I'm wondering how the rubio monocoat will work on reclaimed wood w/ distressing and worm holing? Any experience w/ this? I feel like we should "fill" some of the holes... 4 children in busy homeschooling household w/ lots of art projects...

Nontoxspot, I would pick something different to seal a very porous surface. I have had issues with mild acids penetrating the finish because the oil didn't soak in enough apparently - probably because of the water-based stain that I used (not recommended by Rubio). I ended up recoating with Rubio Monocoat a second time. Reclaimed wood would be even more porous I assume. Rubio Monocoat may perform better when applied by machine as they do on floors.

thank you!

@oaktown how are your floors doing today? I am just about to put in floors with rubio monocoat 2c in either white or super white... I'm so nervous!!! This will be in my kitchen, dining room, living room and den. I am worried about the kitchen!

"probably because of the water-based stain that I used (not recommended by Rubio)."

Yes Rubio specifically states that it ONLY sticks to raw wood. If you want to tone it use one of their available colors.

dietitian- get a sample and the list of what affects the finish and do a torture test. AND you want to see what the whites look like IRL

Hi dietitian, the floors have been holding up great. Part of that probably is that we don't wear shoes in the house. The only thing I have had a difficult time getting off the floor was Sharpie (courtesy of 5 yr old). In the kitchen, red wine and food coloring have been no problem -- they weren't sitting too long, though.

We are overdue for an application of the satin cleaner but I probably won't get around to that for a while.

Good luck!

glad to hear oak town!!! I ordered the super white monocoat plus 2c today- I am excited and still nervous. The gorgeous finish will help me be ok with the fact that I will have to spot retouch more often. I did order their cleaning soap, which is supposed to help prolong the finish.

@markjames&co I did have 3 samples and made them up today. I will definitely torture them.

One room done-

Gorgeous! I love the lighter look.

We are just in the process of having our new hardwoods done on three floors. Only the third floor is done so far and it looks amazing. Even our contractor who was totally against it from the beginning has come around and says he loves it.

We went with the Pure to go with the original trim in our 100 year old house, but I love, love, love the white on your floors.

Hey Fiesty68, I'm new to this whole staining/refinishing business and am attempting to refinish my table in grey. I saw on one of your posts a picture of a great looking grey wood with white grain that I want to copy. Any advice on how to achieve this look?

First use weathered grey pre-color then put White Oil (i'm not sure what white oil is) on top of the dried rubio monocoat?

Thanks for any advice you might have.

I would love to hear from anyone who has used the Maintenance Oil as a second coat following the Rubio Monocoat. We used Rubio Pure on 2K sq ft of rustic maple - LOVE the look, but the Maintenance Oil coat did NOT go on well, and we have not found any method that will fix it, despite trying to get help from company and regional rep.

We used the Maintenance Oil on our floors and counters with no issues. What's happened with yours?

We used the prescribed pad & method on the 1st half of the floor, but it left uneven streaks throughout. On the 2nd half, our floor professional suggested we change to the next softer pad to see if that would work better. It is somewhat better, but it also seemed that the pad soaked up more of the oil, and left less on the wood. The edges show the streaks more, but it's all very uneven. One of our specific questions prior to starting the job was "should we plan to do 2 coats of the oil". The answer from the company was "it was not recommended".

When we contacted them the evening after the 1st half was done, they told us we should do a 2nd coat, but when we asked for more specifics regarding what effect that would have, they had no answers for us.

We know that every job has variables, so we're not trying to lay blame. We just need to figure our what went wrong, and how to fix it.

(The streaking is not due to a problem with the sanding - it seems to be more of a very uneven absorption.)

How odd.

So the first question I should have asked is, did you use the Maintenance Oil or the Universal Maintenance Oil? (I forgot that there are two different products. We used the UMO, which is slightly different than the Maintenance Oil.)

Also, how long after applying the Pure did you guys put on the Maintenance Oil? Did you clean and rinse the floors prior to applying it? How long did you leave the product on before buffing it off?

We used the newer one (UMO). Applied 24 hours after the Rubio, exactly as instructed. Floors were not even walked on between coats; disposable booties* used at all times.

