Original stock color of early M1s?

[jesse_]

In my experiments, these and other stains tend to put the color "on top" of the wood, and the grain gets lost when done, producing a washed out effect that makes the wood look like it was painted with watercolors.

Exactly! I've ever only used stains once and it was pretty gross.

And I will get some alkanet on order.

I would like to know, however, what did Springfield use when they stained their M1s? What did Winchester use?

There are snippets that shed light on things, like when the arsenal stopped using logwood. We know what the German ww1 helmet was painted with because it was in instructions given to troops and those survived.

I cant wait for Rick borecky to weigh in at some point.

But all input is appreciated, as I'm being exposed to techniques I've never seen or used before.