I'm not seeing any ambering. What I'm seeing is a wood that has been made "wet" from a sealer/finish product. Ambering is much more ORANGE than what you are seeing. To test my theory, go ahead and use a WET (water only) cloth to wipe down a tread. You will notice the wet wood will look identical to your sealed treads. That will be the same colour as your finished oak treads. Your use of the WS EasyPrime is perfect for white oak. The Loba 2K Invisible Protect does not need a sealer. When you purchased the Invisble Protect, did you indicate that you wanted to use the sealer TOGETHER with the finish??? I would not add anything to your finish. In fact, I suggest you sand off the EasyPrime and start with the Invisible Protect. See if you can get the SUPER PALE finish you are looking for. But be aware. Your treads are different in presentation than your wood floor (both the cut and the width and obviously the selection of heart wood vs sap wood). The colours you are seeing are completely normal and natural to white oak in a "clear finish" (water borne products are normally rated as "clear"). The EasyPrime is showing you the colour you would get under a traditional water based polyurethane. You need to try some Invisible Protect ALONE on a tread to see if you can get a better match to your factory finished floor (which is EXTREMELY DIFFICULT BTW). Loba doesn't normally sell products that amber. You have to SPECIFICALLY request/purchase their AMBERING additive - which you did not do. That means the colour variation is down to the wood itself. And to be clear, your treads, over their lifetime, will slowly FADE. Yep. Wood traditionally gets LIGHTER when exposed to light. The oil based finishes are the one's that turn a STRONG ORANGE as they age. White oak can fade quite nicely. I think the WS EasyPrime is giving you the slightly darker look of "wet wood". I would guess the Invisible Protect will give a lighter presentation. https://www.loba.de/fileadmin/site_structure/produkte/11474/us/BRO_US_11474_2K_InvisibleProctect_AT_Flyer_US.pdf

Hey Laurasreed47, I'm actually getting our floors slightly refinished. We've had them now for about a year and while they look great, they are slightly prone to absorption of liquids. So, out of an abundance of caution, I figured I'd call in a Loba specialist to have them looked at. Sure enough, he said that this was the result of the floors not having been sanded between the final coats. Thankfully we don't need to have them completely redone - they're just lightly sanding our current finish and then applying a final top coat. He said this should do the trick and that this finish is 'one of the best and most durable on the market' so I feel good about it. As I mentioned in the original post, I did everything within my power to try and guide the floor guy our contractor used to the proper application method but was ignored. I think it's been mentioned in a thread somewhere else, but I should have just trusted my gut and found a Loba specialist to begin with. I'm glad we don't have to completely refinish the floors in the end, but it's still a frustration. Also, 'stopping all work' and 'sitting down with contractors to make them make amends' isn't always a viable option. Renovating a co-op apartment in NYC is generally an exercise in constantly making peace with disappointments. Oh, and lastly - the photos I included above aren't really accurate of the final look of the floors. We were still deep in the construction phase (of course I would have liked to have the floors done as the final item but our NYC renovation has been a real nightmare so I took what I could get) so it doesn't really reflect their final look. The floor LOOKS fantastic (I don't know what SJ Mcarthy was referring to with seeing the 'cardboard indentations', to be honest). We did stop work and allow it to cure to a full week when it was first applied but, as mentioned, three coats on top of one another just wasn't enough - the intermediary sanding is crucial. So that's it. Sorry for the long response but wanted to make sure you had all the info. Hope it helps.

The Loba 2K Supra A.T. in semi-gloss is technically on the low end of a standard semi-gloss coating and is shiny under certain light but is, in my opinion, a long way from "basketball court shine." See more information below this photo. Loba's Technical Data Sheets provide a numerical gloss rating for the finishes measured at 60 degrees on glass. Here is how the following finishes stack up: 2K Invisible Protect, Approximate Gloss Level = 9 2K Supra A.T. Satin, Approximate Gloss Level = 25 2K Supra A.T. Semi-Gloss, Approximate Gloss Level = 43 2K Supra A.T. Glossy, Approximate Gloss Level = 130 What those numbers tell us is that the Invisible Protect is a tad shinier than a flat matte which would be considered anything at 5 or below measured at 60 degrees on glass. The Supra A.T. satin and semi-gloss finishes are consistent with their names, while the glossy is a super-high gloss almost like a mirror. There's a huge jump between the semi-gloss and gloss. The semi-gloss is on the low end of gloss, and the glossy is off the charts by some calculations on the high end of gloss. As mentioned previously in this post, the Loba satin finishes can look cloudy after several coats. Some people use gloss for the base and then finish off with satin, but that can make repairs difficult mixing sheens.

Loba Invisible has issues with hazing and with 'foot prints' showing. It is enough to drive homeowners to drink! Nope. Not kidding. I love Loba products but the Invisible Protect AT is WAY too matte and it is TOO hard to live with. Stick with your refinishers preference. If s/he is suggesting NaturalSeal then that's what you will want to do. If s/he won't do samples then OFFER TO PAY for samples. Like $100 to put down a sample of NordicSeal 2 coats, NordicSeal 1 coat and then NaturalSeal 1 coat. And then a coat of HD over top... By offering to pay for the samples (this shouldn't be that way...but some guys just do NOT like opening product before it is time) you show you are willing to work with the hassle he has to go through. It also shows him/her that YOU are SOOOOOOOO nervous that you do NOT want to make a mistake. If he STILL won't do the samples, then respectfully ask to alter the contract. That S/HE will GUARANTEE the homeowner will be 100% satisfied by his/her colour suggestion. If the homeowner is not 100% satisfied with the blind choice they were given, then it is up to the professional to correct the colour (full sand to raw wood and start over) at the pro's expense. By asking for a contract caveat, you will show the pro you are SUPER nervous about picking a floor colour site-unseen. Which in the design industry is a 'no-no'. And s/he knows it.