I used two coats of Watco teak oil, which has uv blockers, plus 7 coats of Helmsman spar urethane that also has uv blockers. I know the Cherry will still darken as I have built many cabinets out of cherry wood. First try at purpleheart, the lumberyard man said that the teak oil worked for his customers that used purpleheart in their boats. Only time will tell. I do know that if it gets too dark that I can run it thru the planner again to take off the darkness from the purplehart and restore the purple color. Would definitely be a project to put 7 coats of urethane back on it again though. I guess I will just have to see what happens. Total cost of the bed was $178
