I am doing a small project with some Purpleheart. I have had to do a lot of sanding. So what I’ve done is sand off the bright color of the wood down to a dim bland color. I have heard that to bring the color back I need to set the piece in the sun. Will that work? Also will it work after having a couple light coats of Danish oil and 4-5 coats of a wiping Poly on it? Or do I need to wait on the finish?
Thanks for any help I can get.
Replies
I've seen purpleheart fade with exposure, not get more purple. If your piece is going to get sun, it is eventually going to tone down, towards brown. Some finishes can perhaps slow the fade, but wood will do what it's going to do.
I've had purpleheart change back with just exposure to oxygen. Couldn't really say how it would react with finish on it.
Seems the sun fades it back to a dull brownish.
Doug
I use a fair amount of purpleheart in turning. When fresh cut it's brown, with exposure to sun/light it goes purple. With enough exposure to sun it goes back brown. It'll reach the purple that you want if left exposed to the sun in a fairly short time, after that you want to use a finish with a UV protectant. You should also endeavor to keep the finished project out of direct sunlight, the UV protectant finish will help a great deal but not 100%.
I have a little experience with Purpleheart, with different results. I made a Purpleheart pen several year ago for a friend, and after finishing it the color turned much more brownish. This occured without any exposure to sunlight.
Last year I built a processional cross for our church which includes a purpleheart pole. When I purchased the Purpleheart from a local supplier (Hibdon Hardwoods), I asked how to keep the color. The salesman told me to avoid finishes with oils and use a water-based finish. He claimed that the more oil there was in the finish, the more the color would brown. I followed his advice and sprayed the pole with a water-based clear finish. It has been in our church for over 18 months and the pole appears to be the same shade of purple as the day I finished it. Admittedly, the cross is stored in a back room during the week and it there is minimal sunlight where it stands on Sundays, but I have been very pleased with the stability of the color.
This is not enough experience to draw any absolute conclusions, but I will definitely stick to water-based finishes whenever I use Purpleheart.
Craig
Craig,
I had the same experience, when I made a shadow box frame for my cousin, to house photos from her wedding ( she loves anything purple). I used Minwax water based poly to seal the frame. This was back in 1998 and when I last saw the frame the color had not changed much if at all. In fact the color lasted longer than the marriage.
Rob Millard
There's some good info at this link:http://www.woodcentral.com/cgi-bin/readarticle.pl?dir=turning&file=articles_525.shtml
This is not enough experience to draw any absolute conclusions..Me either.. I use quite a bit of Purpleheart... Usually just use a 'Danish oil'..I think color change has more to do with 'that stick of wood' than anything..If you sand and shows brown and does not turn back to purple in a day or two (inside the shop).. You have a problem..ALL sticks (wood) is different!
I used purple heart on a base of a table I made my sister. I used watco's danish oil (5 coats) and paste wax (3 coats). She has the table in her didning room for the last 5 years and the color is still very purple. Even with the grimy hands of a 7, 5, and 2year old it has kept its shine.
One thing I do that's not on watco's lable is I wet sand with the oil and very high grit paper like 1500 or 2000. This causes a slury to form and gets rubbed in. I wipe it clean and burnish with a lint free cloth untill the friction makes it hot to the touch. It's very labor intensive but it leaves a nice shine.
Muleboy.
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