WWA Info Exchange

Hi everyone, it's been awhile since i've posted anything and i need your advice...... a very good friend of mine made me a beautiful purple heart picture frame......i started to finish it with bush oil but now i'm not so sure its what i should be using. the picture frame will be hanging in my entrance hallway which has 2 windows and so it will be getting direct sun light. i know purple heart changes to a brownish color over time. is there a finish that will protect it from the sun and stop or at least slow down the browning process???? hopefully you can help me

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spinning into a new adventure

From what I understand about purpleheart, anything with a UV blocker in it will help.. but you will still see some changes over time...

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I've seen aged purpleheart and certainly it turns a nice brown over time. I wonder though why one can't use purple stains (pigment) the help preserve the desired color. Has anyone tried this? Do pigments hold up better against UV than the actual wood fibers? One could make the same argument for CB dye...those for sure have exceptional UV resistance. Thoughts?

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www.joelficke.com

I have made a few purpleheart frames and finished them with blonde shellac. They still look somewhat purple after a few years, but they get no direct sun.

I'd go with oil finish as an undercoat to bring out the beauty of the color and the grain, then go with a UV resistant top coat. I'd also hang them in a place where they get little to no sun light.

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Frank
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I know someone who airbrushes the color on to keep the purpleheart purple and the red streak in box elder red. mpw

For what it's worth.....I've had a piece of purple heart in the workshop for 3 years now. It has been planed and sanded, but no finish applied. It is still brilliant purple, with its own semi-oily finish.

Verna

As Tom mentioned, I've also heard of some folk using outdoor finishes on purpleheart that has UV protectants in it-- this can evidently prolong the browning process. The one I heard that was used Epifanes (a 2-part epoxy finish)

Lawrence

Thanks everyone for your quick and very informative replies. I think I will use the UV protection. I never thought of that. I also might rethink where I am putting it so it isn't right in front of a window. Sometimes its a good thing wood changes color and sometimes its not.......sometimes i feel like a nut, sometimes i don't. It was also nice getting back online and seeing what everyones been up to. You all inspire me to get turning again.

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spinning into a new adventure

I'm with Verna, I have some unfinished PH in the shop just leaned against the wall that has maintained a bright Purple for 6 months. I also made a sample drawer front so my wife could pick out the style she wanted. I made the sample front out of Walnut and inlayed an 1/8" thick x 3/8" wide piece of PH across it. It's finished with two coats of Zinser clear shellac and three coats of Minwax. My wife loved it.
I then wanted to see what would happen to the PH when exposed to direst sunlight, so I've had it laying on the front seat of my car since February and it hasn't turned brown yet. Still testing.