Alkanet Oil Stain

[Robert Wolfe]

Anyone have experience with S.B. McWilliams Alkanet Oil Stain? Is this a worthwhile product for longrifles to impart a little more red in a maple stock colored with aqua fortis?

[Craig Wilcox]

Yes, Robert, I used some about two years ago - use several very thin layers, rather than one or two thick layers.  It is subtle, but does add a nice red to most things.  Dries pretty quickly, again using very thin coats.   Fine steel wool lightly between coats.

[Ron Scott]

I have been using it exclusively on my walnut stocks.  I like everything about it except that is is slow drying.

[smart dog]

Hi Robert,
I use alkanet root a lot as a stain for walnut. However, I do not use it infused in an oil finish.  I prefer to use it as a stain prior to finish.  I mix powdered root in mineral spirits and let it sit for 5-6 days.  I test it on walnut and sometimes add more root and let it sit longer.  Then I pour it through a coffee filter to eliminate the grit.  I then use it as I would any other strain.  It does not seem to penetrate very well on maple, whereas it really colors the open pores in walnut.  I also tinted finishes with alkanet root and it can tint a finish more red but the color is more of a purple red rather then a madder or cochineal red.

dave   

[Eric Kettenburg]

I can;'t speak to that particular brand but years ago Bill Knight gave be a bunch of plastic baggies filled with all kinds of interesting things.  NO, nothing one might choose to smoke thank goodness.  One of them was a big hunk of alkanes root, probably the size of a really big dill pickle.  I used it for a lot of experiments and finally figured out how to get a decent reddish-orange (subtle) glow; when boiling up a batch of oil with some form of lead as a drier, after skimming off a lot of the sludgy $#@* and boiling for a bit, I dropped a hunk of the alkanet root about the size of a half-dollar into the boiling oil and left it there for another 15 minutes or so iirc.  It was weird because it created a lot of foam and scum to skim off, but once I stopped boiling, let it cool down a bit and then filtered it out, the oil was a very deep red-orange, much more so than usual just by boiling with lead (the leaded boiling process always seemed to add some orange tones).  Now I don't do much with walnut as I hate the stuff, but it definitely was adding color to maple stocks finished just with aquafortis.  Nothing crazy or WOW or anything like that, but there was definitely a difference between the alkanet oil and just plain oil.

BTW it STINKS to high heaven.

I started to do some experiements with lightfastness but got completely distracted with other things and never got back to it.  I do know that after a week or so in the full sun on a piece of white paper, the red-orange was losing some of the red and going more brown.  Bill Knight might have some more info on this if he's still posting here.

If the stock is being stained with aquafortis, and you want a bit more red, basically the same effect can be obtained by using a really dark seedlac or garnet lac sealer.  That will add some red-orange also.  I like to mix up my shellac based sealers with heated alcohol to supersaturate them and then thin back from there.

Lots of other resins to play with as well, too much to go into here.

[Robert Wolfe]

Thanks all. Think I'll play with it a bit before I use it on a gun. The maker does not call it a finish but says the alkanet is carried in a thin linseed oil that will still need a varnish.

[Ed Wenger]

Robert..., McWilliams should have both stain and varnish, at least he used to.  I’ve used the varnish and agree with Ron..., good stuff.   Best,

        Ed

[helwood]

Greetings,
I have been using Alkanet Root on my Walnut projects since 2004.  I don't do any boiling with oil.  I bought a large bag of Alkanet root and have been using it since.  The way I prepare it is to take the root and grind it into almost a powder then I mix it in denatured alcohol and let it sit for about 2 days.  As I do this I watch my color and density of particles suspended.  I like the denatured alcohol because it's non grain raising and I get the color I'm looking for.  It is light fugitive but, for me, not so far.             Later, Hank

[Ron Scott]

I have been using this product for a couple years now. It is a very subtle tinting oil. I would not classify it as a stain. It tends to lend a warmer tone to walnut and darkens just perceptibly. If your stock has any color or figure it gives a bit more character. I use it as a finish with no varnish or oil over the top. As I mentioned it dries slow, which is nice if you are applying finish to a carved stock. This gives plenty of time to brush the excess oil out of the carving details before getting tacky.. 

[smart dog]

Hi Robert,
The photos below show a rifle stocked in English walnut (from Ron Scott actually) and finished by staining with alkanet root infused in mineral spirits and then polymerized tung oit.













The next series show a rifle stocked in hard maple, stained with ferric nitrate and water and then finished with polymerized tung oil tinted with alkanet root. 














If you look at the closer photos of the cheek piece, the view is at an angle and you can see the slight reddish tint in the oil finish. 

dave

[Robert Wolfe]

Thanks for the comments and pictures. Much appreciated.