It was applied by putting a small amount on the floor, setting the hole of the white buffing pad over it, thoroughly buffing it in, waiting about 10 minutes, buffing it off with a new white towel, then go over it with another new towel.

The edges (6") were done by hand - in conjunction with the part of the floor being done - not ahead of time, so the buffer could edge into it and blend it together.

We have not encountered any issues with excess left on the floor (with either the Monocoat or the UMO.)

Our flooring professional even advised that the booties had to be turned so the elastic seam was on the inside, since it can leave marks. (In one exchange with the Rubio rep, we were told that we "must have walked on the floor with sweaty socks" to have caused it.)

It is interesting. that during our research on this product, one of the major suppliers in Minneapolis told us, in regard to the UMO, "We don't recommend it, it just causes lots of problems."

When we tried to discuss that with people at Rubio, they countered with, "they don't know how to use it correctly".

We really want to "love" this product, but with our experience so far, we don't know if, when or how to use the UMO to fix the "smears", or use it for maintenance and touch up.

Ugh. I'm sorry they weren't helpful. Though it's very interesting that the supplier said the UMO causes problems. UMO replaced their old Satin Soap product, which was also designed to add a bit of sheen and also had a lot of problems. I feel like maybe there's a correlation there.

You say smears and streaks but, also that it's not a excess issue, so I'm having trouble picturing it. Is it just a difference in sheen level? Do the streaks correspond to individual boards or are they more swirly? Is the flooring new or old? If old, was there any patching of boards done?

We did our counters and kitchen floors two years ago. The floors were done by our hardwood guy to match what he did in the rest of the house the year before. Pre-color black topped with Black Oil Plus 2C. (For anyone reading along at home, yes, this is a black floor. No, I don't recommend them.) It was a few weeks between him doing the floor and me putting on the UMO. The counters we did ourselves. Just Black Oil, no pre-color. (This I do recommend.) Then I applied the UMO to the floors and counters two days later.

Now, the instructions that I was given were a little different from yours. I was told to wait 36 hours after applying the Oil before putting on the UMO. Then clean the wood with their soap product, let it dry, rinse with clean water and let that dry. Apply the UMO for 5 minutes and then take it off. That's what I did. I manually applied the UMO and then removed the excess with white towels. (I tried using a small $20 corded polisher in places but that made a mess.)

I'm not sure how long it's been since you applied the UMO but, since Monocoat doesn't seem willing to help, here's what I might try if I were you:

1. Do nothing. I'm not sure if you've had Monocoat floors before but it's what some might call a living finish. It changes over time. The benefit to this is that, sometimes, problems have a way of working themselves out. True story: I knocked a can of paint over in the bedroom not too long after the floors were done and ended up with this white-ish blob on the floor. For a variety of reasons, I never got around to fixing the spot and, three years later, you can barely see it. It's like a shadow now. So it's possible that over time and with regular cleaning, the streaks will lessen and eventually disappear.

2. Pick a small area and do a new coat by hand the way I described above. You want it to be small enough that you're not killing yourselves but big enough that you can really see the results and see if you get an even coat. Hopefully, you will and now you'll have a frame of reference of how it should look and feel. Then, you can try reapplying a larger section with the buffer. But, this time, buff it in less and buff it off more. (I hope that makes sense.) Maybe use a tiny bit more oil.

2a. You could also try just manually reapplying where the streaks are. Then buffing the entire floor with just clean, soft pads.

3. Sand it all down and start over. I, myself, would probably never do this.

Wow. This post is incredibly long and I'm not sure if it was at all helpful. I will say that you don't need the UMO. I only did it in the kitchen because I wanted a little extra protection from spills, etc. The rest of our house doesn't have it and, aside from a slight difference in the sheen, you can't tell the difference in the floors. For maintenance and touch ups, I would not use the UMO. I would only use the Pure Oil.

ETA: Pure Oil = Pure Maintenance Oil and why can't they come up with less confusing names for their products.

Okay, the plot thickens. Since our instructions were so different, I was curious to see if they'd changed them in the last year. I just went out to the garage to check. As it turns out, the can makes no mention of a waiting period and says to wait 15 minutes before taking the oil off. But the separate printed instructions I received with my can say 36 hours and 5 minutes. Weird.

