Retaining Purpleheart color

L

LonD

Joined
Mar 23, 2006
Messages
14
I have a gentleman who would like Purpleheart scales on a full tang skinner he wants me to make for his wife who regularly hunts with him and she's really enamored with the color of Purpleheart. I've not worked with it before but as far as I know Purpleheart is like any other wood and will lose some color and brown over time from UV exposure and normal oxidation.

Is there a treatment that will keep the purple coloration at its best or at least slow the fading for a good long time? Professional stabilization was a first thought but does it provide enough UV blocking? A threed search turned up a mention of Penofin Marine Oil Finish having good UV protection. Anybody have any other ideas or treatments that keeps Purpleheart looking good? Any thoughts are appreciated.

LON
 
Sorry cant help with your request i havn't used purple heart. But i have read in other threads that purple heart is very toxic when grinding you should wear a respirator. (maybe you already know this, i just though it better to point out)

Anyways good luck.
 
Andre
Thanks for the heads-up on toxicity. Every since I had a pretty nasty respiratory reaction to some curly maple dust I ALWAYS wear a respirator regardless of the wood I'm working. I also ALWAYS wear eye protection every since I had to have a grain of grinder wheel abrasive removed from my cornea (you only have to do that once to learn).

LON
 
It's been a long time since I used purple heart. It just strikes me as un-natural. As I recall though, when you sand purple heart, the unexposed surface starts out sort of brownish and turns back to purple with exposure to UV light (or heat).

I have not tried this, but a friend told me you can speed the process with a heat source. (Not a flame - more like a very hot hair dryer). Best suggestion would be to experiment with some scraps.

One of my customers insisted on purple heart and african blackwood with ivory spacers. I thought he was nuts but it looked great.

Rob!
 
I bought some purpleheart at my local woodworking supply house. It was a nice purple, until I shaped and sanded it. The guys at the store told me that exposure to UV light (before you put finish on it) is what makes it turn purple. I tried it but did not have any real success. I still have a lot of it, so I guess I'll try my heat gun in the future.
 
After cutting and sanding the purpleheart it was brown. I put it in sunlight for a day and it turned purple again. Finished it with Watco oil and followed up with a premium spar urethane (oil based with uv protectants). It is still purple. :)
 
Thanks for the ideas and responses. I guess the best course will be to take Rob's advice and experiment on some small pieces and relate my results and your collective experiences to the customer and let him decide. If he then changes his mind I'll still have another learning experience to draw upon in the future if someone else asks for a Purpleheart piece.

LON
 
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