purple heart turned brown

[0zwood2003]

i turned a piece of purple heart yesterday into a bowl.turned out perfectly. The problem i have is that i went down to polish it the next day,and i suspect like most turners(me anyway) i didn't like the bottom so i procceded to do a bit of extra shaping and sanding.when i had finished the bit i renovated it was brownish??I know it turns brown in the sunlight,but does it loose colour when it is heated up threw sanding?If so why didn't it change yesterday whenbowl was originally turned and sanded??Any info on this appreciated.

[Cliff Rogers]

G'day.

Air (oxygen) & daylight (uv) are the 2 things the I know of that cause colour loss.

[Rebus]

Greetings,

With the few pieces of Purple Heart that I have turned, the wood became more purple over the following days. (There are several species which are termed Purple Heart, so I cannot guarantee that all act in the same way).

What you may be seeing is the difference between the older surface, which is now more purple, and the fresher surface, which is yet to turn as purple. The next day or so will tell.

Regards,

[0zwood2003]

thanks for info.I let stand for 48hrs before finishing it but no change happened:confused: finished product turned out allright though. sorry about pic best iv'e got.wood is lot more purple than pic show's

[Neil]

Purple heart, like most hard woods, can burn reasonably easily with sanded. The most likely answer to the brown colour is scorching of the timber through excessive heat generated during the sanding process.

[0zwood2003]

sounds resonable,but still doesn't explain why it didn't turn brown when first turned and sanded....as you no that process is a lot more sanding and heating,but still retained purple colour.why change with just 5min of touch up sanding...Proper photo added,came out allright in the end i suppose

[river rat]

ozwood2003,
I turn purpleheart or amaranth quite a bit for a friend who is in the ameranth socity gavels , pens,etc. when it is first turned/cut it is brown if it is heated it first turns purple progressing to black. If you put alchol on it it will not turn purple or if it is purple it will turn brown. It will turn brown with age, exposer to sunlight, oxygen. Here is what I do I turn and sand the piece place it in sunlight turning ever so often to ensure an even color once the color is as deep as I would like then I put 2 coats of natural danish oil then 2 coats of high buildup friction polish. Then I keep it out of the sunlight. I find that purple heart can be a pain to work with very hard, dense, dulls tools qwickly, eat sandpaper etc. I have heard that it will turn funky color when wiped with actone but have not tryed it yet, will let you know when I do.

River rat

[8ball]

I am experimenting with purple heart and finishing it, I have read and found that purpleheart is brown when first cut , it Oxydizes with exposure to air and turns purple, let it sit for a few days and it will turn purple again , when its the shade you want finish it. UV light will turn it brown again over time, so use a finish that will block UV rays. Ill post a pic of my most recent PH project when its finished.

[rsser]

Hey 8ball, what finish would you recommend that blocks UV?

[redwood]

G'day.

Air (oxygen) & daylight (uv) are the 2 things the I know of that cause colour loss.

is that why its generaly exepted that people who wear hats dont go grey:confused:

[8ball]

Ern, I found a finish for floors called WoodTuff that claims to block UV, but i have not tried it yet, I have also read that you can spray Armor All onto purple heart to protect it from UV raysn before finishing , but that sounds to me like it would ruin my project. I will let you know how the woodtuff goes next week when the shipment arrives. Wont know if it really works for a few years, but they claim it does. Email me if you want and ill send youa link.

[Termite]

Armour All is full of silicone. :eek: :eek: :eek:

[junkboy999]

Pan Anderson is full of silicone and she looks good. :)

[China]

Beleive it or not you shouldn't use armour all on your car either

[barryr]

Beleive it or not you shouldn't use armour all on your car either

not !:)

[redwood]

Armour All is full of silicone. :eek: :eek: :eek:

This anti silicon stuff is a bit over rated isnt it. its only the sooky la la polishers that winge because of fish eye. add a few drops of anti fish eye that will fix it. in a recent issue of popular woodworking finishing and refinishing it included their 9 debunked mythes and silicon was one of them:)

[Harry72]

mythes and silicon
Ever painted a car?

[redwood]

Ever painted a car?

next time i whip up a car at the workbench ill take that on board:D
they were talking more on silicon furniture polish. i should have staited that:o