My husband and I are renovating a 100+ year house, and we've finally made it to finishing the floors - yay!! I am very sensitive to smells, and I'm concerned about using toxic chemicals. I was super excited about using Rubio monocoat on our floors (their "smoke" stain looks amazing!). We did a sample piece, and it did not turn out well. It looked nothing like we expected and really didn't bond to the wood like it's supposed to. We've consulted with some professionals and have determined that are floors are heartwood pine, and would not do well with oil finishes because of the sap in the pine. Everyone has suggested we use a clear poly on the floors. I'm looking for another option that will wear well and doesn't smell terrible.
My office refinished our floors with poly in January, and I can *still* smell them when I walk in the door, and around my chair looks terrible. We didn't move in the office for weeks after so it should have had plenty of time to cure. I also hate that super glossy look, and the amber/orangey look. I've been told that our heartwood will always have a reddish hue, but hopefully I can avoid it looking too amber.
Does anyone have any recommendations of a low VOC product that can be used on heartwood pine? Ideally it would be something that drys/cures quickly.