Cedar Wood Color

[FrankEV]

I'm just finishing a project of an Intarsia Octopus that I will be posting soon.  The inspiration for the project was a stock image I found on-line, and the illustration colors were various shades of Red and a Light Yellowish Tan that is similar to the color of Pine.     

I happened to be at Lowes and while I was looking through their lumber area I found their rack of Cedar boards, several of which were quite Red.  This seemed like a good choice for the Octopus project.   I found a board that had multiple shades of dark to light, almost Pink, shades of Red, which was needed for the project.

Here is the dilemma.  This board did not sit around long before I started to cut it up and begin the shaping and sanding process.  However, almost immediately, as I worked the pieces, the wood lost its bright Red color and dulled down to a Brownish tone with barely a hint of Red.  And, although a coating of Clear Gloss Acrylic Finish spray enhanced the wood character and grain nicely, the Red I was hoping for just did not remain.

I’m just wondering if anyone can explain why the Red went away so quickly when it was being shaped and sanded?   

Edited August 10, 2024 by FrankEV

[dgman]

Cedar typically is not kiln dried. It is classified construction grade like white wood 2x4s. Since it is not kiln dried it will have a lot of moisture in it. That red color came from the moisture. As you cut and sanded it, the moisture was released and the color dulled. 

[FrankEV]

4 minutes ago, dgman said:

Cedar typically is not kiln dried. It is classified construction grade like white wood 2x4s. Since it is not kiln dried it will have a lot of moisture in it. That red color came from the moisture. As you cut and sanded it, the moisture was released and the color dulled. 

That is very interesting.  Something I was not aware of.

Thank you.

[JTTHECLOCKMAN]

If you are looking for red wood then use an exotic called bloodwood. Now you need to find true bloodwood. Today many suppliers sell a wood called bloodwood but is  more brownish than red. 

[jollyred]

Almost all woods will change color when exposed to sunlight.  Some woods more than others.  Most will end up some shade of brown.  A good example is poplar with the green shade.  It will turn a reddish brown after being exposed for a while.  This is also part of what happened to your bright red cedar.  To see this, take a piece of the scrap left over and tape some cardboard over half of it.  Set this outside some sunny day, then take off the cardboard that evening.  The change will be striking.

This is one reason I like to do what is known as segmentation.   The piece is cut from a light color wood such as soft maple or poplar.  Then the pieces are shaped and dyed to the colors and shades desired.  They will stay true to the original color for a long time.  Not "true" intarsia, but I am after a result, not a particular process.

Tom

[Wichman]

You may have picked out a piece of "cedar toned" wood, it may have wandered into the wrong bin accidentally ( customers are notorious for not putting things back correctly, so it may not be "your" mistake or the stores). 

I only know of this because I bought a piece of 2 x 2 for a project and when I cut the angles on the end the underlying wood was not cedar. I didn't even know such a thing existed.

Here is an example of "cedar toned" wood from Lowes:

https://www.lowes.com/pd/ReliaBilt/5002114757