Rubio Monocoat Wood Stain & Finish 650 ft² - Smoke | Oil Plus 2C | Quick-Dry, Eco-Friendly Linseed Wood Oil for Indoor Use, Includes Accelerator (Part B) | Protector | 1.3 L

I would highly recommend this item. I have been doing many of the improvements and renovations in my home since I bought it a few years ago in the kitchen has been an ongoing project. We ended up doing butcher block countertops because of cost and ease of installation. We left them unprotected for a while and definitely encountered food and water stains but with a light sanding it was back to normal. We wanted lasting protection though and I came across this product that seemed like the best solution over any alternatives. I bought it and it sat around for a long time before I finally got around to applying it today. I have learned a lot up until then and have learned things that I did incorrectly and cannot change but I hope that this product still holds up well.What I didn’t do: apply the product to every side of the butcher block. (I installed the countertops before I realize this)I know it is highly recommended to apply to all sides of your project or there is a chance of warping but I am hoping that we do not have this issue.Besides that, I love the color. I used the color pure just to enhance the color and grain of the butcher block.The first picture is the before and the second picture is the after.I watched numerous videos before applying it to ensure that I use the correct technique and then followed along with a video while I was applying it and it overall went pretty well. I did have to have my husband help me and besides a small spill (lol) we got it applied quickly and now will wait for it to fully cure!

We've done several kitchen remodels in the past and have always used IKEA's Behandla on our butcherblock countertops. Sadly that product has been discontinued and its replacement, Stockaryd, is not the same thing at all. It is just Tung oil, which sinks into the wood but provides no barrier whatsoever - the second you use even just a damp cloth on it, the wood grain rises up and becomes rough again. With Behandla I could empty a bottle of food coloring on my butcherblock and it would wipe right off, leaving no stains at all! So disappointed.Next I tried a butchblock conditioning cream which added beeswax into the finish, supposedly for enhanced water resistance and durability. That was a fail too, so then I added a layer of the same company's Wax It All, hoping that the extra wax would be deal clincher. I didn't wash it for a week, and the first time I took a damp cloth to it, not only did the grain rise up immediately but it left a huge white patch in the finish. There wasn't even any cleaner on the cloth, just water.In desperation I searched the web for a better solution and came across Rubio Monocoat. As a cake decorator who works from home, I need a product that has food safety certification, but I didn't want to use a polyurethane because of the risk of flaking and the lack of ability to do spot repairs, not to mention the horrible chemicals. Rubio Monocoat sounded almost too good to be true but after reading lots of reviews and educating myself on their website about how it actually works, I was ready to give it a go.The biggest part of the job for me was prepping the countertops, as I had to sand them right back down to bare wood. If you have new, untreated butcherblock, you will breeze through this process!The packaging truly sucks (how are you meant to separate the two tins?!) and the instructions are printed so small that I couldn't read them even with glasses on! However the website is very informative and tells you everything you need to know.As promised, the butcherblock was touch-dry at the end of the buffing process and the smell from the linseed oil was very minor and not unpleasant - no VOCs!. The next day we started to put plates etc on the counter but did no food prep or anything that would require cleaning on it, as you have to keep it dry for five days in order for the oil to cure. At the end of five days, I cleaned it down with a damp cloth and was thrilled that it stayed smooth as glass. I put it to the ultimate test, slapping dough on to it and making pizza last night, and it came through with flying colors. Scraped up the excess dough, washed it down, and the countertop is still good as new. Thank God - have finally found a replacement for Behandla!Don't waste your time on oils - they might work for a butcherblock chopping board or a wooden salad bowl, but they don't work for a countertop that needs cleaning daily. This product is natural, food safe and actually does what it says on the tin!Their customer service is also very good. They have a chat on the website which is actually a human being and not a bot. They answered a couple of questions I had and were very honest, clarifying which of their maintenance products had food safety certification and which didn't - it would have been very easy for them to just say they all did, but they were very specific, which I really appreciated. All in all, five stars!

This is the best stuff ever. I have been using it for years. Durable, easy to use, easy to make repairs when needed. Worth the price!

Second time buying. Easy to apply with an outstanding and durable finish. Highly recommended.

