I've sprayed mine with a vegetable spray oil, like olive oil so the rub will stick better. However, if you just dump it on, let it sit and soak up the moisture in the meat, the salt in the rub will start to pull more moisture out and you can do a second and even third dusting with the rub to build up a thick layer. With thick meats I don't think you can put on too much rub. At least not the CS stuff. Home made rubs might have too much salt or other things to interfere with the meat's flavor. The CS rubs I've not had any problems with.