The hardwood guy I found works with duraseal, but I'm rather partial to bona traffic hd and loba invisible 2k. The only downside is that there are very limited options where I live (WNY) and no one has much, if any, experience with those products near me.

Katie Sky , I know lots of installers that use Duraseal with good results. Its very popular.

Is it? I was kind of worried as so much I read is about other brands, so that's reassuring.

G&S is right that waterborne urethane has a somewhat bad reputation since there are some low end products that perform poorly. A true expert in the finish industry told me that oil based poly wears better than all waterborne urethanes. Moisture cured and Glitsa acid cured urethanes are superior to oil based and have non-yellowing formulas but the noxious fumes deter most people from using them.

Light colored wood floor with oil poly is a bad idea. It could turn an undesirable shade of yellow. I've seen it before.

Oil poly wears better and in my experience is more water resistant. A Maple counter I finished with Bona Mega HD would get water marks if I left anything damp on it, even after curing for months. They would dissipate but after I added a coat of oil poly, it no longer spots. I even feels tougher.

I can't say oil poly would last twice as long but it definitely can go longer before recoating. Recoating is required with both, assuming you're there long enough.

Go with a flooring expert as other posts about attempts to turn red oak gray show a high fail rate. Gray floors are are decreasing in popularity and they are not as flexible style wise as a natural or lightly stained floor.

If your flooring professional has Loba Invisible 2K, then they have access to Loba 2K Supra AT. The Supra AT is the BEST OF THE BEST in the Loba line up and will create an EXCELLENT surface that is scratch resistant with a lovely velvety/grippy feel to it (it has the best antislip properties of any finish on the market).

The $40/gallon water born finishes from 40 years ago are the one's you have heard stories about. In today's world, all the product development is with water based (because oil based is illegal in Europe). Which means the last 10 years (I would even say the last 5 years with Loba) have seen a MASSIVE jump forward in performance.

And remember: oil based finishes have HORRIBLE odours that can take MONTHS to dissipate (summer months when the doors and windows are open 24/7). In winter it can take twice as long to get rid of the odour. And for some that means hotels or staying with family/friends for the whole time (no one likes a house guest who sticks around for 4 months).

And the oil based finishes turn "yellow" within a few DAYS (you will never see the gray you were hoping for). And then they turn orange (darker yellow) over time...like a few years.