How To Finish Purple Heart Wood

Tends to blunt cutters. The colorant that turns purple is highly sensitive to ph and waterbase finishes are bases. Dont use waterbase finishes to finish purpleheart.
how to finish purple heart wood

Purpleheart The Wood Database Lumber Identification Hardwood

Ryan S Purpleheart And Maple Workbench The Wood Whisperer

Purpleheart And Maple Striped Cutting Board Rockford Woodcrafts

Colin replied the topic.

How to finish purple heart wood. The best way to keep the color from what i understand is to use lacquer finish and keep it out of direct sunlight. 50 videos play all mix purpleheart wood shellac polishing to a mirror like finish tongue drum part 3 of 3 youtube rejuvinating purpleheart duration. Before applying the finish put your project in the sun for a few hours. Best finish for purple heart purple heart like most woods darken over time.

Oil finishes will speed the darkening. The wood is purple which darkens in time through oxidation. Tip for finishing purple heart. Purpleheart must be run very slowly through the machines.

Ive googled til i cant google anymore. The bold vivid and natural color of purple heart wood is always a favorite among woodworkers. Cutters must be very sharp or they can burn the wood. And ive found many different opinions on the best way to finish purple heart in order to maintain the purple color for the longest period of time.

It could well be uv that causes this but for sure it is some sort of oxidation that takes place in some cases it can be caused by exposure to air. The purple color of purple heart is a brownish color but after exposed to uv light and air it will turn purple. You see this finish on guitars yachts pianos and other. Lacquer based finished will preserve purplehearts purple color.

Purple heart is an exotic and imported hardwood that is strong and resilient and has a uniform fine to medium texture. As for the oxidation issues of the purple heart you can apply hals hindered amine light stabilizers to the bare wood which will greatly help the oxidation of the purple chromaphores naturally found in fresh worked purple heart or other exotics. Ive come to the conclusion that the type of finish probably doesnt matter as much as the amount of sunlight exp. Yes its a very hard and durable wood so youll see it in virtually any kind of project.

This will make the color more intense. Over time the wood does darken some to a dark brown and others just to a darker purple. Woodcraft of spokane 14764 views. Otherwise lacquer and water based finishes will hold the color longer.

Color changes to a rich brown as the wood matures. Can de difficult to work with. This color change takes much longer than the change to purple so consider uv blockers in your finish or just keep it out of direct sunlight and the color should stay stable for a long time. The grain is usually straight but can be irregular.