Update 1 year later -- bumping to 4 stars. While it still "micro scratches", I've been pleased overall with durability and it's not as if someone else would view the wood island as totally scratched up. The surface been a workhorse for a year and I've been less careful, and while it doesn't necessarily look "like new", it looks good and most wouldn't know the difference. The early returns on scratches caused me some concern that I might have to abandon the finish, but I'm now planning to stick with Rubio monocoat. The scratches definitely fade over time although I can easily point many out still. Using the surface spray soap and occasional universal maintenance oil helps. And the fact that I did 2 initial layers.In the end, I'm happy with the choice of this for a high use kitchen island with the understanding that's it's higher maintenance and cost than traditional polys (and I'd suggest to use the other Rubio products for maintenance + hand sanitizer spray occasionally if you need to disinfect well), it provides a nicer feel/look with an easier application and less odor than the platicky poly finishes. So, if you're okay with those trade-offs, then it can be a good choice for a kitchen island. The pros/cons indicated below still apply though. I think a matte poly (harder to find) would also be a reasonable choice if someone wants a more scratch resistant surface, but doesn't give quite as nice of a feel/look (and smells much worse at application time) and sacrifices easier repairability.Update 6 months later after using it as a kitchen island/working surface -- liking it overall, still scratches:This finish does a solid job of resisting stains/spills. When I spill a drink on the countertop, it beads on top and is easily wipable. I still tend to wipe things right away so as to not test my luck, but if something small was left overnight, it's not a big deal.It still scratches fairly easily although the maintenance oil does soften the appearance of scratches but doesn't eliminate them. I apply a new maintenance oil coat once every few months. I do like the finish look and feel, and might bump up rating to 4 stars...I use the Rubio Soap regularly to clean it, which works well, but that doesn't disinfect, so I use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer spray when I need it (e.g. raw meat got on it) which seems to work well (Rubio used to sell an alcohol-based product to disinfect).To summarize,Pros:Looks goodFeels goodEasy to applySmells goodResists spills/stains well/beads on top (still, wipe immediately)Repairable (although I have yet to re-sand and apply new coat, but simply applying a new coat of maintenance oil does restore it somewhat)Cons:ExpensiveHigh MaintenancePoor Scratch Resistance compared to more traditional finishesOriginal review: Using for a wooden kitchen island (maple butcher block). Applied it about 6 weeks ago. Did two coats based on recommendations here that it gives extra protection (and followed manufacturer's recommendations) + added Rubio Universal Maintenance Oil for additional durability (and then ANOTHER coat of maintenance oil two weeks later). The maintenance oil replaced the "high traffic" product that Rubio used to sell for hotels and commercial flooring applications. I figured all that would give it as good of a shot of durability as I could.This stuff smells nice, is easy to apply, looks really nice after application, and all that. It does seem to resist water/spills/stains although I've been fairly careful to wipe things up quickly so haven't fully tested sitting water or if certain products would stain it.However, my island now scratches ALL THE TIME. Maybe a kitchen island that is heavily used isn't the best use case for the product. Move a plate? Scratch. I knew it wouldn't be as scratch resistant as a poly, but figured it would offer at least some scratch resistance and the repairability/look was worth the tradeoff. I also got the Rubio Soap so I've bought into all the product line (3 different products) and spent a fair amount of time and money.Right now, I'm undecided if it was a wise choice to go with Rubio Monocoat or if I should have simply done a matte oil-based poly for a similar look with much less maintenance/cost. I am hopeful that after several months or a year, I can simply re-apply product or sand and re-apply and a "like new" surface will be there for me without too much effort. If I can do that, perhaps it's worth the extra maintenance but certainly, it's not close to a maintenance-free product like a poly would be (of course, poly is much harder to "start anew.") Depending on how that turns out, I am debating sanding it off and simply applying a poly, which would totally negate the benefit of Rubio Monocoat in the first place (easy repairability and look/feel of nature wood) and make it just a really expensive clear stain, which would have been silly.The kitchen island is a working surface that I use frequently (although I never cut/work on the surface directly), so perhaps going the traditional route would have been much easier and lower maintenance going forward for this type of use case. I saw some scratches in the first couple of weeks and applied another layer of maintenance oil and it did somewhat diminish the sight of the scratches, but didn't eliminate them. We'll see how the surface looks after several more months of wear and how applying more maintenance oil "brings it back to life" (or doesn't).So, I think Rubio is a great product for the right purpose. If you're planning to use a surface a lot and don't want to deal with maintenance, a poly solution might be a better fit depending on your particular wants/needs.