Sealing the Stair Treads with LOBA Impact Oil

Progress progress! In case you missed it, I am in the beginning stages of an enormous staircase restoration project. This week, I sealed the stair treads with LOBA Impact Oil, also known as LOBA 2K Impact Oil.

Who can forget 2019? That was the year we all traveled to the grocery store with wild abandon, and we were blissfully unaware of Tiger King. 2019 was also the year that Andy and I refinished the downstairs floors with Rubio Monocoat, a product very similar to LOBA impact oil.

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One year later, we are still delighted with the Rubio Monocoat. However, our friend, Brendan, an industry professional, suggested that I use LOBA on the heart pine stair treads instead. He has a lot of experience applying both, and he believes the LOBA penetrates a little deeper and offers a bit more protection.

I enjoy trying new products. So, rather than overthink it, I ordered the LOBA right away.

Applying LOBA Impact Oil

For the staircase with all of its tight corners, I chose to apply the oil by hand. However, for a full floor, you would want to rent some buffing equipment to make the job less back-breaking.

Before you begin, your floors should be sanded down to bare wood, finishing with 120-grit. We sanded the downstairs floors as a DIY, but in the interest of time, I hired out the tread sanding. Shoot me a message if you are local and need Brendan’s information. He’s a gem, and I recommend his small business 100%. He is passionate about his work, and it shows.

Supply List

To apply LOBA, you’ll need:

• LOBA HS 2K Impact Oil
• A new toothbrush (tool improv!)
• A few cotton swabs
• Buffing pads – Hand-sized for landings–smaller for between balusters. Precut pads are expensive, so I bought cheaper round pads for a buffer and cut them into pieces. You’ll need 2-3 in each size.
• Measuring cups – I used a medicine cup + a plastic drink cup.
• White rags – You may use cut up t-shirts or old socks. They need to be white because fabric dye might transfer to the wood. Unfortunately, we used all of our old white t-shirts last year, and I had to buy a bag of rags.
• Squeeze bottle – I had one left from my Abatron kit, but you could also use a thoroughly cleaned plastic condiment or honey bottle.
• Painter’s tape
• Newspaper or cardboard to protect surfaces

Prepare the Area

I vacuumed the stairs thoroughly and followed up with a microfiber cloth to remove leftover sawdust. A tack cloth would also work well. Since sawdust is a wood particle, LOBA impact oil will bond to it and leave your treads gritty and dull. DO NOT wipe with a wet cloth–dry only. A damp cloth will open the grain, and everything will need to be sanded again once it’s dry.

Next, I protected the balusters with painter’s tape. Although this step is optional, it makes the application and clean-up much more manageable. I also applied tape below the rounded edge to catch drips. Dried oil leaves shiny spots on painted wood.

Mixing the Oil

As I mentioned before, LOBA impact oil is a two-part system. You must mix the two components before you use it. The ratio is 10:1, oil to hardener. The product arrives in exactly 10:1-sized containers, but I needed a much smaller amount.

To determine my measurements, I put 1 tbsp of water in the medicine cup. Then, I measured ten parts (10 tbsps) of water and poured it into the drink cup and marked a red line at the water level.

Once I knew how much of each that I needed, I shook both cans thoroughly, and I poured the correct amount of each into the cups.

I poured both liquids into the squeeze bottle and shook the bottle vigorously to combine the oil and hardener.

I suggest mixing up a small amount like this until you figure out how much of the LOBA you need. A little goes a long way. Once it is mixed, the LOBA only has a two hour working time. If you prepare too much, there is a risk that some of it will have to be discarded.

Applying the Oil

The steps are straightforward.

• I squeezed a line of oil onto the wood and began rubbing it in with a piece of buffing pad immediately. The trick here is to be quick. If you wait, the oil will start to seep into the wood in the squirt pattern, which becomes difficult to remove without power equipment. Work a very small area at a time as you adjust to the process. When possible, buff in a circular pattern. You may also squeeze the oil directly on the buffing pad and apply it to the wood.

• Apply the oil in super tight areas with a toothbrush or cotton swab.

• Be thorough and make sure every section of bare wood is coated with oil. It doesn’t take much of the LOBA, but thirsty, open grain edges may absorb the oil very quickly. If those sections look drier than other areas, add a little more oil until the wood color looks consistent.

