Use a ceramic two component finish: Bona, Loba, Ciranova, Pallmann etc. Bona has the lowest VOC with their HD finish. For low VOC colorants use reactive stains or colored penetrating oils. The VOC on standard oil pigment stains ranges from 250-550. Bona DRifast is at 550 VOC. There will be a learning curve with all finishes since you're DIY-ing it. The finish will only look as good as your sanding.

Of your list I believe only one is actually "water-based floor finish". Osmo is oil as is Rubio.

We use mainly Bona and Pallmann, who offer decent products at the top of their product line and even in the the mid range.

I take online reviews with a grain of salt. It seems that people who don't like something or had a bad experience are inclined to post reviews online while happy people just carry on with their life.

I called one Bona supplier who also refinishes, and they virtually hung up on me when I said we were thinking of DIY. I guess us DIYers have a history of botching things? We are trying our hardest to do it right, and not take any shortcuts.

I've read every "bad floor refinish" story online that I can find and trying to learn from them. I'm going over the floor on my hands and knees with a light to make sure there are NO sander marks. We plan to deep clean before we apply the finish to make sure there's not dust. I just want a finish that won't peel, haze, or scratch easily and can cure relatively quickly.

So far I'm leaning towards Bona and Pallman.

OK...the reason why Bona has horror stories is: It has a HISTORY of being DIFFICULT to work with. The top Bona lines (Traffic and Traffic HD) have a wet working edge of 2 minutes. Yes. You read that correctly = 2 MINUTES = 120 SECONDS.

Now compare that to, say, minwax OIL BASED = 45 MINUTES. Bit of a difference. One of the reasons Bona is so difficult is because it 'sets up SOOOOOO quickly (how quickly SJ?) that a beginner (that includes pros who have NEVER worked with Bona before...BTW!!!) can ruin a floor inside of 2 minutes. Sigh. Are you picking up what I'm putting down?

OK...the option that I like...because I've used it as a newbie AND I had a great experience AND it never did anything but sit there and be SUPER TOUGH: Loba 2K Supra AT.

Be VERY SURE to ask for the "AT" part. That's the TOUGH STUFF. That's the 'ceramic infused nano particles' finish. It is SUPER TOUGH and it is stunningly beautiful AND it has this velvety feel to it (because it has the best 'slip rating' on the market).

Loba 2K Supra AT has a working edge of 10 minutes! Wow! That's 5 TIMES longer than Finicky Bona Traffic HD. Both finishes get you what you want (low VOC, water based polyurethane, fast dry time, etc) but LOBA offers an EASIER USER EXPERIENCE.

Now...the TRICKY PART (oh...yah...that's JUST the finish...now onto that bit that will FRY YOUR HAIR!): The STAIN. Ohhhhhh....the stain! Right. So Bona has their own stain line...tricky to work with. And Loba has their own stain line = limited in scope AND tricky to work with.

And there's the rub: as SOON as you get into the 'stains' you start having issues with bonding. If a finish doesn't BOND to the stain you will achieve a peeling mess. And staining with a DIFFERENT CHEMICAL LINE = SUPER DUPER GOOD CHANCE that you will cause peeling issues.

So the moral of the story is: If you want a finish that is LEAST LIKELY to peel, skip the stain and go with floors in the buff (naked).

I like Loba 2K Supra AT...but Bona Traffic HD will do everything you want. Just remember you are looking at $180 - $220/gallon. Trust me. They are WELL worth it!

Can you use the loba on bleached red oak?

Loba stain and finish or Nona stain n finish on bleached floors?

Bona**