Now, let us take a look at good old cherry. When freshly milled, the cherry is a pale, sort of pinkish light brown color. No, I just run this section here over the jointer to expose some fresh wood.
Now, over time it will age to become a dark, rich reddish brown color like the rest of the piece. This actually has about two years of exposure on it. The contrast is just amazing. Now, as with, most woods, this color change can be accelerating with sun exposure even just a few days in direct sun will make cherry a significantly different color.
Now, out of the sun cherry will take somewhere around maybe six to eight months to change. Now, let us take a look at some padauk. Now, when it is first cut padauk is almost an un-natural bright orange color. It is really amazing.
Over time though, it does change to a dark reddish brown as you saw in the pictures of the rudder table. You can even see here, where one board was resting up against this board and actually calls the color change to slow down a little bit.
And lastly, let us take a look at some purpleheart. When it is fresh cut the wood turns a grayish brown color. This is pretty alarming if you are using the wood for the first time. But, do not worry the elements will bring the purple color back in no time. Just keep working on the project and within a day or two the color will be a nice vivid purple.
Now, over time quite a long time actually, purpleheart will start to turn more of a dark brown with sort of a purple hue. Now, I actually have a couple of pieces that are over three years old and they are still a vivid purple.
Now, to maintain a bright vivid color in just about any wood, you have enough pale battle ahead of you. You could slow down the process by keeping the wood out of direct sun and using a finish that contains UV absorbers. In fact, many spar varnishes and urethanes contain UV absorbers and might be a good option for the task of maintaining color.
But the sad truth is, nothing will completely stop the change. It is pretty much inevitable. And, the only way to get the color back is to refinish. So, you might want to consider using a very light finish, maybe just a few coats of an oil varnish mixture that could be sanded and recoated as needed to bring the color back.
The take home message today is, that we need to be aware of the potential color changes, and that we need to make recipients of our work aware of the color changes as well. Now, if you find yourself mesmerized by some brightly colored exotic wood during your next trip to the hardwood dealer, make sure you do your research before making a big purchase.
Many woodworkers phone victims of the engaging allure of that sweet siren padauk. If we could only get the color back that, we had when we first met. So, once alighting new exotic woods, I suggest doing a Google search first.
And if that does not ill anything, then just go to a few woodworking forums and search the archives or even post a new question. You could even find a few links to forums right there on the wood whisperer homepage.
So, I hope you enjoyed this very short and very talky edition of the wood whisperer. As always, be sure to visit the website at www.thewoodwhisperer.com. And, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to email us at thewoodwhisperer@gmail.com so, until next time.
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