working with purlpeheart

[treeslayer]

so a friend gives me a couple of small purple heart boards and i decided i would make a recipe box my daughter, all good ,nice purple color, after sanding not so much purple color, more brown, i've read here that this wood will turn brown over time, my question is will it turn more purple now that i've put finish on it, ARS satin,  exposure to light ect? don't mind it the way it is just wish it was more purple at least for a while. thanks for the help, dave

[wdwerker]

The purple gets brighter as the oils in the wood oxidize. Then down the road UV and more oxidation will darken the purple until it appears dark brown. But on close  inspection it's still really a dark purple. I have a 25 year old  purpleheart box that is a dark rich purple because it never gets any sun .

[Eric.]

Yeah purpleheart is weird stuff...I've seen it go both ways.  We have some incredibly purple - like clownishly purple - boards come into the yard sometimes, and after a couple months some of them will begin to turn brown and others will stay purple.  I've sent a totally brown piece through the planer and it's come out purple...and I've sent a very purple piece through and it's come out brown.  I can't figure it out.  Fortunately I don't really care for purpleheart so I don't work with it much.  It's one of those woods that new woodworkers get infatuated with...until they realize it's basically a novelty species and doesn't have much practical use.  At least that's the conclusion I've reached over the years.  It's good for little boxes for daughters and other doodad knickknacks...and that's about it.

[treeslayer]

thanks for the input guys, i would not have used it if it hadn't been given to me, not a big fan of exotic woods except for inlay or accents, first time with purple heart, lesson learned

[phinds]

  I can't figure it out. 

I agree completely. Purpleheart color changes are a mystery. The only thing I can figure is that it has something to do with the fact that "purpleheart" actually includes at least 13 different species in the genus Peltogyne and they must vary in color characteristics. Unfortunately, I doubt there's any way to tell the species apart outside of a fully equipped wood science lab.

[Janello]

I've done a few things with purpleheart because my daughter loves purple. I agree with what has been mentioned above. I have milled boards of the same thickness that were brown off the planer, one took 2 days to turn bright purple the next took more than a week. I will usually wait until they are all bright purple before I apply a finish. Depending on the finish you use, I think there is a strong possibility you can trap the color beneath the finish.  

[mds2]

I've done a few things with purpleheart because my daughter loves purple. I agree with what has been mentioned above. I have milled boards of the same thickness that were brown off the planer, one took 2 days to turn bright purple the next took more than a week. I will usually wait until they are all bright purple before I apply a finish. Depending on the finish you use, I think there is a strong possibility you can trap the color beneath the finish.  

I have never had luck trapping the color, at least not the bright purple.  I have had a little luck with BLO and shellac, but it ends up more of red-purple.  

Just like Walnut or any other wood, time changes it.