We are trying to research more to see if other people are having an issue similar to ours, and use those as add'l examples when we contact Rubio again. We are also going to point out that their marketing information (at least in the U.S.) is either very inconsistent, or not translated well, or both.

That being said, this is one of the reasons we asked very detailed questions ahead of time, and have kept all of that correspondence.

I was wondering what type of wood(s) you applied it to. If would seem that the UMO on a black finish would show any imperfection or problems much more than the "pure" on maple.

The house is a combo of red & white oak. (Old house. A lot of patch jobs over the years.) The new wood in the kitchen, where we used the UMO, is white oak.

I did read on one hardwood floor blog where one of the professional "would not use Rubio on maple". I've tried to contact them directly, but have not received a response. We would really like to know the reason behind that comment.

But again, we asked that direct question ahead of time, and were told that we should not have any issues with maple.

It's good to know that it's working well for you.

I'm no expert but I do know that maple as a rule does not take stains as evenly as oak does.

Have you called the people at Pete's hardwood floors? They are super helpful & know Rubio monocoat very well. I bought from them & called several times to get advice because my floor guy had never used it.

We used the "pure" Rubio - NO stain on the maple. However, we did water pop to allow it to absorb more Monocoat. The problem we are having is a very uneven look after using the Universal Maintenance Oil. It was applied as a second coat as per the company's instructions.

It was, in fact, Pete's Hardwood, who told us that they don't recommend the UMO, due to problems.

Dietitian, what type of wood did you apply it on, and did you use UMO?

I was looking for a perfect gray stain for ages when I finally came across Rubio. I used the Monocoat Oil Plus 2C in Super White the day after I applied "Fumed" on my white oak floors. It would've been pretty easy to do had it not been 95 degrees and no air conditioning in the house. Halfway through I had to call a friend in to help because I was having trouble spreading the oil on and getting it back off quickly enough before it started curing. The high heat made it necessary to work much faster and since I was doing every room upstairs and a flight of stairs, it was a work out!

I can't say enough great things about this product and how perfectly happy I am with how the floors turned out. I absolute LOVE them. That was a year and a half ago living with a teenage boy and his rowdy friends and a moose of a bulldog-- and the floors look as good as the first day they were done. Perfect, perfect gray floors achieved!

At Christmas I put in new cabinets and used the same process and they, too, came out beautiful. If you're having any doubts, I highly recommend Rubio. There is a slight learning curve but if you follow the directions to a tee and work quickly in a pair, it's a breeze. Or just leave it to a pro, sit back and relax, and prepare to be Wowed!

This was the third time I'd refinished the same floors in twenty years and I was nervous using a new (to me) product. I only had one shot because I couldn't take the floors down again if I messed up, but this was SO much easier (and faster) than the stain and poly process I'd done before... I love that whenever it does start to show wear that I can easily touch it up, and it is the only gray I've seen that I've truly loved. :)

Oh how I would love to have been able to written Jennifer's post! We had our beautiful monocoat floors installed in 2015 and were told that these would last for years and be resilient to the 4 kids, 2 dogs and busy social life our family leads. After a couple of "missteps" in the time our contractor estimated in "curing" the floors, we moved back in in July 2015. They held up pretty well until just recently. I've noticed that they are becoming much more porous, water drops are turning into permanent stains a dog bowl left without its mat for just a few hours has now permanently made its impression on my floor. My contractor, who told me about all of the wonders of these floors in 2015, is now curiously stating that these are very high maintenance floors. My designer has told me that I should have used a polyurethane-type of protectant on them. Any suggestions?

We just recoated the kitchen floors after 1 year. We have 4 kids & a dog. Seems the high traffic areas require more recoating. I had a guy come & lightly sand & recoat. Not sure if it was the right choice in high traffic areas.

steviey, can you elaborate on your floors?

Was it existing hardwood refinished with Rubio, or newly installed? Did they use the updated Rubio 2C or original? (I think the cure times or different.)

Also, did they use a top coat? Soap satin or UMO? What type of wood? Any color with the Rubio?

