Watco makes a very nice finish on furniture that won't be abused (not recommended for tabletops). That typically takes a half dozen coats or more, a lot of hand rubbing, and provides essentially no protection against spills and such. I haven't had much success in "repairing" rings left from wet glasses, etc. For a floor I would go the other way and use a tough polyurethane (eg Bona Traffic) that doesn't need to be repaired in any normal usage situation.

Yea. Go with the urethane. You will be happy the first time your kid throws anything on the floor.

Today you have options as far as a water bourne urethane or a oil based poly. Both work similar. Although the oil based is smellier and requires more time to dry/cure

Thanks to both of you. That's what I thought, but everyone in my neighborhood uses this guy, and has for 30 years. Guess he's not keeping up with the times.

I'd suggest both. A penetrating oil to bring out the beauty of the wood, then a tough poly for the topcoating.