Purpleheart?

[Pelallito]

Hello,
I recently cut and sanded some Purpleheart for scales on a knife. They turned brown. How do i get them to turn purple again? I have tried a little bit of vinegar and daylight without any luck.
Thanks in advance.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Regards,
Fred

[Ozkaban]

From what I know, it depends on the species. In general heat makes it go darker brown and sunlight makes it go darker purple. Both are one-way processes.

If it's light brown, leave it in a sunny spot for 2-3 days, rotating it every so often and it should go more purple.

Cheers,
Dave

[son_of_bluegras]

THe purpleheart I've worked with is brown on freshly cut or sanded surfaces, turns purple after some exposure to air and brown again with exposure to sunlight.

ron

[Pelallito]

Thanks for the replies. The purple heart that I have was purple when I started on it and became brown with the belt sander when I was shaping it. I think that I had a dull belt on it and it probably generated heat.
I am in the process of trying sunlight to bring back the purple. I had it with me at work yesterday. I put it in a clear plastic bag and had it out in the sunlight all day. II will give it a couple of treatments and see what happens. I also injected some oxygen in to the baggie to see if that did anything. I did that because the information I found on the Internet mentioned both UV and oxidizers were the cause of the color change.
I also read that a diluted muriatic acid solution could work, but I have not felt that brave. Has anybody tried that?
Thanks again for the help.
Regards,
Fred

[Pelallito]

I gave up on the scales changing color. I had it in a baggie with oxygen and left it in the sun for several days without any change.
Next time I wont let it get so hot and perhaps that will work.
Thanks for the help.
Fred