Need some help here, The hardwood floors I am working is a natural wood plank its seems to have a red tint in some of the boards. I have another room in my home already done before I moved in the finish in that room is a light finish almost a yellow tint but looks natural my problem is when i apply a clear varathane oil or water based stain. I pull out too much of the red in the wood and does not match at all too dark. is there a stain or cover that will not bring out the red in the wood and leave me a light natural finish.

thanks for the advice

If you have the same species wood and your saying both oil and water natural finish don't match...you say its too dark??? but the existing has a yellow tint...maybe they used a little golden brown. Could be cut with neutral too. Can't tell from here.

I had a similar problem where I wanted to emphasize the red where it was lacking without adding too much brown. I ended up going with a pure red dye (although stain might work also if you can get a red stain). This is known as color shifting. It is used when your wood is already dark enough but you want to change the color (although you may also want some brown also). Be aware that this is a somewhat advanced technique since you can go too far in real hurry. You have to practice on scraps of wood first or at least in an inconspicious area.

I used the Transtint products. Essentially what you are doing is making your own custom stain. Jeff Jewett describes this briefly in his books but it's the kind of thing you just have to experiment with.

I use Glitsa’s Color Control Sealer on a freshly sanded floor if I am asked to add as little color change to the wood as possible. This waterborne sealer adds almost no color change, unlike oil-based sealers and finish or the stain you mentioned.
Try it on some scrap boards or other test area to see if you like it before coating the entire floor, you may not like it.

Buddy