# Purple Heart back to purple ?



## Dalecamino (Nov 9, 2009)

I have a blank on the lathe it IS purple heart , but it's brown . Is there anything I can do to bring back the purple ? I put one coat of thin CA on it , which helped very little . I put some friction polish on the scrap cut off , and that did nothing . Any help here ? Thanks !


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## alphageek (Nov 9, 2009)

Heat or UV seems to be the trick... I typically put it in the sun for a little bit!


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## johnnycnc (Nov 9, 2009)

Heat, say in the toaster oven at perhaps 150°+  for a bit,
high rpm on lathe, burnish with ?something? to effect heat (hot, hot, hot).
sunbathing, ( may be tough tomorrow),
muriatic acid, then a neutralizing rinse (can give cranberry color).
There's four options, Sir!


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## Dalecamino (Nov 9, 2009)

Thank you very much friends ! I'll try one at a time . Sun bathing is out ! :biggrin: 

John , please stop calling me sir . :redface:


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## Splinter (Nov 9, 2009)

Another option - do nothing and it will get purple in a day or three.:wink:


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## ldb2000 (Nov 9, 2009)

It's mainly UV that causes the color change , put the finished pen under a CFL overnight and it will be bright purple again . The sad thing is it will eventually change back to brown . Nothing lasts forever .


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## ZanderPommo (Nov 9, 2009)

i always thought UV browned purpleheart?
is it actually lack of UV??


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## johnnycnc (Nov 9, 2009)

dalecamino said:


> Thank you very much friends ! I'll try one at a time . Sun bathing is out ! :biggrin:
> 
> John , please stop calling me sir . :redface:



Will do!:biggrin:


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## ldb2000 (Nov 9, 2009)

ZanderPommo said:


> i always thought UV browned purpleheart?
> is it actually lack of UV??


 No , the UV brings out the purple , age takes it away .


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## ZanderPommo (Nov 9, 2009)

huh...

just thought cause at my local rockler the ph in the window was brown at the window, and purple inside? maybe the had just turned it around or something


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## Dalecamino (Nov 10, 2009)

Thanks you guys !! I told Susanne about my dilima and told her I needed to put the blanks under some heat , like in an oven . She said "whos oven are you going to use?" :redface: So , I got the idea to light up my propane heater in the shop , and put the blanks over the heat , and rotated them once in awhile . In about ten minutes they were purple . Thanks for the help my friends !!


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## fernhills (Nov 10, 2009)

Buy your wife a new toaster oven,ya get a thanks and a kiss. Then sneak the old one in the shop. you get a new tool, free.   Carl


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## ZanderPommo (Nov 10, 2009)

free?? what about the new toaster oven
lol

man dude thats the deepest purple i've ever seen. oh and you could just get a heatgun from HF  for like 10 bucks


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## Slyotter (Nov 10, 2009)

ZanderPommo said:


> huh...
> 
> just thought cause at my local rockler the ph in the window was brown at the window, and purple inside? maybe the had just turned it around or something


 

This can easily be recreated. Windows filter out UV light, yet I bet inside you have Florescenct lights. REVERSE the facing of your ROCKLER and give it a week or two. Bet the colors even out and eventually reverse all together.


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## ZanderPommo (Nov 10, 2009)

huh
cool


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## PaulSF (Nov 13, 2009)

That's a beautiful pen, Chuck.  I'm about to try out some purple-heart, so here are two questions:

1) Should I heat the wood after it's turned to size, but before finishing?
2) After it's heated and turns purple, is it going to turn brown at some point, or will finishing lock in the color?


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## bradh (Nov 13, 2009)

PaulSF said:


> two questions:
> 
> 1) Should I heat the wood after it's turned to size, but before finishing?
> 2) After it's heated and turns purple, is it going to turn brown at some point, or will finishing lock in the color?



I like to use sunlight to bring out the colour and I do that after finishing. I like to hang the finished blanks on a wire from the rear view mirror of my car. I get light from all sides in the car.
   Over time, the wood will eventually turn brown and stay that way. Be carefull when you bring out the colour the first time, if you overdo it, you will get to that final brown colour too soon.


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## DennisM (Nov 13, 2009)

How long roughly does it take to go back to brown? 

I would hate to think that I make a pen and get it a nice purple that a few months later it will be brown, cant see how the buyer would like that?

Or like someone above asked will the ca finish lock it in for a longer period of time?


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