# Maintaining color of Padauk



## Hartworks (Jan 9, 2014)

Here is my dilemma, I am using African Mahogany with sections and border of Padauk. The project is the rear floor and walls of a 1950 Ford Delivery vehicle. It is an enclosed area, like a tall station wagon, it is being revamped as a show car and I have been commissioned to do the woodwork. The back of the wagon will be open at shows so it will get partial exposure to the sun for several hours at a time.

That being said, the current color of the Padauk is a nice darkish red. The wood will only be receiving clear, possibly just water white, finish. I was thinking maybe Seal a Cell and several coats of Arm R Seal but I really don't want the Mahogany to have an amber tone, I want it to stay tan and dark streaks of brown. My second thought was maybe simply spraying GF High Performance top coat. But neither of these will give me protection from UV exposure and causing the Paduk to lighten up significantly. I saw a piece of Padauk that was exposed and it lightened a lot.

Hopefully the photo will post, the wood will be sanded unevenly to create an unusual look, this is a sample I am creating for the customer but I want to have the completely finished to get approval for the build. Any help in this area would help. The sample photo is the wood simply wiped with mineral spirits to expose any errors in my sanding.

Thanks for any help.


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## NiteWalker (May 7, 2011)

IIRC padauk turns brown with sunlight/time.
Bloodwood would have been a better choice.


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## Boxguy (Mar 11, 2012)

I don't think you can keep Paduk from turning a dark brown. It looks nice, but if you want bright red for a long time pick a different wood. You may have to dye maple.


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## bobasaurus (Sep 6, 2009)

Having a UV resistant finish will help. Won't stop the browning completely, but slows it down. I use thinned Minwax Helmsman for this.


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## CharlieM1958 (Nov 7, 2006)

I would say the key is to use something with as much UV protection as possible. I have a padauk chess table in my office that I made nearly four years ago, and it has not changed color at all because it gets no sunlight.


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## bigblockyeti (Sep 9, 2013)

Sealing it completely and keeping it in total darkness is the closest you'd come to keeping the color permanent, but as previously mentioned air and light will lighten it over time.


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## Hartworks (Jan 9, 2014)

Thanks for the feedback, I understand any material will fade when exposed, but do you think bloodwood would hold its color better than Padauk. I have not bought all the materials for the job as of yet, merely making a mock up of the product to present to the customer. So I could always change the "red" color wood.


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## NiteWalker (May 7, 2011)

Bloodwood will turn a deeper, darker red over (a very long) time.


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## sras (Oct 31, 2009)

It's expensive, but a 2 part linear polyurethane has very high UV resistance. Several marine varnishes are very good.

Since this is on the inside of a car, it may not get that much exposure to UV. A good finish should help a lot.


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## Dabcan (Feb 1, 2011)

I used some padauk on a cutting board and left a scrap (unfinished) in my shop window. Two weeks later I looked at it and the sunny side is dark brown, inside is still mostly red/orange, so it can happen very quickly.


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## EndGrained (Jan 17, 2015)

Hi,

I've been reading about how UV light affects padauk making it darker with exposure. So far it has been suggested to use agents that offer some UV light protection along with their intended use; i.e. spar varnish.

So, just wondering, has anybody ever tried to use human sunscreen oil which we apply to avoid sunburns? Again, just wondering!!


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