The purpose of this study was to evaluate the uniformity of the color of the teak wood (pieces containing heartwood and sapwood) after application of heat treatments. The wood was originated from young trees (12 years old) from plantations of different spacings. Wood samples of 150 x 75 x 20 mm were heat treated at 180 and 200 ºC during 2:30 hours. Color analysis were performed by using a spectrophotometer in the CIE-L*a*b* space. Heat treatments provided greater uniformity to the teak wood pieces and the treatment at 200 ºC was the most effective, which demonstrates the potential of heat treatment to obtain wood products of higher added value. The color of the wood heat-treated at 180 ºC had higher uniformity in the least dense spacing; however, it had no effect on color uniformity of the wood heat-treated at 200 ºC.
CIE-L*a*b* space; Tectona grandis; Heat treatments
