Hi all --

I'm refinishing a small stretch of red oak coated years ago with oil-based polyurethane. I want to use a water-based this time around, and have picked up some Benwood Stays Clear which has no odor and does indeed dry clear, with the ability to be tinted as well.

I've been doing test patches, and here's my frustration -- I sand a patch, wipe it down with a wet paper towel to get rid of the dust, and when wet the freshly-sanded wood is a perfect color match! Golden, rich, wonderful. When it dries, it's pale, desaturated, blah. I brush it with Benwood Stays Clear and it's a perfect match! Golden, rich, wonderful. Then the coating dries, and the wood lightens up, looks desaturated, not at all the color of the rest of the unsanded boards.

So I've been adding yellow tint, a few drops at a time. Over and over, it looks fantastic until it dries. More tint, looks fantastic, then it dries. Always too desaturated, always blah.

Is there some way to capture that just-coated look and keep it that way? Or am I going to have to dump a huge amount of yellow tint in hopes that when it dries it won't lose all its luster?

Appreciate any thoughts on this.

There are floor sealers that will give a better color that almost matches the look of a solvent based finish on bare wood. They do have a yellow tint in the formula.