We have sanded down what I believe is red oak from the 50's. Hoping to get some advice on finishing options for a gray whitewashed distressed look. We did a decent job sanding, final grit was 100 on the belt sander but you can see some stop marks and lap lines. We we thought we would distress it with a wire brush and various tools. We were thinking about doing an iron acetate (Vinegar and steel wool), whitewash or pickle with flooring paint and then top coat with Streetshoe, Bona traffic or Bona Traffic HD. I have done some sample boards from areas of flooring removed from a closet, it looks good but I don't have the waterborne poly on yet as it is only sold per gallon. Anyone know if this plan will work out? We are open to all ideas and want to keep it as simple and cost effective as possible.

You should be able to get the drum marks from the sander out by diagonally crossing the dip, then straightening it out with the grain. 100 grit will work.
I use a gray stain mixing a dark color with lots of white. The water-based poly will protect it. Distressing before the stain will help the floor look good for a longer time because the gray stain will show wear over time.

Thanks for your reply. We tested several stains and whitewash/gray wash with paint/water equal ratio. We decided on a dark gray paint wash. Applied it to a closet and it looks very blotchy and ugly. Plan to sand it off and we'll be back to square one. Any thoughts on stain and waterborne poly brands?

For a very uniform water-based stain call Saman for samples. Canadian company that has an 800 number.