Rubio Monocoat

[mrpercysnodgrass]

I have a job coming up in a couple of weeks and I am thinking Rubio Monocoat Oil +2c might be the ideal finish. I have looked at a couple of videos but would appreciate thoughts from anyone here that has used it. What I want from it is a very hard wearing finish for an Ercol dining suite. What I am not sure about is is how much of a 'finish' is obtained by applying a second coat with the maintenance oil. Also In the videos I have watched it is applied with a white scotch brite pad but the only ones I can find don't look to be very good quality and there have been comments about them being scratchy! Also where is the best place to buy the oil?

 

[Peri]

Sorry I can't help with most of your questions - but I can say I've just bought myself a couple of sample bottles from allfinishes.co.uk/brands/rubio-monocoat to try out myself.

 

[--Tom--]

Will be interested to hear what you end up with, have an ercol dining table I want to refinish myself and have looked at the Rubio but not taken the plunge

 

[marcros]

I have used monocoat a few times on pieces, but only as an amateur. I haven't used it on dozens of paying jobs. I really like it and it has been hardwaring on everything I used it on besides a handful of coasters. The coasters were very much a test and will have been abused with spills. On my furniture I was looking for a matt look and to avoid a film finish. It was exactly what I wanted. It changed the colour a little but not by much. You are one of the forum experts I would ask about finishing or refinishing but I am not convinced that you could build monocoat into a finish. I do think it would look good on mid century modern stuff though.

Rubio make a big thing of it being a single coat and that is how I used it. There is a chap on YouTube called blacktail studio who claims to have found a way to apply a second coat and get good results. It is worth a watch because he (at least claims that he) has spent some money testing various finishes rather than being sponsored.

I used a squeegee to apply it.

The downside of the samples is that it is part a only so takes a while to dry. Rubio's technical dept are very helpful. They would probably apply the finish to a couple of samples and send them to you, when I spoke to them about something the chap said that he was doing just that for a customer.

 

[Cabinetman]

Can’t comment on your choice of finish as I haven’t tried it, but as an owner of an Ercol dining suite (pale colour) that I have worked on quite a few times, I would say that getting it back to bare wood would be an absolute nightmare, as I mentioned on here very recently I found that to touchup/ match to what is now quite an orangey colour, I found that button French polish was pretty indistinguishable.
It may not be the finish you are looking for but I would recommend water-based polyurethane, tough as old boots, and virtually id-iot proof. Ian edit If I had wanted to say silly person I would’ve written silly person – this site!
PS sorry I didn’t mean you, I meant me.

 

[mrpercysnodgrass]

There is a chap on YouTube called blacktail studio who claims to have found a way to apply a second coat and get good results. It is worth a watch because he (at least claims that he) has spent some money testing various finishes rather than being sponsored.

I have had a look at this video and I think it has convinced me that this is not the finish for the job I have to do, I think it would leave it looking too open and thin. I may get the sample pot and have a play.

 

[mrpercysnodgrass]

Can’t comment on your choice of finish as I haven’t tried it, but as an owner of an Ercol dining suite (pale colour) that I have worked on quite a few times, I would say that getting it back to bare wood would be an absolute nightmare, as I mentioned on here very recently I found that to touchup/ match to what is now quite an orangey colour, I found that button French polish was pretty indistinguishable.
It may not be the finish you are looking for but I would recommend water-based polyurethane, tough as old boots, and virtually id-iot proof. Ian edit If I had wanted to say silly person I would’ve written silly person – this site!
PS sorry I didn’t mean you, I meant me.

The recoil suite is the dark 'Tudor' Oak/Elm suite that the customer (friend of the family otherwise I would not touch it!!!) They want it stripped back to the natural colour to make it look more modern. I have stripped the dark Ercol in the past and not found it to be a problem apart from the end grain which requires a lot more sanding and an application of Oxalic acid.

 

[Cabinetman]

Well the very best of luck with that! I wouldn’t know where to start to get that dark Ercol back to a natural colour.
It would be run away time!