I always recommend matching the MANUFACTURER of the FINISH to the manufacturer of the STAIN.

Example: DuraSeal stains used with DuraSeal finishes

Bona stains matched to Bona finishes

Loba stains matched to Loba finishes

So....what is the FINISH you will be working with? This is how you do it....work backwards. The finish will dictate the type of stain you can/should use.

He is correct....but the BRANDS are two DIFFERENT chemical systems. Minwax is OIL BASED and DuraSeal is WATER BASED. Please do not let them mix the two chemical systems. And BTW: DuraSeal stains are MORE EXPENSIVE than Minwax...which is why he wants to use it = more money in his pocket.

The biggest problem with failures = adhesion failure. And adhesion failure is MOST LIKELY to occur when two DIFFERENT systems are used.

DuraSeal has the IDENTICAL colour range as Minwax. You are going to finish the floor in DuraSeal (which is "just barely" a professional product...it is still quite cheap to purchase) so you might as well use the same STAIN that is specifically designed to work with DuraSeal.

Here's a question you can ask yourself: If Minwax worked 100% of the time with the DuraSeal product, WHY ON EARTH would DuraSeal take the time and the money to DEVELOP a stain line for DuraSeal? It doesn't make financial sense.

The reason is because the Minwax has a level of failure when paired with DuraSeal....and therefore DuraSeal felt compelled to develop a stain line.

Oh boy. I'm someone who has a refined taste for water based polyurethanes out of Europe. So they START at $100/gallon (compare that to $55/gallon for Minwax). I prefer the 2K (2 Komponenten = 2 part) products for their toughness. That means the price tag goes up ($140 - $180/gallon).

I LOVE Loba 2K Supra AT polyurethane. Loba makes their own stains. This finish is $180/gallon or more. That is 3 TIMES more expensive than Minwax and twice as expensive as DuraSeal.

The "won't break the bank" is not something I can recommend. The floor is the HIGHEST USE SURFACE in your ENTIRE HOME. People will pay $7,000 - $15,000 for their counter tops (a total of 150sf at most!) but they try to go CHEAP with their floor finish (1000sf or more). This isn't something I can understand.

I highly recommend you sit down with your builder and ask them the SPECIFICS of WHO they used to work the floors (I want to see a REAL floor professional with their own company who is subcontracted to do the work = $$ more than a 'guy' on the crew). And then you want to talk with that professional (ahem....this is assuming the builder USES a professional....most do NOT) to ask these questions.

If your builder does NOT use a flooring professional, then you might want to ask/demand that a REAL flooring professional to do the work.

The answers you have gotten from your builder indicates that s/he does this 'in house' (just a guy on his crew who pounds nails and will finish floors when asked). The builder's answers are confusing because s/he doesn't know very much - which is a bad sign.

Good luck. Start talking to flooring professionals in your area - just in case you need to subcontract out to a real flooring company.

So they say that they can use the Duraseal stains no problem. They also can use the Duraseal poly, but the flooring guy says he prefers MasterLine finish, which he says is also owned by Duraseal. They will do what I want, but I don't want to have them use the duraseal finish if the Masterline gives better results!

Thanks SJ. We are not a fan of the appearance of the water based products. Is there an oil based product you would recommend?

Oil based products are not something I like. They smell horrible for quite a long time (think 30+ days....it can be so powerful that headaches and nose bleeds occur = moving out for the time it takes to get rid of the smell).

Bona, Glitza, Loba, etc all make either oil modified or "amber" additives that give the LOOK of oil based without all the downsides (smell, VOC content, etc).

Again, all of these products are going to be 2-4 TIMES more expensive than Minwax, DuraSeal or MasterLine. In essence, these products are water based products with an ADDITIVE that offers a bit of yellow depth to the final look of the floor (without problems like odour and off-gassing).

The choice is yours...but realize what you are asking for. These cheap, HIGH VOC oil based or oil modified products are SUPER easy to work with (which is another reason why the 'guys' like to work with them) and are super cheap to source (ie. more money in their pockets while "saving" you money on your project).

