I am considering the same thing. I would love any help, or opinions you could share regarding the Rubio Monocoat as well.

We offer it in our prefinished line of flooring. My first question for clients is "do you have a dog or cat?". The finish is not good for homes with pets. If they dont have pets then I cover touch ups in a few years in the high traffic areas. The ease of touch up and refinishing is a definite advantage. These are two of my favorite colors.

Following!

We'd like to site finish white oak in Rubio. I just read a comment on another thread from Oak and Broad that Rubio's not great for dogs. Any dog families with Rubio experience out there? Can it be manageable?

I am sure keeping the dogs nails well trimmed will also go a long way in protecting the floor as well.

Of course.

Yes of course. but when they see the deer outside they go a little nuts. I am sure better training will help as well! I do have them trained to stay on the carpet for tug of war :) Maybe I could just keep the deer and cats out of the yard.....

I watched the rejuvination process on the Rubio Monocoat website. Is this a DIY or should a professional do it and how often. Kind of intimidated by the buffer. How much would this cost compared to new poly coat?

No it's pretty easy. Can be done by hand but will take longer. Polisher is a very easy tool to use.

Same as poly. $1-2 sq ft

Here is a forum I found discussing pros and cons of Rubio Monocoat and other oil finishes hope this helps! http://www.hardwoodfloorsmag.com/component/com_kunena/Itemid,292/catid,6/id,281/limitstart,60/view,topic/

They have me seriously considering using It. I especially was impressed by flooring guys who said fewer call backs and when it was time for recoat customers were saying no need for them! I also like the idea of being able to only refinish areas as needed. As 90% of our floor will be the same wood material and I am assuming kitchen and halls will need recoat before bedrooms and under area rugs. Even if I had to have a guy come out every 3 years to do those areas that would be better than whole house screening and poly. Which frankly sounds like a real pain moving out all furniture and leaving the home. I have time so I will do more research and post here if I find more info.

Here is another site I found very informative about various oil finishes. They also have a great comparison chart with other finishes. http://napervillehardwood.com/blog/the-hardwax-oil-experiment-part-2-monocoat/

Is the OP even still following?!

Anyway, we put Rubio Monocoat on engineered white oak floors made from reclaimed timbers, and were very happy with it. Easy to apply (and smells heavenly while its drying), and we really liked the low-lustre sheen once it was done drying. Lots of dogs and cats in a farmhouse kitchen, and it wore very well indeed. We aren't in that house any more, but another of the advantages that caught my attention was that you could spot-refinish vs having to strip and refinish the whole floor.

We are approaching the end of year two with Pallmann's hard wax oil on white oak. It is similar to Rubio Monocoat. We have had to spot refinish a couple of places. You cannot tell where we did it, and it was easy enough to do ourselves. We do not have pets, so I cannot speak to how it wears with animals. I love my floors.

Does anyone know if for some reason I don't like the way it wears, and sounds like I won't, could it be top costed with poly or is it not compatible.

@jjnman12...if you want to change out the Rubio/oil/wax finish to something else, you will need to do a FULL sand/refinish. That means another $5/sf to do it all over again.

Coating over these finishes = bubble and peel inside of a few hours...It wouldn't even be attempted by a professional.

Rubio does not endorse it but it is possible. You will want to 'test' this out on a sample for compatibility.

Ultimate Hardwood - I like your answer better than Cancork's answer!

We're going to do our test patch tomorrow so I can see what I think of it. Hubby doesn't get to see it until I've decided whether or not I like the finish

My partner was asking me what the process is if we decide we don't like the finish. I don't think we'll have enough wood left for another full sanding so it seems like the answer is don't change your mind.

We have a large pet stain in one bedroom which has lightened considerably with the first sanding but is still visible. How does Rubio Monocoat work over dark patches? Does going to a darker color help hide the problem areas?

Yes going darker can help hide stains. Oxilac acid can too. Instead of poly over Rmc try Universal Maintenence Oil(umo).

Does oxilac acid wood bleach work on pet urine stains? I thought it was a chemical reaction that couldn't be reversed.

It can remove or minimize pet stains yes.

Sounds like once I decide to do RMC I am committed. As with any of the other processes I guess.

I did my sample areas today and I do like the look and feel of the finish. Everyone there was watching and saying "Is that it? Nothing else to do?"

I absolutely understand the comments about a proper sanding job since there's no hiding any issues. We were working in a hidden area which didn't get a full sanding but finished with 100 grit on the edger...put on that finish and the swirl marks popped out like crazy!

I'm still on the fence about using this finish as the largest part of the floor is old and somewhat beat up. I'm already surprised at how much better the floor looks and the sanding isn't finished but there's still plenty of stains to bleach.

If it was newly installed wood, I would definitely use this finish. But, I'm not sure how it will look with all the gaps between the boards in the old floor.

You also need to 'hardplate' and after 'multidisc/trio/hydrasand' the floor. Waterpop then apply the monocoat.

Jj, we've applied poly over Rubio before, while letting the customer know that it wasn't "endorsed" by Rubio. All you need to do is let it cure (about a week after application of Rubio) and test first.

