As detailed in our step by step guide How to Apply Rubio MonoCoat to Furniture, most furniture and artwork we create is finished with Rubio MonoCoat Oil Plus 2C, which is a hand rubbed natural oil and hardwax finish that is VOC-free. It leaves a durable soft matte finish that highlights the natural fibers, texture, and beauty of the wood. For more information on maintaining furniture finished with Rubio MonoCoat, please see our step by step guide How to Maintain Furniture with Rubio MonoCoat.
Over the course of time, you may have a need to do spot repairs or refinish your furniture or art pieces that were originally finished with Rubio MonoCoat if it becomes damaged at some point, beyond what regular maintenance will address. The first step is to assess what needs to be done.
Spot Fixes and Touch Ups
Does your piece have simple nicks or scratches or discoloration that need to be fixed? If so, you are most likely looking at simply lightly spot sanding those affected areas, and then reapplying Rubio MonoCoat Oil Plus 2C. Many of the steps and lessons in our step by step guide How to Apply Rubio MonoCoat to Furniture can be used, but one of the differences may be what abrasive or sanding item you use, depending on the damage.
When we initially prep the wood surface for the finish, we most often will finish our sanding at 180 grit or 220 grit, depending on the substrate and the piece. If the depth of a gouge or discoloration or marks is significant, it is probably best to start evenly sanding the affected areas back at around 180 grit with a random orbital sander. Take special care to ensure that this is somewhat feathered/dispersed with the surrounding areas, so you do not create areas of unevenness is the surface (but just sanding heavily in one small area, for example). Similar to the original application, you can then wipe all excess dust away, and then mix up and apply your Rubio MonoCoat Oil Plus 2C as provided in the directions in our step by step guide How to Apply Rubio MonoCoat to Furniture. Be sure to thoroughly wipe off all excess until no more Rubio can be wiped off.
If the affected areas you are trying to remedy are just very minor surface scratches or dings, then you may not even need to sand back to 180 grit or 220 grit. For lighter surface wear or something similar, it is often enough to just use 3M Maroon Scotchbrite Pads to very lightly abrade the surface. These are the equivalent of about 400 or 600 grit, and you can use them on your random orbital sander (or even by hand in a pinch) to lightly abrade the affected areas, and just as above, you’ll then want to wipe all excess dust away, and then mix up and apply your Rubio MonoCoat Oil Plus 2C as provided in the directions in our step by step guide How to Apply Rubio MonoCoat to Furniture. Be sure to thoroughly wipe off all excess until no more Rubio can be wiped off.
Full Blown Refinishing and Restoration with Rubio MonoCoat
If there is a great deal of damage or many areas requiring refinishing, it may sometimes best to simply refinish an entire surface, by sanding the whole thing. Let’s say a kitchen counter top finished with Rubio MonoCoat has seen significant damage and/or wear over a period of years, that would not be suitably repaired with spot fixing and regular maintenance with Rubio Renew. The most likely course of action then would be to assess the depth of damage, and begin resanding the countertop with around 120 grit sandpaper on your random orbital sander. This will take you back to the wood surface prep stages as detailed in our in our step by step guide How to Apply Rubio MonoCoat to Furniture, from which point you can simply sand up again to your preferred final sanding grit, clean the surface, and once again apply a fresh application of Rubio MonoCoat Oil Plus 2C.