I bought bamboo floors beautiful beach wood look supposed to hold up for 50 years. But--- put them in June 2016 as of now feb 2017 we have brown trails of wear in the high traffic areas we were told to use Rubio to "bring them back" to the beautiful gray color they started with. Am not impressed with these floors or the pricey solution which doesn't sound like a solution for us 2 adults & 3 dogs.

levison169, are you saying that you installed floors that were pre-finished with Rubio, and they already need to be re-coated?

I have posted earlier in this thread, (and other Houzz discussions) on our experience with Rubio. Obviously, there are numerous variables with any situation (i.e., the type of wood, stain color used, top coat).

In our opinion, the company has done a very poor marketing job as to "how easy" the application process is.

Our floors were refinished in November of 2015 using Rubio 2C Pure and the UMO. We immediately realized that there were going to be issues.

After months of back & forth with Rubio, their only solution was to redo everything. So we researched and tested several possible "fixes".

There are poly finishes that can be used over a cured Rubio finish, but then you are back to that "plastic" look. Nothing compares with the look of real wood.

What we found that worked for us, was a top coat of Liquid Wax Cleaner by Osmo (they have their own hard wax oil finish).

We purchased it through this site:

http://worldclasssupply.com/store/OSMO-Liquid-Wax-Cleaner.html

If anyone is interested in how we did it and how it's working, I will be happy to expound.

Mary Elizabeth - please do expound! Also, do you have photos?

Our floors are white and red oak combo, reclaimed from the existing 1800's log home that was on our property. There are checks, knots, wormholes, and some things that I don't even know what they are. We wanted a rustic look, so the matte finish works for us, but we are finding it scratches, and stains. Fortunately, the rustic look helps mask a lot of what might be very visible in a monolithic and uniform floor. We used the 2C Pure.

Thank you!

Our floors are rustic maple (grain), sanded smooth. The grain hid most of the problems with how unevenly the Rubio UMO coat went down.

I have debated this issue ad nauseum in numerous discussions here on Houzz, as well as the Wood Floor Business site, and with Rubio reps.

I was told at one point to apply a 2nd coat of Rubio UMO, and that it "should even out" the 1st coat. We tested this in several areas (closets), but nothing changed. Rubio would NOT provide any information as to the chemical composition of the UMO.

My husband has an extensive background in chemicals/hazmat, & decided that we needed a product that had just enough solvent, so it could bond with the floor finish, without damaging it. (But not a poly coating.)

First, I found this:

http://www.peakoak.co.uk/guides/can-i-apply-one-hard-wax-oil-brand-over-another/

Basically, it told me that chemically speaking, the different brands of hardwax oils are compatible. (Notwithstanding the warranty disclaimers.)

Understand, that at this point, any warranty from Rubio was already useless.

We tested several different brands, but Osmo was the only company I was able to speak with. The gentleman (who will remain anonymous) was very helpful and we agreed that the conversation was "off the record".

He explained the different Osmo products. We first tested* OSMO Polyx-Oil (4 oz size available). (This is the equivalent to Rubio.) It did NOT penetrate. (The assumption from this, was that the Rubio 2C had fully penetrated the floor.) (Start with a small, hidden area - if it does not "soak in", you cannot get it off! It will always remain "sticky".)

Next, we tested the Osmo Liquid Wax Cleaner (1/2 liter size). First, testing right beside the Polyx-Oil, to note the difference. Then, in a couple of more prominent places.

Application was quick and easy, dry time was 2 hours or less, and it left no residue. We waited for a few days, and then tested for resistance to water & then coffee. Both tests showed major improvement in stain resistance over the Rubio alone, where anything that dried would stain.

Since then, we have applied 2 coats of this to all 2,000 sq ft of our maple flooring, which took about 2 1/2 liters of product.

It took us about 3 weeks to do all 2K sq ft. We did one room or area at a time, strategically planning what doors & pathways would and would not be accessible at times. (i.e., the kitchen)

1.) Prior to application, do a thorough cleaning with the Rubio concentrated cleaner (mixed in water), followed by a clear water rinse and let dry thoroughly.

2.) You do not need to sand or buff, unless you are removing a stain or repairing some damage. (We removed a couple of stains.)

