As for water based polys, see what kind of traffic it can take. If you have a lot of traffic with kids,etc. look at Bona Kemi and AMF Safecoat. I have worked with Zar too but not on floors. It’s great that Erin and Tim put down 4 coats and they did it themselves!

I would be curious how Zar holds up in a year.

In addition, I used bona kemi modified oil stain for my floors which did not smell like min wax. I assume zar had a smell since it was oil? Bona is part water/oil so you get some environmental benefit to it. It is lower in VOCs than an oil based stain.

I did not use water based for the floor. I have used water based on smaller surfaces by it does not give you the depth that oil base give you but I am okay with that. All my cabinets are stained with water based stains. With water base, there is a learning curve. It dries fast and you can create lap marks when you go over a surface twice by accident. However you can’t beat the no smell aspect of it.

I was concerned about using water based on floors because you have to move fast and you could sweat. Water from sweat will stain the floors. I have a patch even with the Bona Kemi where the sub sweated so it looks like dark poka dots in one area.

Kudos Erin and Tim for tackling this project. Anna http://www.green-talk.com