purple heart

[Buck Buckley]

Has anyone out there used purple heart ? I was told when you sand it it turns brown,and it takes a month to turn back to its real color thanks BUCK

[Troy D. Breeding]

I've never had it turn brown when sanded. However, over time it will turn brown. I have a purpleheart accent stripe in one of my bows that is only about 2 years old and the stripe is turning a little more brown each year.

[Ranger44]

I've had it turn brown from sanding.  Heat/sun/light will supposedly turn back to purple.  I just did a riser and got some brown but the purple came back in short time. Kind of did it on its own. ??? Not sure why.

[MoeM]

I`ve made same spectation as Ranger- I was resawing a board into lams this morning and was also wondering about the boring brown after running through my planer...

[Jack Hoyt 75]

I am not the expert on purple heart but have done some woodworking and familiar with some exotic woods.  In my experience woods can "change colors" from exposure to heat and UV rays from sunlight.

Wondering if by some chance the heat created from sanding, sawing or a planer is changing the color??

Just a thought??    

[Todd Cook]

Purpleheart will burn easily( friction burn) causing a darker color. You need to sand it with new paper, and don't bear down on it.

It will turn brown over time. 2 or 3 years.

[BigJim]

You are exposing fresh wood to air and it takes a little time for the fresh wood to change to purple. If it doesn't start turning purple in a short period of time...a few hours or over night, you burnt it...although that is normally blackish.

BigJim

[Ranger44]

Todd that sounds about right.  I did switch to new paper and used a very light touch after the brown showed up to correct it.   My old mind just forgets sometimes.  

[KenH]

The only way to keep the nice purple color is use a UV resistant clear coat over the finished job.

[Onehair]

There is a supplier in Ponchatoula La that has several full 2x8 purple heart close to 16' long. I'm thinking it would make a gorgeous tree stand.

[bubby]

just made this purpleheart bow a little back, use a 50/50 mix of boiled linseed oil and denatured alcohol, rub a coat on and let it sit overnite, repeat the next day, the third day a coat of linseed oil straight and wait, then I put two coats of tung oil and rubbed 4-5 coats of paste wax

[Troy D. Breeding]

Not sure what tung oil will do in the long run as for the color of Purpleheart, but use it on Jatoba and over the years it will turn as red as Bubinga.

One of the local wood shops I buy from has a counter top made of Jotoba that was finished with tung oil and the first time I saw it I thought it was Bubinga.

Hope it helps keep the color in the Purpleheart.

[bubby]

it's the three treatments of the denatured alcohol/boiled linseed oil and straight linseed oil that are what help it keep its color, take it for what it is, or what it's worth never had any trouble with tung oil

[savage1]

My purple heart only turns Parker purple.
Not my favorite to work. Probably none in my future.
Burns easy hard to sad burn out. Avoid burn. Sand light and slow.

Lou

[Overspined]

Use a course grit to avoid burning with power tools, and uv blocking finish to maintain purple color

[Prairie Drifter]

I have a Rocky Mtn Recurve w/ purpleheart accents that's over 20 yrs old and has maintained it's purple color.