Thread: Purple heart not purple??

You should have finished it when it was purple, you'll have to sand it back to get the colour back but that'll probably make it undersize

no the thing was it was purple on the outside when i turned it but when i turned it down thats when it changed to a muddy colour you could see it when i was roughing it out the flat sides were purple and the turned sides were brown

If you introduce to much heat through sanding you loose the colour.

Originally Posted by FRB Design

If you introduce to much heat through sanding you loose the colour.

no heat could this have been sun damage?

leave it overnight unsealed and it should be purple in the morning, thats what i usually do

thanks ill try that

Ultra violet light will make it purple again. Heat generated from turning/sanding will make it go brown. Leave it in natural sunlight for a few minutes (10-15) and make sure you rotate it a few times. From what I understand, all purpleheart will go brown eventually though... best of luck and look forward to pics when you're done

Purpleheart, or Roxinha as it is called here in Brasil, is a very commonly used timber for all sorts of things-farm gates, building timber and furniture.

The timber turns brown when left exposed and untreated in the weather.

It seems too that older pieces may behave differently. I Tuned a piece for a friend here. It was from a shaed his father had built more than 70 years ago. The timber had been painted. When turned and sanded the colour was nothing like purple.

Originally Posted by corbs

Ultra violet light will make it purple again. Heat generated from turning/sanding will make it go brown. Leave it in natural sunlight for a few minutes (10-15) and make sure you rotate it a few times. From what I understand, all purpleheart will go brown eventually though... best of luck and look forward to pics when you're done

I've done a great deal of work with purpleheart over the years. Place it in a sunny window for a couple of days, rotating it occassionally. It will turn back to bright purple. The best finish I;ve found for locking the color in is shellac. Finished a purpleheart box with shellac more than a year ago and it's still vivid purple. Haven't found anything else to lock in the color better though.

Sunshine is the trick - here in the West a few hours hanging in the sun NO SHADOWS and it goes back to purple again!!

JD

I have been rummaging in my stash. The Purpleheart in amongst others varies from figured to colour and sapwood with tight curly figure.

My conclusion is the sapwood that is brown will be exciting in its own right.
Up to my ears in making machinery tick and purr but intend in the new year to turn again.

Have fun with your Purples and browns I surely will.

Richard Raffan I am fond of quoting tells me all timbers revert over time to plainish and some downright ordinary. Having said that the modern day finishes could prolong the beauty longer.

Have fun with Xmas as well.
Kind regards Peter.

I have just finished turning a dozen purpleheart pens for Christmas presents. I am so over that timber at the moment but that's because it's all I have seen.
When I finish shaping and sanding the pen, I finish it with a wipe on oil varnish blend that I have made (Danish oil and Minwax WOP) and place it on a peg board that I can sit in the sun while the finish dries. The pen goes from turdy brown to vivid purple in about 2 hours. The first pen I turned at the start of the year was brown when I finished it. I gave it to my wife who wasn't all that interested as it wasn't the nice purple the blank had been but over the next few days, the colour would turn and it is now a lovely shade of purple.

Cheers

Paul

thanks guys you have all put my mind at ease i left it in the lathe last night and when i checked it this morning the shavings were nice and purple and the blank was changing more purple i think ill put it in the window sill and finish it in a few days

thanks guys ill show pic's when its done