Purpleheart

Re: Purpleheart

john lucas

Ultra violet light will change it back. Just place it in the sun.

Re: Purpleheart

D. Hansen

betcha the lacquer has UV protection in it.

UV, light, or oxygen?

John K Jordan

>betcha the lacquer has UV protection in it.

I wondered about that. Or could it be the protection from the air?

I usually put purple heart on the window sill before applying finish then finish when it gets nice and purple. Some pieces done like this are a little darker but still purple years later.

Also, I've always wondered if oxidation played a part in the coloration, either in addition to or instead of the light, UV or otherwise. I did a non-scientific test once: I placed a small, flat purple heart block flat on a shelf in my fairly dim previous garage shop, no sun at all. I put another smaller block of something on top. When I checked some months later the purple heart was quite purple everywhere it was exposed.

A better test, with some pieces in nitrogen- and oxygen-filled glass jars, in sunlight, UV lamp, incandescent, and darkness would be interesting!

BTW, most purple heart is brown when I cut into it and turns purple later. A few years ago I got some old purple heart stock that had belonged to a man's deceased father, who knows how old it was. This wood was a deep purple all the way through and so far seems more color stable. Age? Oxidation? Different tree/growing conditions/extractives? ??? (I wish I had more of that stock!)

JKJ

Re: UV, light, or oxygen?

Ralph Lindberg

I've always heard it was UV

Also I've heard there are actually a couple different woods sold as "purple heart". They all turn purple, but some turn back brown after some time (years) others don't.

But I've never heard exact specie for either

Re: Purpleheart

Roger in MO

Thanks for the responses. I will expose the small stopper that has a lacquer film and also one without the lacquer. My new grand daughter-in-law likes purple and Christmas is coming.

Re: Purpleheart

john lucas

Lacquer won't slow down the change at all. I have a Purple heart box somewhere if I can ever find it after the move. The inside is still kind of brown having almost never seen the light of day. The outside is nice and purple.

Re: Purpleheart

Barry L Elder

A few years back, a lady I know said she was having her kitchen cabinets replaced with cabinets made of purpleheart. She had some trim work done on her backyard deck so she fell in love with purpleheart. The contractor and his sons came and pulled out all her cabinets and away they went. Two days later he came back with beautiful purpleheart cabinets and she was in shock, but ecstatic! They installed them and gave her a bill for $3800 and she didn't bat an eye, just pulled out her checkbook and began writing. The contractor went into her office and said he wasn't finished. He said the decimal point was in the wrong place and the bill was $380. Then he and his sons broke out with big grins and told her that the cabinets were the same ones he left with two days ago. All he did was put them out in the sun during the daylight hours. By the time she was done, they had redone everything in the kitchen and other rooms in purpleheart.