Hello all. I will soon be installing Mirage 3/8" pre-finished strips on the landing of my stairs (wood species is red oak w/ "Nevada" color, semi-gloss). I will also be installing unfinished solid red oak treads on the stairs. The flooring company can get me some of the matching stain from Mirage to do my treads.
I now need a recommendation on a poly to use on the treads that will come close to matching the semi-gloss finish on the pre-finished flooring. I realize that the flooring and treads will not match perfectly in terms of durability or luster but I'd like to get as close as I can.
The flooring guy suggested I use an oil-based poly as "that is what the Mirage flooring is done with," but I would prefer a water-based one for durability reasons. Is this a bad idea? Thank you for any input you can offer.

Barry

Bona Traffic, or Basic StreetShoe

I just installed a staircase where I used Bruce flooring on the landings and unfinished solid treads on the stairs. I mixed stain colors to match the Bruce flooring but getting the depth of the finish was more difficult. I used Bona DriFast poly sealer for the first coat on the treads to give the color a warmer look. I then followed that with three coats of Bona Traffic in semi-gloss. Even with that, the finish on the Bruce flooring looked "thicker". So while you may get close, it probably won't "match" exactly.