We are redoing our 100 yr old nbrownstone. We finished our new brz. walnut upstairs floors with a water based (Streety Shoe) poly. We were looking for the deep sort of brown, or chocolatey, color. We got more of this color downstairs when using a oil based poly on the same wood. But we didn't like the unnatrual sort of plastic look of the finish down there, and someone recommended the water based.

We realize now we should have tested it first. The finish looks more natural, and we like that. But it has a very red hue, and is much lighter than downstairs. This is a major problem in terms of fit with the rest of the int. decorating.

Here is my question(s). I've since read that oil based causes a more amber color and darkens with age, which is what we want. We cannot resand and start over for a variety of reasons. 1) can we simply rebuff the finished floor and ad one or two more coats of a matte oil based finish?? can we add the oil on top of the water? this is what our contractor is suggesting, but he lacks expertise.. or 2) is there a walnut colored tint i can add to the water based stuff and then rebuff and add another coat or two?

thank you so much for any help,

troubled in brooklyn.

You can apply oil-based poly over the Street Shoe finish but I'm afraid it will still not give you the same look as if you had used an oil-based to begin with. I suggest testing it in a small inconspicous area, like a closet, to see if the look is what you're going for. Basic, who makes Street Shoe, makes an amberizer for their finishes; but it still does not completely duplicate the look of oil. To match 100%, you'll need to take it back down to the raw wood (re-sand).

thanks very much. that is a very useful response. i'll have to look for that amberizer. so you're saying i could test putting the amberizer in an oil or water based poly and then just add another coat or two?

on another note, if i do resand, someone suggested that i put a couple coats of tung oil sealer down first, and that that will give me a rich oil color i'm looking for, and then put a couple coats of either water or oil based sealer on top of it, and that the color would be dictated by the tung oil sealer underneath.

finally, it appears that one of the big problems with the water poly is the application. many floor guys don't know how to do it, and you see streaking. but we like the natural look it gives (just not the color), versus the sort of plastic coated look the oil based gives. if we go with oil are there any oil based products that give a nice matte finish that doesn't look like a coat of plastic is on my wood?

thank you
jake

A couple of things. You CANNOT use the Basic Amberizer in an oil-based finish. It is for water-based only. Just about every stain manufacturer makes a non tinted oil stain called either natural or neutral. That will give you the look of an oil and it is designed to apply either water-based or oil-based floor finishes over. I like sticking with a manufacturer's system. They designed the products to work together. I am not saying one cannot mix different brands ( I do it myself at times), it's just that if a problem arises, no one will take responsibilty for the problem. I believe there are matte finishes for oil-based polys. Have you looked at a satin polyed floor? They don't look "plastic" to me. BTW, all floor finishes can look plastic or soft and natural. I think if you used a satin, you may like that.