I’ve been in the hardwood flooring business for many years and have refinished 3,500+ hardwood floors and stairs and have completed more than 6,500 hardwood installations. Each day I answer many hardwood staining questions from savvy customers doing research. One question I’m often asked is “should we use oil-based or water-based polyurethane finish for our hardwoods.” To help make this decision easier I’ve created a side by side comparison of oil-based stain and water-based polyurethane finish.
[table id=Oilvswater /]
There are pros and cons to both oil-based and water-based poly finishes and at the end of the day every situation is different. For example, If you’re looking for a cost effective, quality solution oil-based may be the best fit – if you require a finish that dries quickly water-based is most likely the better choice. I recommend making a list of the qualities and characteristics that are most important to you then use the comparison above as a guide to help you make the right decision.
Hello Brian,
The biggest problem with a water based finish is the varying price range of the finish.
There’s bad, ok, good, better and best. The best is Traffic by Bona. He will not be using this at $125.00 per gallon.
This is where the problem lies. The other levels are not very durable and favor only the contractor.
As far as the grain raise. Never heard of that.
Thanks Ace (Troy)
Hello. We have 100 year old pine floors. They are going to get sanded and finished this week. Our GC said he only uses water based because of the timeline of this project. We were cautioned about the water based raising the grain. Any products best to use on this wood in water based solutions? Thanks!