Replies

1. 
   roc | Sep 26, 2010 03:55pm | #1

   Oh that's easy

   When I first saw the title of your post I was simply going to say:

   I am not much of a finisher and you should search the past answers here on FWW online because there are a ton of discussions about keeping maple light.  All of them involving water based or lacquer built up finishes which I know nothing about.

   But

   Now that I have read your details all you need to do is plane off the goop you put on it and just use the cutting board uncoated.  If it begins to get too what ever just take a whisper off and you will be back to what you like.

   You might experiment with just some wax because bees wax is super stable.  Bees wax found in the pyramids had not changed and had preserved what ever it was protecting for ____________ (fill in the blank ) years.

   EDIT HOLD THE PRESSES EROR ERRER ERROR:

   PS:

   I just remembered purple heart turns black when it comes in contact with water and steel (maybe just water I don't know because the only time I wet it is when I am going to plane it and it turns black ) mostly just the end grain does.

   Oooooooohhhhhhhh heck.  Good luck.

   I hear purple heart changes over time and there is nothing you can do about it.  I am confused as to how it changes though.  For example when I bought the wood for this bench there were planks near the window and the ones exposed seemed to be even more purple than the others but all were still very purple.  This was a north window so not much if any raking direct sun light.

   The pics here (sorry to all who have seen these toooo often) are of my purple heart bench which is years old and has not turned brown but remains very much like the day(s, weeks, months ) I planed it.  It is exposed to intense shop lights but has never seen sun light.  Sun light is supposed to turn it very much to a brown color.

   The end grain turned black/gray but the last few passes I did were after the wood had dried so it would not remain black/gray.

   PPS:

   The other day I put one of these full spectrum bulbs (looks on the blue side to me though) in my shop and the bench looked very purple

   http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001DTGG6O/ref=oss_product

   where as these pics were taken with incandescent  lights tending toward more red or yellow light.  I turned off my floresents and have never turned them on again because I got tired of the buzzing.

   So the perceived color of your purple heart will vary with lighting condtions too.  

   
1. 
   roc | Sep 26, 2010 04:59pm | #2

   And Another Thing : )

   For comparison I submit:

   Fresh pics of end grain I just took moments ago with the full spectrum ( blueish; sorry ) bulb.

   It may be interesting to others ( looking at work bench material ) to note the micro amount of tar like sap/what ever  that is pronounced on the end grain, seen in the left  side of the first pic, that comes out of purple heart to a lesser degree on the face grain that makes it less than slick for a perfect hand planing bench surface.  See the dark areas on the end grain.