Hello all,
Question:
Does all wood darken with age? Cherry, of course, is an example of such a species. Do other woods behave in the same way? One would think that most color would fade with exposure to light, and that cherry is an anomaly.
Curt Blood Hartford, CT
All wood eventually oxidizes to one degree or another - and the woods I'm familiar with will oxidize until they eventually turn black.
What time frame are you talking about? I suppose if you wait long enough the wood would turn into oil, so yes, it would turn black. But there's plenty of wood lying around this place that isn't continuing to darken. I have some unfinished pine window trim that has been sitting in the sun for years and it isn't getting noticeably darker. If anything it's lightening up some after the initial darkening.
R
That's called "charcoal", Morris... :)
I don't see that at all, though, at least w/o moisture. Cedar, most pines, cypress, etc., will eventually get a gray outer layer and from then on are essentially stable as long as don't stay wet.
I'm not thinking on same lines as you; obviously you're not thinking along same lines as I...
My experience is that light woods darken and dark woods (walnut, mahogany, etc.) lighten. Teak too lightens. I used to have a sailboat with an African mahogany trunk cabin and a teak transom. Both became noticeably lighter within a few months after sanding and varnishing.
Much also depends on what finish if any. I made my wife's desk of heartwood hickory with sapwood hickory trim. The heartwood was medium, sapwood quite light. The desk was finished with linseed oil, all parts became a medium brown within a few months due to the oxidation of the oil.
Also, freshly cut wood color is different from that exposed to air for a while; e.g, freshly cut walnut generally has a purplish cast, teak a greenish one.
Well, I have unfinished softwood that has browned significantly over the last ten years or so.
I've paid attention to the effect of time on softwood and hardwood furniture built in North America in the 1600's - 1800's shown on "Antiques Roadshow".
And I've seen first hand how wood from 1000 years ago has turned black as charcoal (without an intermediate oil stage, AFAIK).
Well that clears that up. When you said eventually you were talking about a time frame measured in the hundreds of years. I'm not sure that's what the OP was asking about.
R
And a lot of that over that time period is accumulated grime and dirt not simply the result of surface oxidation...
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Thank you all for your responses. The wood in question is curly maple finished with rock hard table top varnish. Sounds like the answer is "it depends".
CB
It will darken.
And the varnish will yellow...
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Most of the reference books I've read agree. The only question is the time frame.
I particularly remember a book on turning that emphasized form because no matter how pretty the wood, it'll all be black eventually. And yes, eventually was in the 100s of years.
Of course, one could always use paint and bury the stuff in a desert pyramid :-).
Padauk, Cocobolo, and Cherry darken.
NO! some get lighter but most get darker. IIRC Walnut will lighten with exposure to light as opposet to Maple, Cherry, Padauh, Cocobolo which get darker.
Thank you all for your responses. The wood in question is curly maple finished with rock hard table top varnish. Sounds like the answer is "it depends".
We have a Maple wood floor in our master bathroom . A mat sets on top of it in one spot near a window. The wood has darkened from direct sunlight. Under the mat it is a lighter shade.
Pine, oak, maple, redwood, walnut darken with age. I am surprised how much my pine furniture has darkened with age. Not sure if ALL wood darkens with sun exposure, but I'd like to know which one(s) do not. There have been many times I avoided cherry due to its darkening characteristics. What is aggravating is putting a vase, cloth, lamp on a table for some months, then you can see the lighter shadow on the wood.
English walnut, maybe. Black walnut lightens.
In other words, everything becomes dark beige. ;-)
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