WWII Boyt sling care.

[paul1440]

I have a Boyt but I can't see the date. It has brass frogs so it is 1942 or earlier.

Mine was in bad shape. Dry, cracked in areas, vertigris on the brass. I got it all cleaned up and applied Pecards. I had read about Pecards Bloom but decided to apply it any way. Last month I did notice some white powder aka The Bloom. I wiped it off and haven't seen it return. Some will tell you not to apply Pecards or anything, but I disagree. No one knows what this white stuff is so no one can really say it is bad. I saw one post that speculated that it was Pecards causing the salts from the tanning process to come to the surface. Who knows, but now I am not so afraid to touch the sling since I was concerned it would break.

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[Rick Cummelin]

I have a Boyt but I can't see the date. It has brass frogs so it is 1942 or earlier.

Mine was in bad shape. Dry, cracked in areas, vertigris on the brass. I got it all cleaned up and applied Pecards. I had read about Pecards Bloom but decided to apply it any way. Last month I did notice some white powder aka The Bloom. I wiped it off and haven't seen it return. Some will tell you not to apply Pecards or anything, but I disagree. No one knows what this white stuff is so no one can really say it is bad. I saw one post that speculated that it was Pecards causing the salts from the tanning process to come to the surface. Who knows, but now I am not so afraid to touch the sling since I was concerned it would break.

Sorry, but I must strongly disagree in that the "white stuff" definitely results from using Pecards on your leather slings. I must have owned 20-30 or more leather slings over the years, as well as a number of leather WWII pistol holsters. The "white stuff" ONLY appeared on those items treated with Pecards. Untreated items never oozed the white stuff - repeat never. I can also say that IMHO, treating old leather with Pecards did not seem to do much for the leather, EXCEPT cause it to ooze the white stuff. After figuring all this out over several years, I simply gave away all the remaining Pecards I had. I no longer treat my leather with anything. BTW- here in the dry climate of Colorado, the white stuff has to be wiped off every 3-4 months, and it isn't real easy to get off either - takes lots of rubbing with an old towel.

[RyanV]

Wow, thanks for the thoughts, somebody else who's opinion i respect told me mink oil. Seems like the slings are thirsty for something, but maybe not.

Ryan

[Rick Cummelin]

Wow, thanks for the thoughts, somebody else who's opinion i respect told me mink oil. Seems like the slings are thirsty for something, but maybe not.

Ryan

Mink Oil will likely replace some of the natural oils in an old sling, and may also make it look better. I have used mink oil on many different pairs of hiking boots, but I haven't tried it on slings/holsters. I don't recall any long-term bad effects either, and no oozing of the dreaded "white stuff." LOL!

Whatever you choose, do NOT use Neatsfoot oil! As the other posters mentioned, it eventually rots the leather. Neatsfoot oil was used by virtually all GIs because it softened the leather by breaking down the fibres (essentially rotting it from the get-go). It's bad stuff.