# Question on sanding & finishing Purpleheart wood



## buckeyedudes (Nov 1, 2009)

*Question on sanding & finishing Purpleheart wood*

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Does anyone have tips on maintaining the beautiful purple color of the purpleheart wood after sanding and then finishing?

It seems that when I begin the sanding, the purple color fades into a washed out flat reddish color.

Also, what is the best way to finish purpleheart and enhance the purple coloration?

Thanks much - Perplexed Jeff in Ohio


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## papadan (Mar 6, 2009)

buckeyedudes said:


> *Question on sanding & finishing Purpleheart wood*
> 
> Ladies and Gentlemen,
> 
> ...


When the wood gets hot from sanding it turns brown, it will turn back in a day or so. I always use waterbased poly on woods like purpleheart to seal the wood and keep the bright colors.


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## SNSpencer (Nov 16, 2009)

buckeyedudes said:


> *Question on sanding & finishing Purpleheart wood*
> 
> Ladies and Gentlemen,
> 
> ...


Yep, give it a day or so. The color will come back. Just make sure your lighting on the project is even. Otherwise you will find two shades of purple on the project. I finish with spray lacquers alot with great success.


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## drfixit (Oct 16, 2009)

buckeyedudes said:


> *Question on sanding & finishing Purpleheart wood*
> 
> Ladies and Gentlemen,
> 
> ...


The purple color of purple heart is a brownish color , but after exposed to UV light and air it will turn purple. The best way to keep the color ,from what i understand, is to use lacquer finish, and keep it out of direct sunlight. Hopefully this helps.


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## Argyllshire (Sep 13, 2007)

buckeyedudes said:


> *Question on sanding & finishing Purpleheart wood*
> 
> Ladies and Gentlemen,
> 
> ...


If you check the edge of a fresh cut board of purpleheart you will see a richer purple color, often a violet to black color where the blade has rubbed longer in those spots. This is due to the blade heating up the resins. Sanding removes the oxidation the purple color and the wood turns brown…depending of course on the specific piece of wood and its resin content. It will reoxidize and purple up again over time, but the color will vary on whats in that board. This can be speeded up with heat or sun lamps since UV rays work too. Another option is to place your boards in the oven *prior to final sizing and finishing*. Too much heat can cause the resins to come to the surface unevenly and make for a splotchly finish, and may warp the board.
Dont put your finish on until you are happy with the color.

Paul Hinds explains this much better with his in depth testing and photographs than I can. 
Follow this link:

http://www.hobbithouseinc.com/personal/woodpics/purpleheart.htm


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## buckeyedudes (Nov 1, 2009)

buckeyedudes said:


> *Question on sanding & finishing Purpleheart wood*
> 
> Ladies and Gentlemen,
> 
> ...


This really helps, thanks for all the great responses <and>.

=Jeff=


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## ward63 (Dec 12, 2009)

buckeyedudes said:


> *Question on sanding & finishing Purpleheart wood*
> 
> Ladies and Gentlemen,
> 
> ...


I've used tung oil with good results-I made a purpleheart & maple tissue box about 10 years ago. The maple yellowed but the purpleheart is still a beautiful purple. Just keep it out of the sun.


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## MRWZX10 (Nov 21, 2016)

buckeyedudes said:


> *Question on sanding & finishing Purpleheart wood*
> 
> Ladies and Gentlemen,
> 
> ...


Hello. I'm new to LumberJocks, but have read some interesting threads on coloration of Purpleheart. I had never heard of it, but a friend picked up a 2 1/2" thick x 16" wide piece of it about 18" long on the side of the road. He saw it fall out of a contractor's trailer who was hauling a Bobcat or something. Looks like it was being used for equipment blocking. It was completely black and covered in gunk … so he gave it to me. I trimmed the ends and saw they were purple, and figured out what it was through some research. After initial sanding it was really purple, but then decided to sand it further to remove all of the rough sawn lines. It turned brown but edges are still purple. I went ahead and finished it with Old Masters water based Spar Var. Is there any chance it will turn back to purple with the finish on it? Or will I (gulp) need to sand









the finish back off and let it be exposed to air for a period of time? A pic is attached for reference. Thanks for any help that can be provided!


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## buckeyedudes (Nov 1, 2009)

buckeyedudes said:


> *Question on sanding & finishing Purpleheart wood*
> 
> Ladies and Gentlemen,
> 
> ...


Nice find! 
It makes sense to me with what Andy says below; the color will 'pop' back up and until you give a finish to it. 
Now, that being said, I've never personally applied a finish to PH when it was browned up - only when it was purple.

