> In buying some western red cedar to try to match some strips that I
> already had cut, I bought what seemed to match the color of my strips.
> When cutting the new strips they were very much lighter in color than the
> exterior of the board. I have found this to be true only with cedar and
> not with redwood. Is it exposure to light that makes the outside of the
> board darker? Does this mean that the cedar strips will get darker if
> exposed to the sun sometime before I varnish them? addison

UV, sunlight, exposure to moisture, heat and air all affect the color of the wood over time so does the amount of sap, pitch or resin in the wood. You have probably seen old pine or cedar that had aged (weathered) to a gray color hundreds of times.

As I understand it, this is because of the nature of the wood. The cells of the tree contain protoplasm that slowly dries up. The outer layer of cells decomposes slowly and as these cells break down their trapped contents can weather, letting more volatile oils and resins slowly evaporate into the air, and leaving behind other organic components.

Just think of the many varieites of tree sap, from the edible maple sap we boil into maple syrup to the inedible pine sap that gets boiled into turpentine and pitch (tar). The moth proofing qualities of fragrant red cedar are another example. When your cedar chest loses it's aroma, a light sanding removes the outer layer of inert wood cells, and exposes fresher ones.

I have about a hundred strips that have been sitting outside for a couple of years -- waiting for me to buy a surface planer. They are quite gray. When I plane them to thickness I should get some interesting colors.

A gray boat should be interesting.

Hope this helps.

Paul G. Jacobson