Blacktail Nano Finish?

[Bryan Hall]

Anyone going to give this a crack?

https://blacktailstudio.myshopify.com/pages/n3-launch

The price is a bit much for me to splurge on for 75' of coverage and it looks like the cost is going up tomorrow but I'd love to hear from anyone who tries it!

[John TenEyck]

And some folks think Rubio Monocoat is expensive! Wow. A finish to apply over your finish. Who'd a thunk?

John

[Bryan Hall]

And some folks think Rubio Monocoat is expensive! Wow. A finish to apply over your finish. Who'd a thunk?

John

He's hyping it pretty big haha. If I remember correctly from his video he thinks it's as revolutionary as Rubio itself as well as 3m cubitron sand paper. From a math perspective if 1.3l of Rubio cost $640 that would be the equivalent price

I wonder if it's best suited for exactly what he does, slab/epoxy tables and your average project might not really benefit from it?

[Andrew More]

And some folks think Rubio Monocoat is expensive! Wow. A finish to apply over your finish. Who'd a thunk?

John

It's a ceramic coating. Apparently they work, since they're all the rage with car guys, but they're pricey. The price Blacktail studios wants seems in line, if not a little high for such coatings.

[Bryan Hall]

Is there a different tactile experience when touching wood with a ceramic coating?

[Jamie Buxton]

It's a ceramic coating. Apparently they work, since they're all the rage with car guys, but they're pricey. The price Blacktail studios wants seems in line, if not a little high for such coatings.

Can you explain what a ceramic coating is, in the woodworking context? I mean, when you say ceramic, I'm thinking tiles and plates. I guess I could stretch to ceramic powder carried by some woodworking finish, like varnish. That might help against abrasion, but wouldn't help against water and other fluids.

[Jim Becker]

Cam has been using a ceramic product over Rubio for awhile now and worked with a manufacturer to presumably make it better. This isn't for everyone for sure. Keep in mind that Cam gets "megabucks" for his tables/furniture and puts a lot more time into the finish prep and finishing than most of us likely do. I'm not really interested in this product for myself, but I can see its value for high end work.

Jamie, "theoretically", the ceramic coating adds additional durability to the shine and also makes it easier to keep clean. The same is true for ceramic coatings often used on vehicles.

[Andrew More]

Can you explain what a ceramic coating is, in the woodworking context? I mean, when you say ceramic, I'm thinking tiles and plates. I guess I could stretch to ceramic powder carried by some woodworking finish, like varnish. That might help against abrasion, but wouldn't help against water and other fluids.

I've never used one, since I think the price is too high for the two beater cars my wife and I own. However Jim Becker has as good a description as you're going to get. I'm not sure why they're called "ceramic" coatings, since they're not like tiles and plates, maybe it results in a similar texture? Apparently they work, and poly and other wood working coatings are easily damaged, so maybe it's worth it?

[Karl Loeblein]

Calling a coating “Ceramic” is misleading in my opinion because most of them are made with some mixture of silicon dioxide. It’s a big stretch to call these coatings ceramic by saying they act like ceramic. Manufacturers needed a fancy term that was highly regarded like ceramic in order to justify the high price. Seems calling N3 a “diamond-hard finish” is taking it to a higher level in order to justify a price of $119 for a 2oz kit. Yikes that stuff is expensive.

[Jim Becker]

Yes, these coatings cost a pretty penny. Fortunately, you apply very, very little of the product on any one project, even when it's "darn large".

[Bryan Hall]

I’d like to see all the non finishing items removed and the price dropped a bit. No need to purchase gloves, applicator pads, microfiber towels with every batch of finish.

Price didn’t seem to go up as expected/stated. Maybe it wasn’t flying off the shelves at that price point?

Regardless, I’d like to try it or hear from someone who tries it on a project. Never hurts to know one more finish option. Especially if it’s as good as advertised.

[Chris Schoenthal]

There are several "ceramic" coating manufacturers of these graphite products. Cam worked with Black Forest Wood Company to at least re-brand their product.
About 3 months ago Marc (The Wood Whisperer) showed using a product from The Carbon Method on his cast iron machinery to help stop rusting.