Minwax 13102 Ultimate Semi-Gloss Floor Finish, 1 gal

We were hesitant to use this as others had issues with application. We did our research and followed all of the instructions. We sanded our 100yr old Douglas Fir floors with a random orbital floor sander through 36/60/80/100 grit sandpaper. There was a lot of gouging and damage from previous owners. Most of it sanded out quickly. We vacuumed the walls and floors thoroughly with our Dyson and then wiped the entire floor slowly by hand with a warm water dampened microfiber rag. We then applied Minwax 1 Step Complete Floor Finish in Gunstock color with a satin sheen with a water-based Best Liebco synthetic stain pad on a pole. I applied stain to the pad and then pressed it into the paint tray to remove excess product. I slowly walked and kept even pressure on the pole, working quickly and keeping a wet edge. This is a water based product with poly in it as well. After 2 hours we applied a 2nd coat and it blended well and darkened the first coat just a bit. After that we waited 2 hours again and decided to put on a 1st coat of Minwax Ultimate Floor Finish in Satin sheen. Both of these products must be stirred slowly for about 10-15minutes to mix the thick layer that settles to the bottom of the can. DO NOT SHAKE POLY or it will bubble up. We used the same applicator pad but a clean, new one. I used the same technique for applying the Ultimate Floor finish, by applying the poly and then pressing the pad into the paint tray to remove excess. I then walked slowly down to one wall and then pulled the pad back across the same line slowly to remove any air bubbles. It turned out beautifully! There was a slightly uneven finish but I knew from research I just needed a 2nd coat to make it smooth as glass. So we waited the 2 hour dry time and against all recommendations from friends who work with oil based products, we DID NOT sand the floors with 220 grit sandpaper. After the 2 hour dry time, we put on a 2nd coat of Ultimate Floor Finish. It's beautiful and we were even able to walk up to bed an hour later in socks. We will give it 24 hours before more traffic and will wait the full 3 days before replacing furniture and rugs. Our home is old with lots of old poor paint jobs on the trim, so we will be sanding it all down and installing shoe moulding once the floors are fully cured. People complaining I think are mixing oil based and water based products or not following the easy instructions to wait 2 hours for recoating. We used water based floor product stain+poly and put this water based finish over the top with no sanding between coats and no issues at all in the final product. The dark areas of the floor had former wear and damage so we are satisfied with our outcome.

I was going for Varathane High Traffic but couldn't find it, so i got this, was very skeptical and pricey stuff but i needed to finish my floor asap.. well what can i say this is absolutely fabulous, easy to apply and the floor looks gorgeous. Got the satin water clean, dries quick and no sanding in between. Minwax is my new go to brand for flooring. Worth the price.