OK... the use of a sealant is DEPENDENT on the SPECIES of wood and water based polyurethane application. Red oak = no sealant. WHITE OAK = SEALANT. That means you must know your SPECIES of oak before you can get an answer. This is why you are getting "maybe yes, maybe no" answers. It is SPECIES and FINISH dependent. If in doubt, go ahead and use a sealant. It can't hurt...and it is often cheaper than a coat of finish.

Onto the next part of your question. You used an OIL based stain...which means you do not have to sand afterwards. You are welcome to....but it isn't necessary. The WATER BASED STAINS need the sanding before the sealant. Again, this is why you are getting "maybe yes, maybe no" answers. It is dependent on the STAIN type.

As to quality of finish - Bona HD is one of the big boys in the finishing world. It has a big price tag compared to DuraSeal. The quality of DuraSeal is professional....but no where near as high-end as Bona.

Now for the big surprise. Bona is SUPER hard to work with. There are professionals out there that REFUSE to work with Bona because of the INSANELY SHORT working times. Here's an example. DuraSeal "wet edge" is 10 minutes. As is Loba. That is "not very long" but is certainly manageable for anyone with a bit of common sense and decent hand/eye coordination. Compare that to Bona's 2 minute wet edge! Wow! Hold on! Two minutes? What? Are they INSANE? Why yes they are. And this is where untrained PROFESSIONALS get into trouble. The two minute wet edge is a project KILLER! If you do NOT know how to work a T-bar applicator quickly, you are in trouble. If you do not have a partner who will help you do this (and even have their own T-bar with their own assistant) then you are in trouble. If you did NOT attend the Bona training sessions (offered to professionals only) then you are in trouble.

Whew. Lots a trouble and I haven't even reached the "sanding" stuff. Water based products really, really, really need 3 coats of "total" product. That can mean 1 coat of sealant + 2 coats of "finish" = 3 coats. Or it can mean 3 coats of finish = 3 coats.

Buffing/screening before the final coat is always a good idea....especially with water based finishes. They cause a TREMENDOUS amount of grain raise...and that needs to be "knocked down" some how.

As for wear resistance, to us in the flooring community, that means wear THROUGH...not scratching. Everything scratches. It just does. There is very little you can do to stop it. You can move up the ladder to a high-end 2K (2 part) finish that has nano beads infused into the product. This will give you TREMENDOUS amounts of scratch resistance. It will also double the cost of your product purchase (compared to Bona) or triple it depending on which one you compare to (like DuraSeal).

And water resistance = not much difference. All polyurethanes are permeable to liquids if the liquids are allowed to sit long enough. That's why ALL hardwood floor finishes require that you clean up spills inside of 15 minutes. That doesn't change. The source of the polyurethane is irrelevant. Water penetration is still water penetration. Give yourself 15 minutes and you should be fine.

Personally I'm a finish "snob". I have seen a high-end product out perform lower grade finishes many many times. The problems I see with that is Bona is INSANELY difficult to work with. Applicator beware.

For that reason, if this is DIY, I suggest you work with DuraSeal. If you have White Oak you MUST use a sealant. If it is Red Oak, you should go ahead and use 3 coats of FINISH (no sealant) to give you the toughest possible finish in your skill range.

Always sand/buff before the third coat. It is what professionals would do.

Thanks! That takes care of Bona. I’ll likely go with Duraseal. Do you have any experience with Varathane high traffic? It claims to have aluminum oxide for superior scratch resistant - but not sure if it’s legit or just a marketing thing that sounds neat but worthless in application. There’s also a Varathane heavy use. What about Fabulon? I’ll be using a lambs wool applicator fwiw

Honestly, not sure if red oak or white oak. I’m thinking white oak. Any suggestions on sealers?

Match your sealants to your polyurethane. Whatever you decide to do for the finish you need to use their sealant. To be clear the Varathane High Traffic is OIL BASED. You've stated you want water based. So that particular one is off the table.

The Varathane option in Canada is called "NanoDefence". I've used it on cork in the past and it does quite well. It is the most expensive option in their line-up. In Canada it is $90+/gallon. The other Varathane options are $30/gallon. The Nano Defence requires 3 coats. All the other Varathane finishes require 4 OR MORE coats.

No...Varathane is not considered a professional level product. It is DIY all the way. DuraSeal is definitely a step up.

If you want tough + professional grade + easy to work with = Loba 2K Supra AT Satin. You can use the Loba EasyPrime as the sealant and then two coats of the 2K Supra AT. The AT = ceramic nanobeads embedded into the finish. Stunning stuff. In Canada it sells for $180/gallon. In the USA you *might be able to find it for $150/gallon or so.

And just for fun....not all water based finishes like to work with oil based stains. But I think we are well past that now.

I looked in Loba but was hoping to find something a bit cheaper.

