What's a good finish for Purpleheart?

[Rob Harville]

I have a pen I'm finishing up for my sister and it is turned out of purpleheart. What is the best finish for this wood that will really bring out the purple color? Thanks!

Rob

[Dean Thomas]

Hey Rob,

The hardest thing seems to be keeping purple purple and red red.

My limited experience says that your best shot is going to be with either multiple coats of lacquer and then buffed out, or with a straight CA finish, not a BLO/CA combo. I feel as though the BLO yellows the finished color of most woods.

Lacquer, on the other hand, tends to be closer to clear (they call it "water white" for that reason), especially when used first to seal and then to build a few coats for good wearing. Remember that lacquer takes about 30 days to completely cure, however, and that things can happen if you're not careful in those thirty days. Like finger-print impressions until the lacquer is good and hard.

One other possible point might have to do with any reaction between the wood itself and any finish. I've not played with purpleheart in this regard, but am thinking about how oak and walnut can have a marked reaction between a finish and any steel that's close by. DAMHIKT.

[curtis rosche]

the finish i found through resaerch is this. go buy the pump spray bottle of uv resistant stuff for spraying on car tires to make them shine. spray that on and let dry. they do a couple coats of it. then do your choice of finish. this will make it so the sun doesnt change the color

[Clancy Courtney]

I would fume the purpleheart with muratic acid to make purple more vibrant, then finish.

[Jim Becker]

I finish purple heart with shellac and then water borne. It stays purple for me...not like padduk that turns brown. Purple heart will get dull after sanding, but then regains it's color after a little oxidation.

[Bernie Weishapl]

I have found that lacquer works well for me.

[Rob Harville]

Thanks everyone. I will try some of these techniques...later. I had to get this one done, so I did a very light BLO coat and cured it will friction & heat, then my usual Crystalcoat friction polics and two coats of wax. Looks OK, but not as nice as I would have liked. I have more PH blanks that I'll work with later.

I also made some pens for my brother out of Redwood Burl. Pretty happy with them using a BLO/CA finish, then the HUT friction waxes. I'll post pics of all of these later tonight or tomorrow.

Rob

[Jim Koepke]

I finish purple heart with shellac and then water borne. It stays purple for me...not like padduk that turns brown. Purple heart will get dull after sanding, but then regains it's color after a little oxidation.

Since reading this and working with some purple heart, an experiment was tried. Of course, I enlisted SWMBO to help, so there isn't a definative result, just observation.

Two little pieces of scrap purple heart were taken to the kitchen. One was to be the reference piece the other was placed in the oven at 300°F. I wanted my wife to check them every few minutes. When I came back, she decided nothing happened so she turned up the heat. This did darken the material faster, but it also seems to have made it too dark.

One day, if it comes to me, a more controlled test may be done.

Actually though, I like the lighter color almost as much as the deeper color. When I am finished with turning Christmas presents for the grandkids, I will post pictures.

jim