Backyard Birds – Part 6

The first thing that you probably notice about padauk is its color. It really is that intense orange color! An alternate name for the wood is vermillion.

When you cut into a board of padauk, it looks like there was an explosion at the paprika factory.

The color doesn’t last, however. Over time, UV rays will make the wood darken and lose some of its orange tone. Treating the wood with a UV-inhibiting finish will slow down that process, but even with a special finish, it will still change color over time.

The color-changing process starts pretty quickly. After I first cut my padauk board, I left the pieces stacked up near a window. Within a few weeks, there were very obvious changes to the surfaces that were exposed to the light.

For my cabinet, I didn’t want the wood to be too orange, so my plan was always to let the wood darken and not try to prevent it from changing color.