: Corvette

The spar varnish would work, but I suspect it will be too heavy and glossy for your taste, unless you want a glass-like surface that reflects the tiniest flaw. I would personally lightly scuff-sand the salad bowl finish (it's water-based, correct, the one from General Finishes?) with 220 or 320 grit and apply a layer or two of satin PolyWhey on it. It's a water-based poly that's one of the hardest I've worked with, and I do a lot of refinishing. I've had it on our walnut-stained oak stairs for a number of years; no scratches at all yet and these stairs take some shoe and cat-claw abuse. Bonus is that the PolyWhey is absolutely without odor and dries within an hour or so. Super easy application. It's also food-safe when dry, which is always a question for urethanes. Best of luck with your project! PS: yes, if you want the traditional satin rubbed-oil finish, you will have to sand down and remove every trace of the salad bowl urethane. (Oil finishes work by sinking into the wood, and urethanes work by preventing anything from sinking into the wood.) Real oil finishes would be things like pure tung oil, boiled linseed oil, mineral oil, or preparations like Osmo or Rubio. These get rubbed in and sink into the wood fibers -- which is why they don't scratch, per se. But they also provide very little in the way of gloss and are less protective over time, requiring touchups. Oil-based cooked varnishes would be things like the Marine Spar Varnish, Waterlox, "Danish Oil" and for all intents and purposes oil-based polyurethane. These get brushed or wiped on and form a hard protective shell over the wood. But in your shoes I'd eschew either of those, and instead stick with something waterbased, so as to ensure the best bond with what you've already got on there. Thus my recommendation of the PolyWhey, which comes in a nice satin finish version. This post was edited by circuspeanut on Sat, Sep 7, 13 at 11:41

@Beth H - they are not mine - my client has 4 Savannahs - they are BEAUTIFUL!!! We are talking cabinets (all of the other finishes in the bath will be tile/stone/quartz), and the cats like to try to open cabinet doors - which has resulted in scratches in the past.

We had the same problem with a dark stain over white oak. Contracter used Bona stain, and 3 coats of water based satin finish. Each dried at least 12 hours between coats. Our floors were very hard previously in the “golden oak” (natural) color but had yellowed and we didnt like the color. Now they scratch SO easily, as in drop a spoon and it scratches and dents the floor. We don’t wear shoes in the house either. Does not seem right. All the scratches 1 month later seem random, not from furniture, which is all on felt pads. What went wrong here?? I feel like I’m walking on eggshells.