3.) We found that it was easier to apply our our knees, using a white cotton cloth & nitrile gloves. We also taped off along door trim and baseboards.

4.) We applied 2 light coats, about 1 to 2 hrs apart. We marked start & stop points with painter's tape, but it blends & shows no overlapping.

5.) Again, It has a very mild solvent smell that dissipates quickly. I would recommend cracking a window, and turning the HVAC off.

6.) There is NO cure time. We waited about 6 hours before we walked on it (in socks), & at least 24 hours to replace rugs, to be sure it was thoroughly dry.

7.) This product can be re-applied as needed. (It has a 5 year shelf life.)

Speaking only to those who have used Rubio - if anyone wants to try this, please TEST it in your situation to be sure you are happy with the outcome!

We purchased the product here:

http://worldclasssupply.com/store/OSMO-Liquid-Wax-Cleaner.html

I will try to answer any questions.

I can share with you the Colors-Pure Oil and Natural Oil are totally different colors

Pure Oil will give an Amber. Natural Oil controls the Ambering plus if you add 5% it will tone it more. Both are nice. I chose to use Rubio because of ease touching up scratches.

Love the product. I kept it simple one coat Smoke.

Mary Elizabeth, I talked to my floor guy that is currently doing the Rubio Monocoat treatment on our oak floors about the Osmo Liquid Wax Cleaner. He prefers the Rubio cleaner over the Osmo, but the Rubio is pretty expensive. He said the WOCA Natural Soap is just as good as the Rubio, and at $30 is a bargain. He said to mop with it about once a month, and if we keep doing it will likely never have to put any more Monocoat on the floor. The WOCA is a cleaner and leaves behind a protective wax., but doesn't contain the solvents like the Osmo has. He said if we should ever have an area that needs re-oiling, WOCA makes a stripper (called WOCA Wood Cleaner) to remove the wax residue and then go back over the area with a coat of the Rubio Monocoat. This guy also builds custom high dollar furniture and uses one of the Osmo Polyx products but it requires multiple coats so it's too labor intensive for floors. He prefers the Rubio Monocoat for floors over any other product.

It sounds like your floor guy really knows his stuff. Also, if you have access to him after your floors are in use, more power to you both.

Our problem was with the Rubio (and the application). We knew there were issues - (one being that our maple flooring was not accepting the product evenly) before the application was even half way complete. At that point, the reps from Rubio were no help whatsoever! The ensuing weeks and months of back and forth were ridiculous, and basically, they simply insulted us to no end. (I still have copies of their emails.)

Much like the very recent experience of this couple:

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/avoid-rubio-monocoat-if-you-have-a-dog-dsvw-vd~4798392

We simply had to find something that would make our floors livable, and the Osmo worked for us. I sure there are other products/or combinations that will also work.

It's been over 2 years since we did our floors. We're grateful we found a solution.

I did a 2nd coat of the Osmo Liquid wax cleaner in my kitchen/dining area this fall, since that gets the most use. It won't need it again for several years.

As far as just general cleaning, when the Rubio cleaner I have is gone, I will look for a less expensive one.

We love our reclaimed solid oak floors. We used Rubio’s clear coat and I found them easy to clean, I do have small rugs in the Kitchen b/c my husband splash line crazy when washing dishes. You can’t see water spots, but I do wipe

norco_kat -- your kitchen looks adorable. What is your backsplash tile?

Jennifer Dodd Did you ever do Rubio Monicoat on your cabinets? I’m dying to hear what your results were and if you’ve been happy with them. I’m about to use them on our cabinets that are being custom-made and I want to make sure I’m not making a mistake!

We had a NIGHTMARE experience with refinishing our floors with Rubio Monocoat. Long story short, the floors are now ripped out and will be firewood this winter.
1. Do NOT use it if you have a dog. Any tiny drop of saliva from your dog's mouth will leave a permanent grey stain.

2. Make absolutely sure that your flooring contractor has done this type of finish 100's of times. Incorrect application = irreparable.

3. Don't consider this as even remotely a "low-maintenance" option. You have to walk around with a rag to IMMEDIATELY wipe up any drops of anything - even water - or you'll have a stain.