I've had two pieces of heavily figured PH resting and seasoning on my stack of walnut and it is just as beautiful as you can imagine. It is only exposed to overhead lighting and some glass block window daylight. This has been enough to really improve its purple coloration even deeper. (BTW - purpleheart and walnut are magnificent when used together if you like contrasts - wow!).

If I were you, I'd strip whatever you put on it, sand it, and then give it some time to basque in the sun.


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## MRWZX10 (Nov 21, 2016)

buckeyedudes said:


> *Question on sanding & finishing Purpleheart wood*
> 
> Ladies and Gentlemen,
> 
> ...


Thanks for your response buckeyedudes. Yea…......... I knew I would need to strip it ….. just was hoping someone would tell me what I wanted to hear. Andy wrote up a really nice piece on maintaining the color. I am jealous of the pieces you have that are heavily figured! And thanks for the tip about matching it up with Walnut. That is the primary hardwood I work with. By the way, the purple color has came back a bit in 5 days, but not nearly as bright as it was before. I am going to wait to strip it to see if it comes back some more. See pic.


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## TimmyJimmy (Feb 27, 2018)

buckeyedudes said:


> *Question on sanding & finishing Purpleheart wood*
> 
> Ladies and Gentlemen,
> 
> ...


Dang!!! I had NO idea.
I purchased some purple heart lumber to make a frame for project because I love purple heart.
I do not own a lathe or do much wood working.
I build buskers tables for lots of magicians.
So I thought I would build me a small "Card" table to use for my magic.
It is built but I haven;t finished the wood because all your comments have me SO confused!
It is too large to fit in the oven!
Leave it in the sun. Don't leave it in the sun. Which is it!
I just want it to look good and finished.


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## nmssis (Sep 14, 2015)

buckeyedudes said:


> *Question on sanding & finishing Purpleheart wood*
> 
> Ladies and Gentlemen,
> 
> ...


Has anyone used paste was as a finish purpleheart?


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## nmssis (Sep 14, 2015)

buckeyedudes said:


> *Question on sanding & finishing Purpleheart wood*
> 
> Ladies and Gentlemen,
> 
> ...


...wax



> Has anyone used paste was as a finish purpleheart?
> 
> - nmssis


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## MerlinUWard (Dec 21, 2020)

buckeyedudes said:


> *Question on sanding & finishing Purpleheart wood*
> 
> Ladies and Gentlemen,
> 
> ...


Gentleman, I'm reviving this thread because I've discovered a solution and understanding of PH, that I have not read anywhere else on the internet.

The answer you're looking for is water. Yes, H20 and a little heat.

First, mythbusting:
PH will fade in sunlight, but more to a grey, not brown. 
Fresh cut PH is brownish, maroon. 
Heat does not turn it brown, saw marks are saw marks just like on any other wood and literally just burned wood.
The reason PH looks purple on the shelf is oxidation (this is the only truth I found consistent on the forums). 
Acetone (another suggestion I've read) does nothing). 
Long UV exposure does nothing but fade it.

Now for the solution:
To get your browned purpleheart purple again, you essentially need to rust it (oxidation). Spray it with water, set it in the sun and in 5-15 minutes it will be purple again. The sun, in this case, is a mild heat source that evaporates the water - that's all. I guess you could use a heat gun or low temp oven bake, as well. You really only need to do this once per side to get it to a rich purple color -even better than when you bought it. This will also work on wood that has been oiled (but not sealed).

You will need to sand it again as the grain will raise, but if you do your finish sanding first, then the water treatment, then you'll only need to do the higher grit sanding again.

Hope this helps! Let me know if/when you try it.

You can find a timelapse video of my treatment on Instagram @mwdesignhouse under the "making stuff" highlights.


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## AramM (Mar 28, 2021)

buckeyedudes said:


> *Question on sanding & finishing Purpleheart wood*
> 
> Ladies and Gentlemen,
> 
> ...












Wow this is great!

Im building a PH dining table. Really want to get it a nice deep violet purple. But right now its light pinkish/brown. I didnt want a heat gun to warp my boards or melt the glue, so I just left out in the sun for 2 days, tried some acetone, and nothing! Very disappointing. I was going to give up and just finish the table, but I am now excited to try your water trick.

So it only needs 1 round of water spraying, and then in that short time it will turn purple. And the grain raise was easy to fix while not taking away the purple color? Do you know roughly how hot it needs to be outside?

Thanks so much, any help is greatly appreciated.

BEstl
Aram



> Gentleman, I m reviving this thread because I ve discovered a solution and understanding of PH, that I have not read anywhere else on the internet.
> 
> The answer you re looking for is water. Yes, H20 and a little heat.
> 
> ...


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