I’m okay with oil based. We’d probably give the house about a week to air out before we moved any furniture and stuff in. The Duraseal I’m looking at is oil modified IIRC. And the Fabulon is also oil based. I think the ambering would add depth to my floor colors and I’ve read it’s better for older floors because oil based can help hide imperfections.

"...about a week to air out..." Ok... but oil based products will stink 3-4 WEEKS after oil has been used. If you have chemical sensitivities (ie. migraines, etc) then it is entirely possible you MUST stay OUT of the house for 4-6 weeks. And it will be soft for at least 3 weeks after it has been put down = excellent chance of being damaged before it fully cures to full hardness. The 4 coats of Varathane will take LONGER to cure because it requires MORE COATS to be put down. More liquid = longer cure time = longer before you can move in.

Water based products = 7-10 day FULL CURE. The odour is gone inside of 24 hours. You can move in after 7 days....it will be soft for about 3 days longer. Loba 2K Supra AT = 5 days to FULL CURE. Odour is gone in 4 HOURS (odour is gone before the next coat can be applied).

It is your house. You sound like you want tough, scratch resistance. To get that, you need to work with professional grade finishes. Right now you are bouncing between a DIY Varathane that needs 4 OR MORE COATS (with coverage of 450sf/gallon = gets expensive quickly) which means LONGER CURE TIMES, or a lower grade professional DuraSeal product.

I am sorry to point this out but your desire for tough will not be met with your price/choice of product. You must sacrifice one or the other...you cannot have both. Which is MORE important to you? Toughness/scratch resistance or budget?

Well, both are important. If product A is 99.999998/100 on scratch resistance for $50 an ounce but product B is 97.997/100 on scratch resistance but is $50 a gallon, product B is the winner for me

My concern with water based poly, which I’ve read on here and elsewhere, is that water-based doesn’t last as long as oil based and oil based is easier to repair if necessary. Plus, there’s the issue that water based poly may not cure properly with oil based stain.

If, I may add. If, you are using a water base system. Use a high film build system. 2 coats of sealer and 2 coats of poly will get you 15+ years. The commodity grades cannot achieve that longevity.

So 2 coats of Duraseal Quick Dry Sealer and 2 coats of Duraseal Waterborne Poly?

How much does the sealer show through? I’ve noticed the Quick Dry is only available in gloss and we were planning on a satin poly.

You will have to check the manufacturer's recommendation for their high build system, if, they have one.

So I have one last question, I think.

How long after Duraseal Quick Dry Sealer do I need to apply the Poly? Can I wait 24 hours? Do I need to sand between the second coat of stain and poly? The website is vague and unclear

The instruction specifies to apply 1 coat of Quick Dry and allow 2 hours minimum to dry, under good conditions, then abrade with a new 180 screen or used 150 screen before applying the top coat. I would allow at least 3 hours before abrading.

Usually for a water base there is no abrading needed for adhesion. It would be specified in the application instruction, though. Duraseal does not, best to call their tech line for more information on their product.

So, you know "Quick dry" is not their high build sealer. Duraclear is their high build sealer.

They only had 1 gallon of Duraclear Sealer and the water based poly directions say to use quick dry or super base (which they didn’t have)

Apply DuraSeal® Penetrating Stain or DuraSeal® Quick Coat according to label directions. Apply 2 coats of DuraSeal® Super Base Sealer or DuraSeal® Quick Dry Sealer. Apply 1-2 coats of DuraSeal® Waterbased Polyurethane Floor Finish..

Does buff the surface in the sense of the sealer mean to lightly/finely sand it or does it mean to strip away.

Just light sanding to smooth and create a scratch pattern for the next coat to bond. You are not removing the finish.

Will walking on the floor to Recoat hurt the finish? There’s no way to apply a second coat of poly in these rooms without walking on the floors. The manufacturer says 24 hours for light foot traffic but i’d be applying the second coat within 3-5 hours per directions

The "recoat" time will have taken into consideration the time that you can step on the floor (with clean shoes and PAINTER'S booties).

Again, DuraSeal is a low grade product. I'm not entirely convinced the "1-2 coats" of finish is going to give you 7 years, let alone 15+ years.

Remember: low grade water based = short wear life. And DuraSeal is ranked as one of the lowest grade "professional" products out there. They are only slightly better than Minwax (owned by the same company).

You appear to be concerned about wear life....1 coat of DuraSeal (or even 2 coats) will not offer you the wear you are looking for. This is almost guarantee that you will achieve a floor that wears out too quickly (which is the same as the complaints you listed above).

You need to move the DuraSeal's High build formula. Please be aware of what you are "buying into".

I cannot get the Super Base Sealer without driving 5-6 hours and that’s not really feasible with my schedule at this point.

If your local "guys" have an account with DuraSeal or Bona, get them to ORDER IN the product you need. It isn't rocket science. Should get there in 1 week.

“It isn’t rocket science.” You’re right. It isn’t. And good thing too, because i’m no scientist! That’s why I asked them to order it. And they said they can’t get it. Hence why I said I “CANNOT” get it without driving 5-6 hours.