I know this is an old thread but I felt the need to reply. We used Bona Traffic 5 years ago using spice brown stain followed by the Satin poly HD 2 part system. I remember back then it stated the darker color allow 12 hour dry time which we did. Then we applied two coats of finish. I recall that it took longer then 2 weeks to fully set and get solid but eventually it did and worked out great. Fast forward we got a new house. Great wood floors. Again we refinished them using the Bona HD traffic 2 part system in semi gloss. We used a lighter finish this time which stated on the stain can stated to allow 2-3 hours drying time in normal humidity. So this time around we followed the instructions and allowed 3 hours for the stain to dry on a lovely 75 degree sunny day. I did not go heavy on the stain and I would use a dry cloth to buff out the excess as I went along. Everything looked great. We have experience with the sanding so we spent roughly 10 hours using the different grits down to the 100 grit as the final step as instructed. Floors were lovely and down to the bare unadultured wood. We then vacuumed them and got every last bit of dust off using special footies as to not contaminate the floor with our feet. We could not have followed the instructions more perfectly. In fact we researched for a week and spoke to a floor refinishing company just to insure we did things 100% correctly. Well here we are now, 12 days in and I can scratch this off with my nail in many places. I am not talking just a scratch in the wood, but a peeling of the top coat scraping down to and exposing bare wood. I am sick to my stomach. The floor will not last. It is supposed to be strong like for a gym. This would not hold up to a room of infants. We luckily were finishing in a vacant home so nothing was placed on the floor for 10 days. It's not even worth moving all of our heavy furniture and starting over so I am going to put laminate floors over top of this and be done with it. I called Bona and they told me that they suggest 8 hour stain drying time. Well then why the heck would you state on your product 2-3 hours? Human error on my part? I think not I did everything that Bona said. Disgusted with the product. I should have used a cheaper oil base from the big box store. Biggest regret of my life. Perhaps Bona stored the product in a cold warehouse? Maybe it was a faulty batch with bad hardener? I have no idea but it behaves like something that did not have hardener. However I checked the unused bottle the next day and it was solidifying in the jug. Something failed and I can't understand what because I followed Bona instructions to a T.

Here are some evening photos of my white oak select grade hardwood, site installed, with one coat of Bona Natural seal and two coats of Bona Traffic HD Matte. It’s a lot lighter IRL than in the photos. I agonized over what sealer to use (bought different stains, Loba 2k, all sorts of products). This combination seemed to look the closest to the natural wood (which I LOVED). The sealer did make it a tiny bit darker but it’s ok. I also included a photo of my stairs. They are red oak. It was a fortune to replace the stairs so we kept the red oak and used one coat of wheathered oak stain and two coats of Bona HD traffic extra matte (same as on the floors). Two lessons learned: Use a third coat of Bona HD traffic in high-traffic areas (our first floor gets a ton of wear with a dog and three teenagers, a third coat would have added an extra layer of protection against scratches). If you are a sheen person and like gleaming wood floors, do not use matte, use a satin finish. I had satin in my other house and I do miss the shine of a freshly washed wood floor. Although a matte does do a great job of hiding scratches. We installed white oak throughout the house (with the exception of the stairs) and even in the kitchen. I love wood floors in the kitchen - easier on the feet, knees, and not cold like a tile floor.

i just got the matte finish on plain old (new) white oak in my kitchen remodel. They used amber stain because they said it would match rest of house best (old white oak floors that have yellowed). Even though I might have preferred lighter I was OK with that. But decided to hold my ground and asked them to use the matte finish which the floor guys were sort of against. I love the finished product!! It's super smooth, no shine and makes a more modern clean look. It dried nearly instantaneously and they did the whole thing in a day from sanding to top finish. Amazing what new products and technology have done to transform floor finishing. (I last had floors done in around 2001 - big mess). I sure hope this stands up because I love the look. I recommend it. And no smell at all after it dries (same day!)

G&S, you said that a sealer would keep the floors light. That's what we are looking for. My guy now said he would do 2 coats of bona natural seal then 2 of traffic hd to avoid streaks from a single coat of sealer. Should that do the trick? I guess if someone said here is a picture of bona naturale and traffic hd I might opt in, but its hard to know.