Does your purple heart stay purple
- Thread starter slim123
- Start date
It changes based on oil content more than anything
Whoever said that needs an education, and also needs to close their mouth
Red woods fade to brown and brown woods fade to black, or atleast very, very dark brown given enough time. Once a cue is sealed and clearcoated it will stay as it is for a long, long time. But if you use a natural finish or satin finish the process will go a bit quicker, but we are still talking a really long time.
Old Hoppe cues can be great examples. I had one in Purpleheart and had no idea what it was until I removed the wrap.
I put the before pics on the front page and said to guess what it was.
Two pages later and one person got it correct.
Purpleheart, just as Kim Bye said, was Brown and it really threw people off, it was a good thread.
With the right finish, it should stay purple longer than any of us would stay above ground.
I put the before pics on the front page and said to guess what it was.
Two pages later and one person got it correct.
Purpleheart, just as Kim Bye said, was Brown and it really threw people off, it was a good thread.
With the right finish, it should stay purple longer than any of us would stay above ground.
SSDiver2112
Escott Cues
Not a cue maker (yet).
I've been working with purpleheart quite a bit past couple of years on different projects.
Because purpleheart does fade to brownish purple with enough time and or exposure, getting the right color can be a challenge.
Baking the wood will release the dyes and bring out the purpleness (see link below). I am sure there will be additional steps in actual cue making regarding the wood's movement.
Link: https://forums.azbilliards.com/threads/cut-the-purple-right-off-the-purpleheart.355931/post-7234843
You can see on this sneaky cue I was adding a butt sleeve, and after cleaning up the back half of the cue for the sleeve I noticed the big difference between the back half I was working on and the front half that was still untouched since the 80s. The surface layer browned up, so I stripped off the rest to get the whole cue the same purple. Then for the butt sleeve I had to bake the sleeve pieces to match them up with the original wood.
The Purpleheart will definitely darken with the finish. But the grain and sheen should still show through.
This is wenge but shows how the grain can be lost with the finish. I was having this problem and tried putting a layer of poly first which worked well but I later found cleaning the wood of any leftover dust seemed to eliminate the need for the poly step. Still experimenting....
I've been working with purpleheart quite a bit past couple of years on different projects.
Because purpleheart does fade to brownish purple with enough time and or exposure, getting the right color can be a challenge.
Baking the wood will release the dyes and bring out the purpleness (see link below). I am sure there will be additional steps in actual cue making regarding the wood's movement.
Link: https://forums.azbilliards.com/threads/cut-the-purple-right-off-the-purpleheart.355931/post-7234843
You can see on this sneaky cue I was adding a butt sleeve, and after cleaning up the back half of the cue for the sleeve I noticed the big difference between the back half I was working on and the front half that was still untouched since the 80s. The surface layer browned up, so I stripped off the rest to get the whole cue the same purple. Then for the butt sleeve I had to bake the sleeve pieces to match them up with the original wood.
The Purpleheart will definitely darken with the finish. But the grain and sheen should still show through.
This is wenge but shows how the grain can be lost with the finish. I was having this problem and tried putting a layer of poly first which worked well but I later found cleaning the wood of any leftover dust seemed to eliminate the need for the poly step. Still experimenting....
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From my experience, not only PH but many other woods (most all woods) will darken over time. As some have experienced, it can darken beyond a point that makes it hard to identify the wood by color/grain appearance alone.
wood-database.com has a good amount of information on this subject. A search there will reveal a google education.
A few things I have taken note of over my woodworking years before and after I got involved with cues. It has appeared that sourcing the same woods (scientific name) from different regions can produce different results in colors.
The best thing one can do to preserve color is once you have reached the desired color darkness you like, seal it with a UV inhibitor coating. Take into consideration that when you do apply any sealer/coating it will generally darken your project a bit more than the bare wood results will be.
UV (direct sunlight especially) / shop light exposure in general will hasten the darkening experience.
Enjoy the ride!
Stellar1024
Registered
Pretty sure everything fades regardless how you finish it...
Coos Cues
Coos Cues
Purpleheart seems to be almost the opposite of cocobolo which is bright as the sun on fresh cut and fades fast. I have some that is bright purple and when you cut it it is so brown you don't recognize it. Throw it out in the light and a week later it's bright purple again. But it doesn't all seem to be like this. Not science just observation.