Best product to stain hardwood floor

Minwax

Agreed. Everyone uses Minwax. Is there even another option? If you can't get behind a specific color, the different colors can be custom mixed.

i think i am a little confused. is minwax the brand, or the type of stain?

Minwax is the company. It makes floor products including the stains you use on hardwoods: http://www.minwax.com/wood-products/wood-stains/

The more involved question (stain is easy--Minwax) is how you will then seal the floor. There are other threads here on that, but the questions you will confront are: (1) water-based or oil-based polyurethane [water-based is low odor, quick drying, and non-yellowing but is softer and not well suited for heavy children traffic and people rough on their floors; oil-based is slower drying so application of coats takes longer, is going to add a yellow color cast over time, but is tougher and more durable] and (2) how many coats [2 or three], and (3) what finish [matte, semi-gloss, gloss--I like semi-gloss].

I understand there is a movement afoot within the sustainability crowd to stain floors with coffee. Not the best product but quite possibly the most delicious. I don't consider the stain to be nearly as important as the final finish sealer. Minwax is the brand.

yeah, what kyle said..

Thanks for the info. I have researched the final sealer and we are using a semi-gloss, oil-base urethane. how serious a problem is the yellowing you mention?

now, how about suggestions on color? the walls are going to be off-white, furniture (if this matters) is a mix of mid-century pieces, some inherited federal and shaker antiques, some contemporary pieces, scandinavian carpets. we are definitely going to go with something in the mid-brown family. which colors have you guys used and liked?

Yellowing isn't necessarily a problem ... it's a look. If you want to preserve a light, natural look, go with water-based. Some people like the rich depth that the "yellowing" provides over time. A slightly reddish amber/oak tone is probably what you're looking for, but basically you want to go with a color that ties in all the various wood tones of your furniture, rather than matching any one of them. The exception is an all-blond look, but that's not what you have.

For real sophistication and bother, wax and buff and buff and buff, then repeat periodically, strip and repeat occasionally, instead of poly.

I have a mix of vintage Italian, midcentury American and Chinese antiques. FWIW I've just been staring at my wood floors to determine the color, which seems to work with all the furniture. I don't see a reddish tint, more a medium golden brown.

Sort of the "special Walnut" or "Provincial" on the Minwax site's stain color chart.Though obviously youcan't tell the real color from the website, it gives an indication.

Happy,

Make sure your building allows oil based poly, most do not. If you do use it have the guys tape up all vents and even outlets so the smell doesnt upset your neighbors

I have same type of furniture more or less and walls. Color is highly subjective and looks different in different light, but that said, I selected Golden Oak which was more brown hued than yellow. I didn't want yellow or red. I wanted a sort of browny-golden color.

As for yellowing, oil-based poly yellows. I don't care what anyone else says. It yellows. Over time it will add a yellow hue. Say 5 years it is noticeable (at least to me) and it intensifies as time marches on. If exposed to light it will probably yellow faster. I used it in my last apartment and it was nearly indestructible as a finish and it lasted 18 years until I moved (granted--it was just two of us living there). In my new place, I used water-based. It's fine for us. I put a rug in the entry foyer so the highest traffic area is protected. And I have a few other rugs. But the exposed areas are fine after two years. BEWARE THOUGH: those 3M Scotch 1/2 sponge-1/2 green scrubbie things for the kitchen sink will scratch and ruin the finish if you rub it with the green side. I have to spots on the kitchen floor to prove it.

right Kyle - "browny-golden color" is definitely not the same as "medium golden brown"

Actually, the real problem, whatever the color, is that if you have area rugs in places in a room that gets some sunlight, you will definitely, after several years, see that the floor around the area rugs is lighter than under them. Well, as long as you don't move the rugs you're ok

I've read that there are better brands than Minwax, but I used it anyway and it seems to have worn fine. Sunlight and all.

I happen to love no stain and a water-poly on old oak floors, but if you have staining on your mind (and assuming these are old oak floors), you might consider my second choice: sand, no stain, oil-poly. It'll look great in one way from the start, and then develop a rich, deep amber overtone over the years.