How to keep the color of wood?

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  • cork58
    Established Member
    • Jan 2006
    • 365
    • Wasilla, AK, USA.
    • BT3000

    How to keep the color of wood?

    I am having a heck of a time keeping red colored wood red. UV proof clear works for awhile but like purpleheart or redheart it turns brown. Any secrets out there?
    Cork,

    Dare to dream and dare to fail.
  • gerti
    Veteran Member
    • Dec 2003
    • 2233
    • Minnetonka, MN, USA.
    • BT3100 "Frankensaw"

    #2
    How is the wood colored? Nature? Stain? Pigment? Dye? What kind of wood?

    Comment

    • Pappy
      The Full Monte
      • Dec 2002
      • 10453
      • San Marcos, TX, USA.
      • BT3000 (x2)

      #3
      Never worked with Redheart but Purpleheart will turn brown, and eventually almost black, if exposed to sunlight. My wife's cookbook stands have held their color fairly well for several years, but neither is exposed to direct sunlight. The base on a small box I made her sits on a table near the front window and is brown.
      Don, aka Pappy,

      Wise men talk because they have something to say,
      Fools because they have to say something.
      Plato

      Comment

      • LCHIEN
        Internet Fact Checker
        • Dec 2002
        • 20914
        • Katy, TX, USA.
        • BT3000 vintage 1999

        #4
        most colored woods are sensitive to UV, component of sunlight and even indoors light to some extent.
        Not too much you can do... if its a musuem artifcat then keep it in a light tight vault. If its a user object them live with it or use some UV blocking varnishes that will help some.
        Loring in Katy, TX USA
        If your only tool is a hammer, you tend to treat all problems as if they were nails.
        BT3 FAQ - https://www.sawdustzone.org/forum/di...sked-questions

        Comment

        • Carpenter96
          Established Member
          • Aug 2011
          • 178
          • Barrie ON Canada
          • BT 3000

          #5
          I have a piece of cherry that has sapwood and heartwood that I use to show my students. When the piece was first cut you could barely tell the difference between them but now 15 years later the sapwood is still the same colour as when it was cut and the heartwood is a rich brown colour. I don't believe you can stop the change, only slow it down.

          Regards Bob

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          • phrog
            Veteran Member
            • Jul 2005
            • 1796
            • Chattanooga, TN, USA.

            #6
            Web Site

            Here's a link you might want to take a look at. (W. Churchill once said: "A preposition is the wrong word to end a sentence with.") The site addresses the subject of color change.

            Richard

            Comment

            • leehljp
              Just me
              • Dec 2002
              • 8429
              • Tunica, MS
              • BT3000/3100

              #7
              Originally posted by phrog
              Here's a link you might want to take a look at. (W. Churchill once said: "A preposition is the wrong word to end a sentence with.") The site addresses the subject of color change.

              http://www.wood-database.com/wood-ar...-exotic-woods/
              Great reading! I know that there are variables that speed up the process, and variables that slow down the color change process.

              On the bloodwood - I didn't know that it would turn black. I have a bloodwood board 3/4 by 6 inches by 6 ft that I purchased in 2005 and it is still RED - but I keep it in a dark shed (no windows). Pens that I made in 2008/2009 with bloodwood and holly contrast are still vivid red and white.
              Hank Lee

              Experience is what you get when you don't get what you wanted!

              Comment

              • JimD
                Veteran Member
                • Feb 2003
                • 4187
                • Lexington, SC.

                #8
                Cherry darkens with sunlight, walnut lightens. I've used purpleheart but it has been a long time. I believe it turns brown as already mentioned. Exterior varnish with UV blockers will at least slow down walnut bleaching. I suspect it will help with other wood too.

                Comment

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