Your floors are red oak and red birch. If, you are working with Loba and wood like to achieve a raw wood look. Use three coats of Loba Invisible. Invisble has a gloss level of 9. Which is the lowest (dullest) Loba has for polyurethanes. Next up is extra matte, which has a gloss level of 12. But, that is only available in Supra, not AT. Supra AT's lowest shine is satin, with a gloss level of 25. For a raw wood look, you want the lowest shine possible to allow the natural wood appearance to show through. Any shine will become reflective, plasticky and look artificial. You can always use Loba's impact oil for the real raw wood look.

Thank you so much! I appreciate the expert advice. I'm definitely not an expert!

I think I used the wrong term earlier - when I said 'raw'. What I meant is that that ideally the colour looks like natural wood, as close to white oak as possible - vs. something that turns pink, yellow or orange.

We do want some shine, and are leaning toward a satin finish. So, in that case, would you still recommend Loba invisible? Concerned about durability, as we don't want to be fretting about the floors. These floors are rather yellow, which is why I asked about the UV blocker or stain.

Edited to add: we also have the option of delaying this work and waiting until someone that can do both Bona and Loba is available. So, if Bona might be a better option, that's something we can consider. Quite possible I'm overthinking this ;)

We bought a house with old worn red oak. In many areas the finish was gone and grayed from water. Other areas were aged and yellow. We had them sanded, bleached, stained with Duraseal white, then Loba Supra AT satin. I was looking for more of a whitewash rather than raw wood finish. The satin has a nice glow rather than shine. The photo is paler than reality and they still have a warm vanilla undertone.

Nice, thank you - those turned out really nicely.

Thank you. That makes sense. I think I may just come to terms with the fact that I have red oak and birch floors, and start embracing that, instead of trying to fight it. I have a feeling that any attempts to lighten or change the colour might get more complicated than necessary.

Re-finisher is suggesting sanding + 3 coats of Loba Supra 2K AT. Does that sound right, or should there be something before the Supra finish?

Thanks again for all the help.

Easy Prime needs to be applied as a sealer to prevent side bonding and panelization, prior to the application of Supra AT. 1 sealer and 2 top coat is recommended by Loba.

The contractor can choose to apply 3 coats of Supra. But, they would need to warrant the guarentee for side bonding.

One more thing.. What is the drying time for Supra AT?

I asked our re finisher to do 1 coat Easy Finish and 2 coats Supra AT, and he will do that.

Currently am planning for a 10-day buffer between the day of the last coat and the day the movers arrive with furniture. Wonder if I should be planning for more or less time.

Anything else I should know? Unclear if our re-finisher has used Supra AT before, however he is very accommodating and patient. The company does use Loba Supra, so there does seem to be some familiarity with Loba products, in general.

4 hours minimum at 72 degrees indoor temp. Do not apply with moving air or windows and doors open. heat dhould be at 60 degrees.

If I may, one more question... Is it overkill to do 3 coats of Supra AT after the primer? Or, does the primer count as a coat? Looking for a durable finish we don't have to fret about for years and years.

I've read many threads here, and can't seem to get to the bottom of how many coats are recommended for Supra AT. I do see many specifics for Bona Traffic HD - with general recommended to use 3 coats, so I wonder if that's a good comparable?

For residential, 1 coat of primer and 2 coats of Supra AT is more than enough. Generally, commercial spaces will have the extra third coat applied for additional protection. It's perfectly fine to apply the extra coat if, you feel that you needed. Do keep in mind, with film forming finishes. The more coats of polyurethane, the look will take on a plastic appearance. And yes, Bona Traffic HD is a good comprasion for Supra AT.