• Wipe off the excess oil with a rag.
• Let the oil penetrate the wood for 10-20 minutes.
• After 10-20 minutes, I buffed the area thoroughly with a clean, white rag. You cannot remove too much oil. It’s impossible, so pay extra attention to the areas the oil collects like around the balusters and in the corners. There should not be any sticky or shiny sections. Look at the floors from different angles.

IMG_4059 from Stacy Grinsfelder on Vimeo.

• You may walk or kneel on the floor during the application and buffing process.
• After it dried for ten hours, I repeated the process for a second coat. The directions say you can recoat after a minimum of 4-6 hours, but I decided to err on the side of caution and complete the project in two separate days. We were in no hurry since we could use the back staircase.

LOBA Impact Oil – Drying Time

After 10-12 hours, you may carefully walk on the floor in socks. We will keep our shoes off for a full week, and since Millie’s toenails need a trim, we are going to block the staircase to her during that time. For regular floors, you can place rugs and furniture back in ten days. Of course, we don’t have either here.

We all enjoy after photos, and I am happy to oblige. The picture below shows three different floor coatings. The top is the library with water-based poly. It is blindingly shiny in the late afternoon sun. The middle is the landing with LOBA impact oil, and the bottom is what the wood looks like throughout the upstairs. That dark edge is the same color the stair treads were before Brendan sanded them. Someday, we will refinish the upstairs too.

I can’t get over how nice the Juliet balcony and landings look now.

In the photo below, you can see that there is basically no color different between the floors finished in Rubio Monocoat and the treads in LOBA impact oil.

I love the soft glow! LOBA impact oil brought out so much of the character in these heart pine treads.

Now that I have used Rubio Monocoat and LOBA 2k Impact oil, I thought I would offer a little comparison.

How LOBA Impact Oil and Rubio Monocoat are the Same

• LOBA and Rubio are two-part systems–The oil + hardener are mixed together.
• Both are penetrating sealers that bond with wood fibers for a durable matte finish.
• They are applied the same way.
• They are available in a variety of colors, but I used the clear version of both. (Pure for Rubio–Transparent for LOBA) I do not have experience using the tinted shades.
• Rubio and LOBA are safe to use in the presence of humans and pets. No one needs to relocate.

How They Are Different

• Rubio Monocoat has 0% VOCs, and LOBA impact oil is considered very low-VOC at < 80g/L.
• Rubio smells slightly nutty. LOBA smells faintly like tobacco.
• It is much easier to buy Rubio online in all shades now that they have a US distributor. LOBA is harder to find and rarely online. Fortunately, I wanted Transparent, which is available on Amazon.
• Rubio provides coverage in one coat (MONOcoat). LOBA suggests two.
• The working time for Rubio is six hours. The working time for LOBA impact oil is two hours. Planning is everything.
• Rubio Monocoat was invented in Belgium. LOBA hails from Germany.

How Rubio and LOBA are Different than Polyurethane

• Rubio and LOBA penetrate and bond with the wood fibers for a durable deep finish. Polyurethane is a plastic or oil-based layer on top of the wood.
• Rubio and LOBA take longer to dry than poly, but they take fewer coats. (Oil-based polyurethane has a longer dry time than water-based.)
• Polyurethane ranges from satin to high gloss. Rubio and LOBA are entirely matte. Although the color of the wood deepens, some people comment that it still looks raw.
• Neither Rubio nor LOBA leaves lap marks. Lap marks are a common DIY concern or mistake with polyurethane.
• Floors coated in polyurethane are slippery! Rubio and LOBA-coated floors offer a little more traction. (We still plan to get a rug runner eventually.)

Right now, I cannot speak to the durability of LOBA impact oil, but you know I’ll come back around in about a year to tell you what I think. The next task for the staircase restoration project is to add a small piece of trim to close the gap between the treads and the riser. Then, I will paint the risers. Right now, the big picture looks a little rough, but it’s a process, right?

Finally, unrelated to LOBA, thank you to everyone who offered advice on last week’s time management post. I’ll update sometime down the road, but I wanted to mention that I have implemented some of the strategies, and I am moving along in a more linear, but still creative manner.

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