WHAT SOLID HARDWOOD FINISH WEARS BEST IN TRAFFIC - Clear Natural???
In the rental house that I am putting down HW flooring, I am thinking of using a natural
clear prefinish HW. This way in the future you can just poly over it to refinish. Is this
way of thinking correct? I have seen worn areas that standout on regular prefinished/stained HW.
My whole goal is just to avoid the expense of staining/refinishing in the future.

I have used ProFinisher oil modified urethane that you can get from Home Depot in a 5 gallon can for about $94. It's high solid content finish and comes in Gloss, semi-gloss and satin. I've used it on gym floors before on several occasions. It's tough and affordable. Perfect for a rental.

I meant what prefinish on the wood right "out of the box". Would it be best to be natural
or some other stained finish like gunstock, chestnut etc., that would be installed.

Your post was a little confusing then. Perhaps you don't know you cannot just poly over a pre-finished floor.

I don't know anything that is compatible with a factory aluminum oxide finish.

Sorry I don't think I could be any clearer.....still looking for an answer

I would opt for the natural color that way if you do have some damage there is a better chance of a spot repair if necessary. Also in the future when you recoat i would not wait until the floor looks bad, if you recoat at the first signs of wear you will avoid the process of having to completely sand and finish the floor. When it comes time to recoat check back and i am sure you will get plenty of help.

natural color/lighter colored stain will wear better than the darker stain color, the darker it is the more damage your tenants do the more you will see.

When they move out you "may" be able to recoat the floors, this is a process where someone comes in and lightly abraids the flooring, removing light surface scratches, not deep scratches that are in the wood, and not gouges or any kind of pet stain/water damage.
Recoats are hard to guarantee because if you or your tenants use the wrong cleaners that leave a residue behind the new coat of finish will not adhere to the flooring. If it wont stick to the flooring you would need a full resand back down to bare wood, staining, and finishing the flooring.