Why use a water base stain?

What water based stain?

Your flooring contractor has experience with water based stain. What ones has he used? I'm not familiar with any that work, other than aniline dye. It's tricky to use and is not compatible with water based urethane.

Were moving in shortly after and Im very sensitive to odors. I orginially reached out to him to do Rubio floors. He said as another option he could also do water base because I was worried about how long rubio would last. This is pretty much rhe last sanding my floors have.

He explained he takes a water base like varathane and him and his guys apply it by hand. Then he applies rhe several coats of bona. he made a sample and it looked nice but im worried about how it would look in a larger area and how it would hold up over time.

There's a reason why you can't find much information on this. It's probably a bad idea.

You should expect some unevenness and lapping on the stain. Wood will only absorb so much oil based stain. The depth of color is controlled by how much stain can penetrate and any excess is wiped off. In my experience, water based stains don't have the same limit and are almost certain to have imperfections. It soaks in quickly and applying more over the top generally makes it darker. The most successful one we did involved taping off runs so that it could be applied and worked from both sides, like a piece of furniture, trim, cabinet or door. Then we applied two coats of urethane, masked off the stained portion and stained and urethaned the remaining strips. Then we pulled all the tape and applied one last coat of finish.

Here's the Varathane product page which doesn't mention floors.

https://www.varathanemasters.com/en/products/water-based-stain

"Great for furniture, cabinets, doors, trim and more"

And it says it's sold only in quarts. It's easy to make a sample look good but much harder when you must do multiple runs and longer runs. If you're going to allow an attempt to do this, choose a separate room to do first. so the whole thing won't have to be done if/when it doesn't work.

Unless, you’re going to spray the water base stain . i suggest you avoid it. your guy will need to be working side by side with several guys. everyone will need to do a perfect job. if, the condition is not perfect. it will go down hill quick.

if, you want a quick turn around, do things right the first time. otherwise, expect dissappointment.

trying to force a five day job into three always ends up in disaster.

if, thry insist using it. use basic coatings hydro stain. at least you will get good tech support.

Thank you for that info. he mentioned that most people dont do it because you have to do it all by hand to get an even stain. But be did say the largerst area he has done with a water base stain is 600 sf.

In your opinion would you do the water base with bona or rubio?

If you're careful and don't have kids or dogs, go with Rubio. If you have a typical household with a home that's not treated like a museum, go with Bona.

I had Bona in my master BR for years and it was great. At one point I refinished the 43 year old floor my father laid. I generally tell other people what to do but I wanted to get experience on the Trio sander and with Rubio finish so I resanded my living room. It came out great but dog saliva spots it and we are somewhat reverent of the finish. It can be fairly easily retouched and requires periodic re-oiling but that's coming from someone who can send a few guys to their home if something falls through.

Then I refinished my master BR with Rubio Smoke and Cotton White oil. My door was closed one night and our new dog had an accident of the solid variety. I was amazed that it didn't even leave a mark. The floor's going on three years old now and is probably due to be re-oiled but only I notice it.

You still have not mention the point of wanting to use the water base or rubio. is there a specific look you are trying to achieve?

Thank you! Your review makes it even harder to decide!

We have about 1000 sf of original red oak hardwood rhat was originally only half an inch thick and this is its last sanding. We installed the remaining 450 sf of the house with the same grade red oak to match.

We have two kids and two small very old dogs that mostly sleep all day but will sometimes have accidents.

Rubio is appealing because i do not mind buffing out small spots here and there as long as the overall finish holds up over time. my main concern would be the kitchen where water from cooking and dishes ends up on the floor.

If i go with Bona how long does it take for the finish to wear? will the whole floor have to be resanded? if i have to do another refinishing the 1000 sf of old hardwood will have to be replaced.

thank you again!

If, your floor is at the end of it's life cycle. Finish it with a durable water base system like Bona Traffic HD and apply a third coat. This will buy you 15 to 20 years of time before having to replace it, unless you decide to sell. You will drive yourself mad, using rubio or any hard wax oils.

If, your intentions are to save the flooring for the next 50-100 years. Then it makes sense to go with Rubio. No heavy sanding is required. A deep clean and re-oil is all you need.

If, the floor is ready for finish. There is no resanding for Bona finishes. Prepping for a stain finish is usually more than enough, unless your guy does not meet Bona's requirements. 120 grit for oils and 150 grit for water.

Now, why a water base stain?

I guess I wanted something in the middle. keeping the floors as long as possible without having to do a full refinish. He mentioned he would be doing three coats of Bona Traffic HD.

water base stain because the smell of oil is very intense for me. i worked in an office that had their floors refinished and over a week later i went back in and the smell triggered horrible migraines for me. after several weeks I could still smell it.

were moving in at the end of july. I have small animals and children. I do not want something that is going to off gas.