Lumber Question

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EricRN

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May 16, 2019
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Hi all,

I'm pretty sure I know the answer to this, but I'm going to ask anyway. I am looking for a wood that is orangish or red--like padauk or bloodwood when freshly cut--that will retain its color over time or, at least, not darken so much that it browns. Padauk and bloodwood will both darken, I know. (For what it's worth, I've had some relatively good success keeping padauk a golden orange by finishing it with a UV-blocking outdoor poly. But for this particular project, I don't want the shiny, plasticky look of poly.)

I don't think there is such a wood. I think my best option is a dye or a stain, which I am opposed to. (No good reason other than that I don't like stains or dyes.) But I also know there are folks on here who know much more about exotic hardwoods than I do so I figured I'd take a stab.
 
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I'm afraid you might be fighting a losing battle.
Of the "red" (sort of red) woods:

Tulipwood and Canarywood are more colorfast than Bloodwood and Padauk, but the colors still shift towards brown. The contrast between the light and dark areas are still there, just browns instead of reds. Similar, but not so much red to start out with would be Brazilwood, Chakte viga, and Buckthorn.

In my opinion a good sealing finish that blocks air/oxygen helps delay the color change. Of course UV blocking finishes are supposed to help as well, but again, in my opinion, oxygen is the culprit more than UV.

Dave
 
Not all bloodwood is the same. Depends where it comes from and how it was harvested. Many times this is true with lots of woods especially walnut wood. If kiln dried it will be lighter than true air dried walnut woods.

Red heart is a nice red wood and I have had success with it staying more reddish than turning dark browns. Yes top coating will help. But this projects only has a Danish oil on it. Still as red as the day I made it. I try to keep out of sunlight from windows.

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