Don't tell anyone but, even though Rubio doesn't "officially" recommend it, I got this tip from one of their experts (the guy is a walking library of knowledge when it comes to this product and refinishing altogether), a few years back, and it worked like a charm. ...

Linda, in case you don't know what hard plating that Ultimate Hardwood describes is, it is the process I was describing on your original question, when I said "we use Lagler Trio between sanding and buffing and it makes it look like a million dollars".

You floor guys are just so helpful! Thanks so much! I am learning tons!

Hey Chicago Flooring Innovations. Do you know why client wanted poly over their RM? Did they not like it? I am just trying to have a back up plan, :)

JJ,

It was a miscommunication between him and us. He found the finish on his own, hired us to do the job, chose the color on his own and, when it was all said and done, he realized that it was too mat looking for his taste :)

We tried a few options, using Rubio products but, none of them were what he was looking for so, we had to refrain to top coats, in the end.

Ultimate Hardwood - thanks for the comment about bleaching. We removed one black stain completely and have lightened the remainder of the largest discolored portion of the floor. While it is still rough, the floor is looking better than I expected.

I usually dislike parquet flooring, but that picture you posted above is fabulous

Chicago Flooring Innovations - I do know what hardplating is and I also know my floor won't be getting that treatment! I don't need level or even flat, just smooth is sufficient for my purposes. I can't be picky about everything and flooring isn't the top of my priority list.

I am pleased to know that it might be possible to poly over the top of Rubio Monocoat so if it turns out to not be suitable for us, we still may have some options. Thanks for the info.

@linda If your flooring guys DONT hardplate the floor-get new flooring techs. 40-80 screen 120 is outdated techniques from the 80's-90's and will not support any sort of oil finished type floor. Hire only NWFA certified well reviewed pros.

Ultimate,

Here in Chicago, hard plating is a very rare thing :) When I first introduced it to our company, a few years back, my guys were looking at me like I was out of my mind. Now they get it, but it's just as hard with every new employee...

If you think it is rare in Chicago, it is virtually unknown out here in the wrong-side-of-the-tracks suburbs! As much as I might like to do everything using top notch products and contractors, our market values just don't justify that level of investment.

No matter how much money I spend, the top end value is probably $200,000 (1750 sq ft + 1170 basement) which is above the $165,000 median sales price. One couple down the street dumped $70,000 in a master bathroom addition then sold the house for $179,000 a year later. Projects here return only pennies on the dollar so selecting higher cost options is difficult

Our Rubio floors turned out just awful! Supposedly they put down two coats, but it looks like bare floors and water does NOT bead up as advertised. And worst of all, dog saliva leaves permanent grey circular stains that must be sanded down and refinished. We are so disappointed.

The Rubio Eco Refresh doesn't really make a difference. I guess we need to sand down the floor and put down another coat, plus a coat of Universal Maintenance Oil...and hope that does the trick.

Does anyone know of any other products we can use to make our Rubio floors look decent?

Based on your description, it sounds like a sanding / application issue, not a finish issue. The entire project might need redone

I just want to chime in and say that Rubio Monocoat is great for homes with pets. The finish penetrates the wood grain and hardens making the floor more resistant to scratches. Research the look first. It has a matte finish. If you use the Pure, it looks like nothing is on the floor at all.

We installed 3500 sq ft of expensive Engineered European White Oak in our AZ remodel 1 year ago and it is not wearing well at all in the desert climate. We believe the product to be faulty, as I have used similar wood species of flooring with dozens of my interior design clients who have had no problems... but our flooring inspector is claiming a humidity issue is causing the problem. Anyway... we do NOT want to have to replace all the wood in our newly renovated home! It means taking out all the new cabinets, appliances and basically moving out AGAIN. My question is, what can be done as a topcoat? Can we paint this product over the top in white as a whitewash? Will it hold up over engineered wood? There is no sheen at all on our planks. Thanks for any advice you can offer!

Hello Karen,

In order for any of us to answer your question, we'd need to know a little more about the floors and what exactly do you mean by "not wearing well". Here are some questions your posting raises:

1. When you say "not wearing well", which of the following scenarios are you trying to describe:

• The finish seems to be losing its properties (e.g. it's becoming dull)
• The finish scratches easily
• The wood seems too soft and it's easy to cause indentations to it
• The wood moves excessively, gapping or cupping
• The top layer delaminates from the core
• The top layer seems to be splintering on various boards

1. Also, If you have any information on the following it'd help as well (if you don't, it's understandable). How was the wood installed: glue down, floating or using a combination of nails and glue?
2. And lastly, some specifications of the wood wouldn't hurt: width, thickness, ideally the thickness of the top layer and brand.

I know this might seem like a lot to ask but, the more of these questions you can answer the better we'd be able to answer your question in a way that is actually of use for you or your customer.

@A Home Well Dressed, you might want to start your own discussion. This one is about Rubio - a hard wax oil finish - gone wrong. You didn't mention if that is the finish you're dealing with.