Paduak turning brown

[jud dinsmore]

i've got a request for a solid paduak vanity top and, since i don't have much experience with it, need some advise. the client really likes the red color but i've heard that it darkens to brown after some time. i assume that uv inhibitors in the finish will slow this transformation but what type of time frame are we talking about? 5 years? would bloodwood be a better choice? any help would be greatly appreciated.

[David DeCristoforo]

It darkens. It does not "turn brown". It acquires a deep dark red patina. Just like maple does not "turn yellow". It takes on an amber tone over time. Describing the natural aging of wood using terms like "turns brown" or "turns yellow" makes it sound awful.

[jud dinsmore]

david,

have you seen the dark red you're talking about? one of my local suppliers has a sample piece that has been on display forever and it is brown like mahogany. its unfinished and no one there knows how long it has been up. thanks.

[John Michaels]

I had a piece of Padauk that was brownish on one side and red on the other. I assume that one side had been out in the sun at some point. I sent it through a drum sander and both sides came out very red and stayed that way for over a year. I put it in the sunniest room in my house and the color just wouldn't change. I live in the pacific northwest where we get a lot less sun than other parts of the country. Maybe if had put that board out in the Arizona sun it would have changed color quickly? I don't know. I ended a making cutting boards out of it and giving both of them to friends so who knows how long it would have taken to change color.

[David DeCristoforo]

Yes... I have seen it! I have made tons of stuff out of padouk including hundreds of chessboards. Sure it might "turn brown" if left to the mercy of the elements long enough but so will just about any wood. I made a purpleheart counter top in my wife's cafe six years ago and it's still purple and that's another wood that is supposed to "turn brown". Cherry will "turn brown" if left in the sun long enough. Walnut will bleach out to a yecchy "dirty white" color if left to the elements. Oak will turn grey. But who treats their furniture like that?

PS: I would be much more concerned about the long term viability of a wood top on a bathroom vanity regardless of species than I would be about the color.

[jud dinsmore]

thanks, david. i'm planning on using an exterior-grade urethane with uv inhibitors so it "should" keep the color from fading for awhile. also, i don't think there are that many windows in this bath. i'm just guessing, but i usually keep the curtains closed in my bath, so that should help prolong the color. i just wanted to be able to inform the client about this potential issue and let him make an educated decision.

[Mike Cutler]

Jud

I have had quite a bit of padauk stored in the garage for a few years now. No protection whatsoever.
It does start out a brighter orangish color, but it will darken.
Like David, I don't agree with the term "brown". It takes on a deep reddish hue with almost purplish/violet undertones, that in my opinion, is beautiful, and hopefully what the current project I'm making out of it will ultimately age too. (The project is a center kitchen island based on a Limbert #153 library table)

I've had enough reservation about using it as an island cooktop surface, and I will onlyl have a gas cooktop installed, no water, but I plan on doing a marine epoxy top coat on it.
I'd be interested in hearing your plans for a bathroom vanity

[Matthew Hills]

One of the Wood Whisperer's early videos was on wood colors and how they change over time. Maybe the client would enjoy watching that?

http://thewoodwhisperer.com/episode-8-a-colorful-conversation/


Matt

[David DeCristoforo]

"i...wanted... to inform the client about this...issue..."

I always stress the "natural beauty of wood" which is enhanced by the acquisition of a patina that results from aging. Many designers spend huge amounts of time and money attempting to emulate the beauty of aged wood. Antique pieces can have their value stripped along with that aged patina. Just ask the guy who had the beautifully refinished mahogany highboy with the incredible flame mahogany door panels. He proudly informed the appraiser that the piece used to be so dark that you couldn't even see the figure. But his face fell when the appraiser told him that his $35,000 dollar highboy would have been worth at least a half a million with it's original patina intact.

[jud dinsmore]

matt - interesting link. thanks.

mike - i don't think you can go wrong with an epoxy coat. you might substitute waterlox since water-proofing really isn't necessary as it won't house a sink.

david - i agree with most of what you have said but the client has limited to no experience with wood so it is necessary to prepare them for the inevitable color change. we'd all be pretty upset if we pick something out for color and that color doesn't stick around very long. we're reviewing staining, etc. but it's nice to be able to present all of the options.