HMS Enterprize 1/96 by Modelship Dockyard

[RussF]

I'm not really sure what happened to the installed pieces of redheart.

Redheart, purpleheart, or any of the highly colored exotics will eventually lose their vibrant colors and turn brown. This is due to oxidation and exposure to UV light. You can slow down the process by coating the wood with a UV inhibitor such as spar varnish, but you cannot stop the color change short of placing the wood in a sealed black box filled with argon or nitrogen.

 

[Gventura]

Redheart, purpleheart, or any of the highly colored exotics will eventually lose their vibrant colors and turn brown. This is due to oxidation and exposure to UV light. You can slow down the process by coating the wood with a UV inhibitor such as spar varnish, but you cannot stop the color change short of placing the wood in a sealed black box filled with argon or nitrogen.

Interesting, is there a better alternative to redheart then to achieve the same effect? I've only seen others use redheart which is why I picked it.

 

[Jack Sparrow]

Interesting, is there a better alternative to redheart then to achieve the same effect? I've only seen others use redheart which is why I picked it.

you could possibly stain the wood. If you are so inclined.

 

[RussF]

you could possibly stain the wood. If you are so inclined.

Agreed - or paint. If you pre-finish the redheart prior to assembly, or put some type of uv inhibiting coating immediately after assembly, will delay the process, maybe by a few months, maybe a few years. Stain will last longer, but will naturally darken some as the wood darkens with age. Paint will hold its color longest, but - take down a picture that has been hanging on the wall for 10 years, and you can see the outline of the picture in the paint on the wall. Everything will change with exposure to UV. If you want to build a model using just the natural colors of the wood, which by the way is a beautiful way to do it, then just use the contrast of the different woods to their advantage. When you start trying to replicate actual colors with colored woods, you will be disappointed later on. As I said, all wood will darken, but the relative contrast between say, maple and walnut, will remain.

 

[Gventura]

Had already started down the path, so continuing forward.






I can fairly confidently say it's the wood glue causing the redheart to change. The wood I'm using I milled myself over a year ago, and it has been sitting on my desk since then. I used gloves when working with it/installing it. Despite that within 48hrs it looks like this.

 

[Jack Sparrow]

Can't wait to start mine. Do you find it difficult working at that 1:96 scale?

 

[Namabiiru]

What type of glue are you using? I wouldn’t think many wood glues would cause that kind of reaction, but I can see CA glue doing that.

 

[Gventura]

Can't wait to start mine. Do you find it difficult working at that 1:96 scale?

Extremely! Things are very fragile and there is a lot of sanding to do, which is when I broke the majority of pieces. They were very responsive though and sent me replacements of broken pieces pretty quickly. I would suggest waiting until you finish the ribs before ask for replacements because it does take some time to get to the US from China.

But just because it's difficult doesn't mean I don't recommend. I'm also making it even harder because I'm replacing standard parts with either corrected pieces or different wood. For example the deck planking provided is way out of scale. For purposes of the model it looks nice and works, but because I made the mistake of picking up the actual 1/98 scale plans I notice the difference and have tried to correct where I can.

 

[Gventura]

What type of glue are you using? I wouldn’t think many wood glues would cause that kind of reaction, but I can see CA glue doing that.

Titebond original.

 

[Albert Mary]

Extremely! Things are very fragile and there is a lot of sanding to do, which is when I broke the majority of pieces. They were very responsive though and sent me replacements of broken pieces pretty quickly. I would suggest waiting until you finish the ribs before ask for replacements because it does take some time to get to the US from China.

True story... 1:96 scale is challenging in any case. GVentura did great so far.

 

[RussF]

I can fairly confidently say it's the wood glue causing the redheart to change. The wood I'm using I milled myself over a year ago, and it has been sitting on my desk since then. I used gloves when working with it/installing it. Despite that within 48hrs it looks like this.

I suppose it could possibly be the glue. PVA glues can release small amounts of acetic acid fumes, giving it a vinegar-like odor, but I've never seen it turn wood like that. The wood that has been sitting on your desk - has it been spread out and exposed to oxygen and light, or has it been stacked, bundled and wrapped with a rubber band? I would wager that if you took a piece of that wood and just laid it on your bench next to the model, it would change at the same rate. No glue involved.

 

[Albert Mary]

I would wager that if you took a piece of that wood and just laid it on your bench next to the model, it would change at the same rate. No glue involve

The Galilean method... . I've been watching a lot of restoring projects of ancien boats (above all, Tally Ho and Argonout II), both sail and engine powered on youtube, performed with extensive use of this "Purple Hearth" hard wood, mainly for keel, stern and stemposts. Well, although of a solid red-violet color after any cut, in turns into an trivial brown in a few hours due to oxidation. Then, no wonder what happened to GVentura. Regards!

 

[Namabiiru]

The Galilean method... . I've been watching a lot of restoring projects of ancien boats (above all, Tally Ho and Argonout II), both sail and engine powered on youtube, performed with extensive use of this "Purple Hearth" hard wood, mainly for keel, stern and stemposts. Well, although of a solid red-violet color after any cut, in turns into an trivial brown in a few hours due to oxidation. Then, no wonder what happened to GVentura. Regards!

I have several slabs of purpleheart in my stash that have shown no appreciable change in color after sitting on the shelf for more than 11 years. In that time, they’ve seen little UV exposure so that seems to me a more likely culprit than exposure to air.

 

[RussF]

I have several slabs of purpleheart in my stash that have shown no appreciable change in color after sitting on the shelf for more than 11 years. In that time, they’ve seen little UV exposure so that seems to me a more likely culprit than exposure to air.

Fun fact - You can fume purpleheart with muriatic acid (dilute hydrochloric acid) to bring out a deeper purple, sometimes deep cranberry color. The color does not penetrate too deeply and doesn't last any longer than the normal color, but is is really pretty. I used to do this with purpleheart wine bottle stoppers that I turned. Put the parts in a large tupperware container with a 1 oz plastic cup of acid in with it (the cup holds the acid - you don't pour it onto the parts.). Fume for 4 to 12 hours or until the color is where you want it.

 

[Albert Mary]

I have several slabs of purpleheart in my stash that have shown no appreciable change in color after sitting on the shelf for more than 11 years. In that time, they’ve seen little UV exposure so that seems to me a more likely culprit than exposure to air.

Any light but LED, both natural or artificial, produces UV radiation, so the only way to keep purpleheart red would be storing it in a dark place indefinitely.

 

[Gventura]

I suppose it could possibly be the glue. PVA glues can release small amounts of acetic acid fumes, giving it a vinegar-like odor, but I've never seen it turn wood like that. The wood that has been sitting on your desk - has it been spread out and exposed to oxygen and light, or has it been stacked, bundled and wrapped with a rubber band? I would wager that if you took a piece of that wood and just laid it on your bench next to the model, it would change at the same rate. No glue involved.

They have been sitting out next to the model. In fact they've been sitting in front of the window, so they've gotten significantly more direct light than the wood installed on the model.

It's not a big deal I suppose just odd.

 

[RussF]

This article, Preventing Color Changes in Exotic Woods is a good read, although the title is a bit misleading.