Official Luthiers Forum!

I am thinking that PH will look good with Bubinga (binding and backstrip). Anybody got sources for this? A 32" board would be fine...

Mike

Bear in mind that over the years with exposure to light, purpleheart loses that lovely attractive colour and changes to a muddy brown.

Rod

I decided against it, bought a lacewood billet. Gonna make some guitars out of that and some binding.

Mike

BTW, is there no finish that can effectively nullify the effects of UV exposure? (keep purple heart purple)

Interesting. When i first cut purpleheart it's kind of a gray/brown (taupe?). But i have a piece as a backstrip on some cherry that is purple. It's been in there for 2 years or so. Can I expect this to change color?

Darrin

Some pieces seem to stay bright purple (like a huge hunk that sat around my local woodyard's place for years), while others (scraps I have here) go a boring brownish colour.

Maybe someone will answer, but is there a finish that has UV protective properties?

Mike

I know some epoxies have UV inhibitors, but I'm not sure about the finishes. I would imagine a modern finish like poly could have something added to the formula.

PH? Ick!

_________________
I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

Lot's of finishes give some UV protection, none will prevent color change; at best they delay it. You can also delay it quite a bit by keeping the guitar in a dark place, like its case, and never out in the sun. Even more by never taking it out of its case.

It's not all UV. Part of the color change is oxidation and will take place even in the dark. Again, some finishes block oxygen better than others, none do it completely.

Purpleheart turns brown on being freshly cut, then gets the purple color back soon. Then some will fade gradually over a period of years to a dull purple-brown; other boards seem to turn brown within a year or so. I've been avoiding it for binding and purfling because it will change, and likely disappoint the owner.

_________________
Howard Klepper
http://www.klepperguitars.com

When all else fails, clean the shop.

Thank you Howard. Here I was thinking I had some mutant purpleheart.

Darrin

The wood shop I was looking in the other day had some beautiful purple heart in stock. THey also had a display area where many of the woods they sell were set up as samples. The purple heart looked awful. That is why I did not get any.

Still, if one could seal binding in all directions, would it help hold the color, or is this like taxes.... inevitable?

Mike