First time Rubio Monocoat application didn't go well

[Stephen McBride]

Decided to try out Rubio Monocoat for a new coffee table top because a single coat sounded great. New top is two pieces of 3/4 red oak plywood glued together and edge banded. Thankfully, decided to test out on a scrap piece first as the results didn't go well...

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I sanded (120, 180), vacuumed, 1-3 coats of Aquacoat grain filler (pictured is three coats), sanded 220 after grain filler sat for an hour.

1. No wood conditioner, Chocolate color
2. Old Masters wood conditioner, Chocolate color (spread with plastic spreader tool then staining pad then scrub pad on ROS; sat for 10 mins and wiped off)
3. Old Masters wood conditioner (forgot to sand before Rubio), Walnut color (used staining pad, no spreader tool)
4. No wood conditioner, Walnut color

I fear that I sanded too much on this before all the finish so it cannot soak into the wood. I fear even further that I've done the actual top to 320 already and is smooth as a baby's bottom.

From the image, does it look like I've sanded too far before the finish?

Is it possible to open it up again before applying the finish so it can soak in better?

Side question, one of the spots on the edge banding has bubbled, would it be bad to take an iron to it again to try and get it to reglue and stick?

[John TenEyck]

The directions for RM say to apply to raw wood. Don't put anything on first. If you want to use grain filler, use a different finish.

Like any finish, RM will change the color of the wood it's applied to. Pure or natural generally look about the same as if you just wet the wood with mineral spirits or water. If you want an absolutely natural look, you'd probably want to use a waterborne finish in matte or flat sheen.

You should be able to stick the loose edge banding down by reheat it and pressing it down with a wood block.

John

[Stephen McBride]

The directions for RM say to apply to raw wood. Don't put anything on first. If you want to use grain filler, use a different finish.

Like any finish, RM will change the color of the wood it's applied to. Pure or natural generally look about the same as if you just wet the wood with mineral spirits or water. If you want an absolutely natural look, you'd probably want to use a waterborne finish in matte or flat sheen.

You should be able to stick the loose edge banding down by reheat it and pressing it down with a wood block.

John

Welp, that would definitely explain it. I had searched on here and found a few threads about using Aquacoat under the Rubio and went for it. The science behind it does make more sense with what you're explaining though. Thanks!

Going to be doing a dark walnut finish to match other furniture in the room, so I'll start looking into a good one. Probably Old Master's American Walnut as that's what the spot by me carries.

[Andrew Hughes]

I agree with John.
You closed out the cell in the oak leaving no place for the Rubio to go.
Rubio is my favorite finish every wood except Alder has made the natural wood look better. It bought out too much yellow in Alder.
Good Luck

[Jim Becker]

1) sand to 120 or 150...nothing higher...per the Rubio instructions
2) no grain filler as John mentioned...the finish is the finish and needs to be able to fully penetrate

I just did my first Rubio application and yes, it's different. Too smooth is not the way to go.

[Michael Burnside]

Oh, I'm so sorry this happened. I was helping a friend here with his first trial and he inadvertently did the same thing. I thought it was a fungus or something until he told me. Assuming it isnt a veneer, you should be able to sand it out. Do you have a Festool Rotex sander? I'd start with 120 in Rotex mode and see how it went.

Here is my process and I've probably stained 50+ furniture pieces and a pile of small odds and ends like floating shelves, key holders, etc.

1) sand to 120-180 (I'll explain 180 in a moment) using Festool ETS 150/5
2) water pop
3) resand my target grit again (mix of hand and Festool ETS 150/3)
4) vaccuum and clean with mineral spirits or Rubio cleaner - this stuff goes a loooooong way so even at 50 bucks you'll finish a lot of things before you need to replace it.

Now, I usually go to 180 for woods that have more open grain, like red oak, non-quarter sawn white oak, etc. when I feel 120-150 is still a little rough after poping. Basically with these types of wood, I usually sand to 150 and waterpop and if it feels good at that point, I'll call it good (sometimes I just use a scrap sample). I just wanted to mention this because I've successfully sanded several tables to 180 with outstanding results.

I think my new favorite color is 5% smoke... Just finished a set of floating shelves for my wife's office in QS white oak and they turned out gorgeous! Rubio is by far my favorite finish for furniture. Also using a pre-color on wood like alter or oak and then finishing with a different color can yield some amazing results. Pre-color black with mist on red oak gives a very modern look.

[Brian Alexander]

Pre-color black with mist on red oak gives a very modern look.

Would like to see this, if you have pictures. The precolors seem interesting, but hard to test since they didn't have sample sizes last I checked.

[Stephen McBride]

Oh, I'm so sorry this happened. I was helping a friend here with his first trial and he inadvertently did the same thing. I thought it was a fungus or something until he told me. Assuming it isnt a veneer, you should be able to sand it out. Do you have a Festool Rotex sander? I'd start with 120 in Rotex mode and see how it went.

Here is my process and I've probably stained 50+ furniture pieces and a pile of small odds and ends like floating shelves, key holders, etc.

1) sand to 120-180 (I'll explain 180 in a moment) using Festool ETS 150/5
2) water pop
3) resand my target grit again (mix of hand and Festool ETS 150/3)
4) vaccuum and clean with mineral spirits or Rubio cleaner - this stuff goes a loooooong way so even at 50 bucks you'll finish a lot of things before you need to replace it.

Now, I usually go to 180 for woods that have more open grain, like red oak, non-quarter sawn white oak, etc. when I feel 120-150 is still a little rough after poping. Basically with these types of wood, I usually sand to 150 and waterpop and if it feels good at that point, I'll call it good (sometimes I just use a scrap sample). I just wanted to mention this because I've successfully sanded several tables to 180 with outstanding results.

I think my new favorite color is 5% smoke... Just finished a set of floating shelves for my wife's office in QS white oak and they turned out gorgeous! Rubio is by far my favorite finish for furniture. Also using a pre-color on wood like alter or oak and then finishing with a different color can yield some amazing results. Pre-color black with mist on red oak gives a very modern look.

This is awesome, and great knowledge for the next project as I would love to properly use Rubio for it's ease (once you have the proper technique...).

I ended up going with a combination of wiping stain and gel stain and running into other issues after trying to sand down the polyurethane coats. This is for another post though.

[Michael Burnside]

I'll try to post some pics of a project I have in my own home that used the technique.