Rubio Monocoat Hardwax Oil Flooring in Atlanta
Classy Flooring ATL is a hardwood flooring company serving metro Atlanta and North Georgia, and Rubio Monocoat hardwax oil finishing is one of the things we specialize in. We have applied Rubio Monocoat on residential projects, including a white oak floor and oak wall paneling in Buckhead.
Classy Flooring ATL is led by Claudiu Toma, an NWFA Certified Installer, NWFA Certified Sand & Finisher and NWFA Certified Sales Advisor, who completed NWFA Precision Patterns: Parquet Flooring and NWFA Precision Patterns: Medallions. Every project is carried out by our in-house crew.
Rubio Monocoat Oil Plus 2C colors and protects the wood in a single penetrating coat and leaves a natural, matte surface with the grain visible. A hardwax oil takes on the exact condition of the wood beneath it, so the result depends almost entirely on the sanding and preparation.
Rubio Monocoat hardwax oil finishing starts at $6.00 per square foot for projects of $4,500 and up, with dustless sanding included; smaller projects are priced by the job.
What Rubio Monocoat hardwax oil is
Rubio Monocoat Oil Plus 2C is a hardwax oil that bonds with the top fibers of the wood. The oil penetrates the wood and hardens within it, coloring and protecting it in a single coat. Because the color and the protection sit inside the wood, the surface stays matte and the natural grain remains visible.
The oil is made on a linseed base, is 100% solid, solvent-free, and 0% VOC, and Oil Plus 2C is GREENGUARD Gold certified for indoor air quality.
Why the sanding and preparation decide the result
An oil finish takes on the condition of the wood beneath it, so the quality of the floor comes directly from the quality of the sanding.
We finish sanding at 120 grit with our planetary sanders, the American Sanders Epoch and the FG Floortec Discus. Every machine runs connected to an FG Floortec dust-control vacuum with a DUSTIN separator. Rubio’s own specification is to sand scratch-free to a maximum of 120 grit: the finer you sand, the more you close the surface of the wood, and the less oil and pigment can penetrate. Sanding too high starves the color and the bond. Uneven sanding also shows, because the oil reveals every scratch and every transition in the sanded surface. Even, correctly graded sanding is what gives the floor a uniform color and a consistent finish.
Before oiling, the floor is vacuumed and the residual dust removed, and the surface has to be completely dry, because the oil bonds to raw, clean wood.
Featured Project — White Oak Floor Refinishing with Rubio Monocoat, Buckhead
Service: Hardwood floor refinishing
Wood: White oak (existing)
Finish system: Rubio Monocoat Oil Plus 2C in Linen, followed by Universal Maintenance Oil in Pure
Size: Approximately 1,500 square feet
Location: Buckhead, Atlanta
Scope: Main-level living areas — refinishing, no new installation
Completed: January 2026
This client’s existing white oak floors were old, with significant cupping and movement from years of seasonal change, and carried a warm amber tone from a previous finish. The floor was sanded to raw wood through a full grit progression from 36 up to 120, finishing with the FG Floortec Discus planetary sander for an even surface. Because the boards had moved over time, wood filler was applied twice during the sequence — once after the 36-grit cut and again after the 50-grit cut — so the second pass caught gaps the first sanding exposed.
The color was chosen on the sanded floor itself, sampled in the room against the home’s actual light and the oak paneling beside it. Linen was selected. After the final grit, the floor was water popped to open the grain for fuller color, then finished with Rubio Monocoat Oil Plus 2C in Linen and, after a 72-hour cure, Universal Maintenance Oil in Pure. The existing metal floor vents were replaced with custom wood vents finished with the same Rubio Monocoat system and installed flush, so they read as continuous with the floor.
Featured Project — Oak Wall Paneling Refinishing with Rubio Monocoat, Buckhead
Service: Wall paneling and millwork refinishing
Wood: Solid oak (existing)
Finish system: Rubio Monocoat Oil Plus 2C in Linen, followed by Universal Maintenance Oil in Pure
Scale: 153 raised panels, 612 individual trim elements
Location: Buckhead, Atlanta
Scope: Full-height wall paneling, paneled doors, fireplace surround, bar millwork — refinishing, no replacement
Completed: January 2026
A full-room oak paneling system — 153 raised panels and 612 trim elements — refinished from a warm orange tone to a natural Linen color, with every original trim profile preserved. Removable panels were refinished on sawhorses and fixed frames on the wall, with the same sanding, cleaning and oil sequence on both. The profile work was done by hand to protect the millwork geometry.
Client reviews
Client Review
★★★★★ 5-star review — Source: Google Business Profile
“Claudiu and his team were extremely professional and deliver high quality results. Claudiu personally oversees the work and is a pleasure to work with. My company was executing a complex and tome consuming refinishing job of a large oak paneled Great Room with Rubio monocoat. It could not have been done without Classy Flooring’s organization and attention to detail. I only hesitate to recommend because I don’t want them to het so busy they can’t take on my next project! But highly recommend :)”
— Jeff Royal
Oak Wall Paneling Refinishing with Rubio Monocoat — Buckhead
Colors
Oil Plus 2C comes in 55 standard colors, plus Legacy colors, and Pure — a non-pigmented option that keeps the wood close to its natural tone. Colors can also be mixed to reach a custom tone.
Color is not fixed by the can alone. The final tone depends on the wood species and the sanding: a smoother-sanded floor takes less pigment and reads lighter. For that reason we sample the chosen color on the actual floor’s wood, sanded the same way it will be finished, before committing the whole floor.
