Aprelflooring.com

Water-based polyurethanes provide a clear finish and have low odor. You can recoat them in two hours and clean your tools with water. If you start early enough in the day, you can apply the recommended four coats and sleep in the room that night.

Oil-based polyurethanes leave an amber glow and require fewer coats. But the five-hour wait between coats and 12-hour wait after the last coat will put a bedroom out of commission for a few days—and you’ll have to put up with a strong odor.

Water-based finishes dry fast— most within two hours—so you can apply several coats in a day and use the room that night. They have minimal odor and clean up with water too. But water-based polys have their tradeoffs. They cost twice as much as oil-based polys. They won’t give wood the rich glow that oil-based polys impart; some even consider them cold looking.