I've got some shelves finished with Rubio Monocoat 5% smoke, and I'm wondering how to achieve a similar look for a windowsill but with a more protective finish. Any suggestions on the best approach?
4 Answers
For windowsills, consider using Waterlox Trutone. It's a tung oil that has color infusion and provides excellent water resistance, plus it has some UV protection, which is a major plus for indoor finishes.
You should definitely start with the Rubio Monocoat 5% smoke finish first. Then, try adding a satin polyurethane overcoat. It won't match perfectly, but it should get pretty close!
Try a few coats of clear gloss polyurethane or spar urethane first, and then finish it off with Rubio on a test piece to see how you like it. Just remember that the oil soaks in, so doing it in reverse might not work well.
Interesting take, but are you sure about putting the oil down last? I thought the oil needed to soak in first for the best effect.
Totally! Rubio Monocoat is mostly boiled linseed oil, so layering it as a topcoat might not yield great results. You could get some color, but durability may suffer over time.
I’d recommend starting with the Rubio and seeing how that holds up. After that, you could look into color matching with a stain and finish it off with either an acrylic or an oil-based polyurethane for durability.
That sounds a bit cheeky, but that's solid advice! Starting with the Rubio is key.