Long-term care: maintenance, re-oiling, and spot repair
A hardwax oil floor is dry-cleaned regularly — swept, dust-mopped, or vacuumed — and damp-mopped only as needed, not daily, which is Rubio Monocoat’s own guidance; NWFA’s guidelines call for a mop that is well wrung, damp and never wet. For washing, Rubio Monocoat Universal Soap is used no more than about once a week. NWFA’s guidelines direct oiled floors to the oil manufacturer’s own cleaning routine, because cleaners made for film finishes are not meant for an oil finish.
Over time, the finish is renewed with a maintenance coat rather than a full refinish. Rubio’s guidance is a maintenance coat with Renew on average every three to five years, depending on how much traffic the floor sees, and it is applied without sanding the floor. A floor finished with Universal Maintenance Oil, like the Buckhead floor above, is maintained with Universal Maintenance Oil instead, per Rubio.
Where a floor wears in specific areas — an entry, a kitchen run, a stair path — those areas can be renewed on their own, without resanding the whole floor, and where the color itself has worn, Rubio calls for Oil Plus 2C in the original color. An oil finish is renewed in place, so wear is addressed in the areas where it happens.
When a hardwax oil finish is the right choice for your floor
A hardwax oil is a strong fit when you want a natural, matte finish that keeps the look and feel of real wood, and when you want the ability to refresh worn areas over the years without refinishing the entire floor. Because the finish is renewed periodically, it suits homeowners who want a floor that can be maintained and spot-repaired in place.
Where a water-based finish fits the way a floor is used, we also handle hardwood floor refinishing and restoration with water-based systems — Bona Traffic HD, LOBA 2K Duo, or Berger-Seidle AquaSeal CeramicStar. We assess the floor, the wood, and the way the space is used, and recommend the finish that matches.
Cure and return to use
Rubio Monocoat gives the return to use for Oil Plus 2C. The floor can be walked on carefully in clean, dry socks after about 24 to 36 hours, and it is about 80% cured at 48 hours, when furniture can go back gently — without mats or carpets over the finish. It reaches full cure and liquid resistance at 5 days and is kept dry until then; area rugs go back after the full cure. NWFA’s guidelines also recommend clean socks on a curing floor. Where Universal Maintenance Oil is applied over the Oil Plus 2C, it adds its own cure of five to seven days before the floor is cleaned with liquid.
Talk to us about your floor
If you are considering a Rubio Monocoat hardwax oil finish for a floor in metro Atlanta or North Georgia, get in touch to discuss the wood, its condition, and the result you are after.
You can also see more of our work, including our European white oak herringbone with solid brass inlay, across metro Atlanta and North Georgia.
Frequently asked questions
Who installs Rubio Monocoat hardwax oil floors in Atlanta?
Classy Flooring ATL specializes in Rubio Monocoat hardwax oil finishing for residential floors across metro Atlanta, with documented projects including a white oak floor and oak wall paneling in Buckhead.
Is Rubio Monocoat good for flooring?
Yes — Oil Plus 2C is made for wood floors, including high-traffic areas, and it protects the wood in a single coat that bonds with the top fibers. The result depends on the work underneath it: the oil takes on the exact condition of the sanded wood, so Rubio limits the final sanding to 100 to 120 grit, and the floor has to be clean and completely dry before oiling. It suits a homeowner who wants a natural matte floor and is willing to maintain it in place rather than wait for a full refinish. Our Buckhead white oak floor is finished this way, in Oil Plus 2C Linen.
How long does Rubio Monocoat last on floors?
Rubio says an Oil Plus 2C floor can last a lifetime with periodic maintenance. Rubio’s guidance is a maintenance coat with Renew every three to five years on average, sooner along entry doors, hallways, and other high-traffic paths, and often in just that area rather than across the whole floor. Where the color itself has worn, the area is re-oiled with Oil Plus 2C in the original color, without resanding the floor. A floor topped with Universal Maintenance Oil is maintained with Universal Maintenance Oil.
What is the best non-toxic floor finish?
One with published low or zero VOC content and third-party indoor-air certification, given its full cure before the room goes back into normal use. Rubio Monocoat Oil Plus 2C is 0% VOC, 100% solid and solvent-free on a linseed-oil base, and it is GREENGUARD Gold certified for indoor air quality. The waterborne finishes we use are the other route; their data sheets call for ventilation through application and drying. On any finish, the cure time on the data sheet marks when the floor is ready for full use.
How long does it take for hardwax oil to cure?
It depends on the product. For Rubio Monocoat Oil Plus 2C with its accelerator, Rubio gives full cure in about five days — about 80% at 48 hours, with light use in clean, dry socks after about 24 to 36 hours. Without the accelerator (Part B), Rubio puts the cure at about 21 days. Until full cure the floor is kept dry and isn’t cleaned with liquid, and area rugs go back after it. Universal Maintenance Oil applied over the top adds its own cure of five to seven days before liquid cleaning.
What should you not use on hardwood floors?
NWFA’s maintenance guidelines name them: vinegar, a traditional mop and bucket, steam cleaners, sheet-vinyl or tile care products, self-polishing acrylic waxes, and products sold to restore, rejuvenate, polish, or add shine unless the finish or flooring manufacturer recommends them. The finish decides the rest: no petroleum-based cleaners on a waterborne finish, no oil soaps on a polyurethane or other film finish, and no film-finish cleaners on a natural oil finish. An oiled floor such as Rubio Monocoat follows the oil manufacturer’s own routine — for Rubio, Universal Soap or Surface Care no more than about once a week, a damp mop as needed but not daily, and no liquid at all until the oil has fully cured at five days.