There is a reason why California and 11 other states have adopted the VOC 275g/L maximum for indoor air quality. The Europeans like to see their VOC contents BELOW 200g/L. In fact Loba has a product that is 130g/L....but again it is 3 times more expensive than the MasterLine. If you ask for these high-end brands, you could be increase the costs of your project AND pushing the floor refinishers out of their comfort zones. Water based products have SHORT working times (compare 2 minutes for Bona with 45 minutes with Minwax).

It takes TRAINING to work these water based products. Sourcing the product is no problem (as long as the homeowner is willing to pay the up-charge). The *problems come in when the "oil guys" start working with the water based products. Failures and problems abound. The skill of the refinishers is VITAL with the high-end products.

Only you can decide. There are MUCH better oil modified products out there than Minwax/DuraSeal/MasterLine. The question becomes do you wish to pay for them? Or are you OK with the price AND the VOC content of the 550g/L for MasterLine/Minwax products?

"Minwax is OIL BASED and DuraSeal is WATER BASED"
Maybe I'm missing the context but this appears to be incorrect. DuraSeal makes oil based stains and polyurethane, as well as waterborne urethanes. It's oriented toward professionals and always has been.

Short answer: Don't believe what you've read about Minwax stain. Minwax is a furniture oriented line of stains where DuraSeal is made specifically for floors. They used to be separate companies with Minwax being larger and probably older. If you're coating over it with oil poly, there's no issue. Minwax is rather ubiquitous so it's a go-to in many parts of the country. Find the people making negative comments about Minwax stain and ask them about specifics. It's likely that they're repeating what they've heard but have no hands-on experience. Or they're dabbling in conjecture. One major advantage with DuraSeal stain is that it's available in a quick drying formula that works with waterborne urethanes. If you're not using waterborne urethane, it's not pertinent.

Oil based polyurethane is the best bang for your buck. It has excellent wear properties, is inexpensive and is easy for finishers to apply. Negatives are the smell, slow drying time, ambering (not an issue over most stains) and that it's not available in some places due to government regulation. Depending on air turnover and humidity the smell can last anywhere from a few days to maybe a month. Perhaps your floor finisher can get you into a job they just finished with oil poly so you can judge for yourself.

I had problems with DuraSeal satin polyurethane streaking so I'd recommend using something else. I've heard of Masterline and seen a site saying it's manufactured by DuraSeal but have no direct knowledge of it. Again, if your finisher can show you one they have done, you can judge for yourself. As with the Minwax/DuraSeal relationship where Minwax purchased DuraSeal, I suspect that DuraSeal purchased Masterline to either cut out a competitor or add a market that was underserved. There's no reason why you can't mix brands of finish. Even different types of finish are compatible if certain rules are followed.

I love the OP just trusted this SJ McCarthy person, without asking his or her qualifications.

@ Amanda Trayes - I used to sell cork flooring (a very difficult product to deal with/sell/live with). I had to be aware of all competing products such as vinyl, carpet, linoleum, hardwood and tile. Since cork is so finicky, I also had to understand building concepts such as subfloor construction and preparation - including slab construction and moisture mitigation.

Because cork can be refinished, I also had to be aware of the chemical complexities involved in the refinishing process. This process was complicated by the fact that cork is produced using water based adhesives and cannot be exposed to solvents of any kind. That's where my knowledge of oil based/solvent based finishes comes in.

Something like Minwax (or any other solvent/oil based finish) can and has dissolved the adhesives that make up a cork floor - thereby creating "cork oatmeal". It isn't pretty. And when a flooring person mucks it up the homeowner is left in tears. It is very upsetting to say the least. As the technical support for the cork product, I was on the other end of the phone every time something like this happened.

Since I am no longer affiliated with a flooring company, I now post as a private citizen - therefore there is no "pro" designation to my name. I post on Houzz simply to keep me in the loop.