4. Don't expect Rubio to back up their product. They never even came out to see our floors - in fact we had no contact whatsoever with the customer service people - but they said this, in an email to our contractor: Customers had unreasonable expectations and did not properly maintain the floor. OH MY GOSH. We were absolutely obsessive about cleaning it and used ONLY Rubio products on it. This jerk knew absolutely nothing about us, or our "expectations" or maintenance practices.

Just save yourself the headache and don't use Rubio Monocoat. (They DID refund us for leftover product...but that's it).

Our experience is pretty much the same as Randy Nash has posted. Plus a few very insulting & nasty emails from someone in their tech department. (Still have copies of those.)

Personally, I would like to see a class action lawsuit against Rubio, but the company is set up in such a way as to deflect all the blame onto your floor finisher (or the homeowner).

We have been nothing but pleased with our Rubio coated floors. I am building a bedroom suite and seriously thinking about finishing it with Rubio when I came across this thread; and was a bit surprised by all the negative comments.

I am neither a contractor nor a flooring professional, but finished the floors myself and found it was relatively simple and straightforward. Our floors have been in for over 5 years and look as good as the day they were finished. The floors are Owens Plankfloor engineered white oak (select and better rift and quarter sawn), which I highly recommend. We really liked the color of the natural white oak and did many blends of samples to try and keep the color as close to natural as we could. We finally went with ½ natural and ½ 5% white.

We are doing a whole house remodel and not knowing exactly what we were going to do in the kitchen but tired of walking on concrete, we laid the rest of the house and left the kitchen floor unfinished. The kitchen was finished and subsequent flooring laid approximately a year ago (4 years after the original floor). Additionally we took out a fireplace and hearth in a living room and weaved in new flooring approximately 3 years after the original floor. In both cases the new flooring was coated with Rubio and blended perfectly. Had these floors been finished traditionally, it would have been very difficult to match finishes. The attached picture shows the transition from old to new (basically from the refrigerator back into the kitchen. We mop with Rubio Soap once a month or so and realize we may have to recoat at some point, but really like the matte finish. We don’t have children in the house but do have a small dog and 2 2-year old grandkids.

<>YF

I spent $33,000 refinishing my entire house with Rubio Monocoat Fume. Love the look. However the product is terrible and does not work. Within 1 week, my kitchen floors were spotting near the sinks. Water spots left on the floor discolored it. Prior to choosing Rubio, I read their product specifications and called their office in Texas. I read and was told that product can be used in kitchen. Wrong!! Spotting and discoloration after 1 week. Further the company does not stand behind their product.

My husband and I brought our 60 yr old wax coated red oak floors back to life with Rubio Monocoat in Vanilla. We sanded them and applied the oil, buffed with towels and then left the house for a couple of days and went on vacation. The worst part was the tedious sanding. Oil application was nothing. Floor looks wonderful if you like a matte finish. The vanilla shade tones down the red stripes. I’m so happy with the product. Non toxic. Can be spot repaired if needed. It sounds like the pros above didn’t use enough oil.

Rubio Monocoat Reviews: We have had similar problems as you Mary Elizabeth. Very disappointed in the makers of Rubio Monocoat. See the stains in the image below. From coffee - which is mildly acidic. How is the Oslo holding up for you? I would like to speak to you directly. You are welcome to contact me at gregkaminski@comcast.net … gregkaminski at comcast.net I'm on a mission to get these problems exposed and get the company to produce a fix.

I put Rubio on a walnut table. White rings, raised grain (slightly), so it appears no protection whatsoever from water.

HU-108179497,

What do you plan to do now? If you're thinking of sanding it off, take a look at Odie's Oil.

We installed rift and quarter sawn white oak flooring 3 years ago and used rubio monocoat 5% smoke to finish. I love them, but the kitchen has some stains and knowing what I do now, I would either not have done wood in the kitchen or would have used some sort of mat from the start for protection. We are about to replace our cabinets so we are going to buff out the stains and re-seal and use a mat in our cooking area where the stains are most prevalent. I've attached 2 photos. The first is how the floors look everywhere and the second shows the some of the stains in the kitchen.

Greg Kaminski, was the hardner added to your Rubio Monocoat? My understanding is this is a step often missed but solves the problem your having