# Fuming Purpleheart wood



## miket in stl (Jun 12, 2013)

Someone mentioned last week about fuming purpleheart wood to quickly bring back the purple color.  Can someone supply more details please.

Mike


----------



## juteck (Jun 12, 2013)

I remember reading somewhere that fuming with ammonia would turn it a cranberry color.  I think muriatic acid does something similar. I'm sure if you googled "purpleheart fuming" or "purpleheart ammonia", something would come up.


----------



## Ed McDonnell (Jun 12, 2013)

My experience:

If you want it to be ugly green, then fume it with ammonia (safety first!!).

If you want it to be ugly maroon then fume it with pool acid (or wipe it with lemon juice (slower but way safer)).

If you want it to be purple, then put it in a warm location and let it do it's own thing.  Or force it in a warm (~100) toaster oven you don't use for food.

If you want it to be ugly brown / black, then leave it in the oven a little too long.

Ed


----------



## edstreet (Jun 12, 2013)

I am still in shock, amazement and bewildered as to why many people try to force purple heart to do what it will do naturally.   From looking over at the tree database 'purple heart' is not one species of tree but more of a large group of species.  That is like saying 'oak' but I digress.

Acid will damage the wood fibers, heat will burn the wood fibers, both degrade the fibers over time.  I look at archival prints in photography and the industry is loaded with 'acid free' products, which has been shown to cause damage to the items over time esp when sealed up behind glass/plexiglass.  Same holds true here.


----------



## miket in stl (Jun 13, 2013)

My recollection was that someone said they fumed their purpleheart with white vineger.   

I would like to speed up the process to a week vs. the 4 weeks I let previous blanks sit in a sunroom area.  I had a second blank ready but I had an issue applying the CA finish and I had to sand it back to the wood.  Now the blank has 2 different shades; a great looking purple and a not so great redish brown area.  Probably time to just chuck the 2 toned blank and start over.


----------



## edstreet (Jun 13, 2013)

You can do that on the lathe, no harsh treatment needed.  All you need to do is put a drop of BLO or similar on and burnish it.  BLO works very well with CA and other finishes as well.  You can use the back of a used strip of sand paper and cause some friction on the smooth sanded surface.  If you are using a polish like Novus then the simple act of using your palm to polish will do the same thing.

Definition of "Burnishing"

Burnish - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


----------



## Sylvanite (Jun 13, 2013)

After I turn and finish a purpleheart pen, I'll put it on a south-facing windowsill for a day (turning it over midway through).  The sunlight turns it purple.

Regards,
Eric


----------



## butchf18a (Jun 13, 2013)

parklandturner said:


> My experience:
> 
> 
> If you want it to be ugly brown / black, then leave it in the oven a little too long.
> ...


 
If you want to eat it after, slather it with butter and little salt/pepper, back for 45 min at 350. Haaaaaaaaaaa, I crack me up.


----------



## philb (Jun 13, 2013)

Sylvanite said:


> After I turn and finish a purpleheart pen, I'll put it on a south-facing windowsill for a day (turning it over midway through).  The sunlight turns it purple.
> 
> Regards,
> Eric



A day in the window is all it needs!


----------



## Dustygoose (Jun 14, 2013)

Yep  sunlight does the trick.


----------



## Chris Drysdale (Jun 14, 2013)

*Fuming*

Fuming with ammonia certainly makes Samoan Queen Ebony black, I have done this on a few occasions to great effect, but not tried other woods.
Regards 
Chris


----------



## alamocdc (Jun 14, 2013)

Ammonia fuming is typically done to tint woods with a high tannin content (like oak). You can make purpleheart colorfast by applying vinegar to it, but it will turn it a cranbury color, not purple. Otherwise just expose it to sunlight to bring the purple back. But it will continue to fade over time.


----------



## edstreet (Jun 14, 2013)

So what is the long term effects from all of these fuming processes?  Say in closed space storage.


----------



## Ed McDonnell (Jun 14, 2013)

I recently saw a turning that I ebonized with acid 8 years ago.  It's doing fine.  The owner is still alive and in good health.

Fuming wood goes back a long way.  I think you would find that a lot of antique pieces of furniture from the arts and craft period were fumed.  And they are doing just fine.

I'm less certain of furniture of European origin, but it wouldn't surprise me that all sorts of things were used to adjust the look of wood in the old old days.

Fuming is a surface treatment.  Any changes to the structural integrity of the wood would only be on the surface.  For acids, you neutralize them when you get to the point you want.  Anything left after neutralizing would be salt and water.  Ammonia will dissipate on it's own.  Just like the solvents in the finishes that we all use.  The amount residual on a pen blank would probably be far less than what you would have in the house from using a cleaning product with ammonia on mirrors or windows.

Ed


----------



## edstreet (Jun 14, 2013)

Sure, but it was not closed up and sealed off for a period of time right?


----------

