Steve
Thanks for the tip on Mountain Rose Herbs.
I just had my package of Alkanet Root powder delivered today.
Have you had more or less success in red oil with any particular liquid to make the Red Oil? Anyone elses experiences are welcome. I am not planning on using it for a couple of weeks but I want to get some oil brewing as quickly as possible.
Thanks again
i keep alkanet in two forms; first i have a 91* rubbing alcohol with dye which i use after whiskering to flood the surface, and i keep a portion of my mineral spirits colored with the dye. i use a variation on the phil pilkington method of oil finishing, which is based on combining about 1 part of tung oil with 2 parts of mineral spirits to promote absorption. heat the mixture till warm to the touch to decrease the viscosity and flood the surface (inletting as well as outer) until the wood will not absorb any additional. then begin the wet sanding process; this is a good rundown of the pilkington methodology;
https://www.firearmsforum.com/firearms/article/3037i don't follow through with the linseed oil part of this process, instead i prefer to finish off with multiple tight coats of a good hard wax - promotes water turning as well as sealing both wood and metal. and i haven't bought any of the later pilkington products. i started using his method many years ago, when he was in oklahoma and vending from his shop. but the system has worked well for me, and by using the dyed mineral spirits with the tung you can build up more color in a finish as desired.