We finished our #2 grade red oak installation stained with Rubio monocoat smoke 5%. Here is a photo with the unfinished #2 red oak on left and the 25 year old dining room floor (smaller planks) on right. Overall, I love the smoked effect of the Rubio! I do regret not getting something a bit more dramatic in color though like a white or a darker brown. The redder planks of oak still look pinkish. I thought that the green of the 5% smoke would soften the pink. We will be installing the same oak in the other sitting room and kitchen and I would like to try a whiter shade or a darker shade to try and mask some of the pink. (I didn't waterpop and maybe that could have added a more opaque effect from the smoke 6%). Advice please: I bought UMO to add the extra level of protection and sheen. Tomorrow will be the 36hr curing time from the smoke 5% 2c to apply UMO. Should I just save the UMO for when we do the other rooms in a year or so? Is is possible to blend this smoke 5% floor with a new floor done with a different shade (a whiter or more medium brown shade)? Can a new shade be applied over this smoke 5% or should the floor be sanded? Thanks!

Pallman is fine. There are two things I would change: Humidity - it is at the lower end of acceptable. Even though 35% is allowed, it is still going to show some problems with splitting and checking. Please get it up to 45% - 50%. That will really, really, really help the wood look health and beautiful. This should be done SLOWLY. About 5% increase every 7 days or so. Ditch the Minwax. It is low-end DIY stuff. If Pallmant makes stains, then get them to work with Pallman stains. Get them to redo the colour patches for you to decide on your colour...again going with a coat of finish over the stain patch so that you can see the depth of colour. That's it. They are stepping up and fixing a finish that was really rough. They buffed three times (I'm assuming the buffing was between every coat) and yet they still came up with a rough finish. So they are doing it over. Very nice. You have an stand-up group of guys there. If they won't switch out the Minwax - it probably isn't a huge deal. Many refinishers like to work with Minwax because the stains have remained the same for DECADES. I'm not a fan, but oil based stains work with oil based finishes all the time. The HUMIDITY is going to be your challenge as a homeowner. If you can bump it up to 45%, you will have a much happier floor. Much, much happier floor.

@Brian Adamczak I had to redo The Entire Floor by hand. I did not re-sand, instead I put on a second coat of Rubio to make the whole floor shiny. This is because I could never get the shiny spots to dull and become matte. I tried everything! My steps were: apply 2nd coat of Rubio chocolate product, wait 5 minutes wipe up as much as possible with a terry cloth towel by hand use a clean terry cloth towel under a handheld sander (Black & Decker Mouse Detail Sander) and get more of the product up and out use a Viva - like cloth - paper towel under the handheld sander to get the last bit of product up and out of the floor. I went through about 20 rolls for 1250 sqft. did not walk on the floor for 7 days I was (am) frustrated with Rubio Monocoat for not being honest about the situation and resolve. I spoke with them at length a dozen times. They were in denial of the problem - even though it happens quite often when you start asking around. Rubio does not recommend applying a second coat. But the problem was that the shinny spots (1% of the floor) soaked up more oil. Therefore I had to get the rest of the floor (99%) to also soak up more oil. It was all about making the sheen uniform with oil. Note, doing 2 coast did darken the color a bit. To be honest, I prefer the matte look over the shiny. In the end the upstairs has 2 coast and is shinny & darker. Downstairs has 1 coat and is matte and lighter. But the extra oil in the wood upstairs makes it more water spot resistant (that is helpful, because upstairs is where the kitchen is.) Whereas, downstairs with 1 coat, there is a tendency for the floor to spot when water gets on the wood. My goodness it was a lot of work. Best of luck!

I have white oak floors, and used just “white” —as I recall cotton white has some yellow in it. Not sure how it will go on top of red oak, but I am sure you will try a sample in a closet or some obscure place? I love this product. I had just a natural polyurethane on red oak in a prior house and though pretty, they showed a lot of dust and dog hair. I cleaned religiously on my hands and knees every week. With these, I vacuum weekly and use a very mild cleaner from Rubio or just a damp rag, monthly. Be sure you do two coats. I only did one the first time and had a lot of problems with kitchen stains, ater, etc. the second coat did the trick! I just realized these photos aren’t great, I will try and take some more closer when I get home.