Green "Crud" on my Slings?

[Sunray]

It's the copper coming out of the brass alloy. You can brush it off with a toothbrush. Highly recommended you do not use the one you do your teeth with. Isn't a good idea to borrow somebody's either. Even though that'd be really funny.
The vinegar doesn't have to be high quality. Any vinegar, vinegar being citric acid, will do nicely.
"...Spelling is..." Yeah! snicker.

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[728shooter]

The vinegar doesn't have to be high quality. Any vinegar, vinegar being citric acid, will do nicely.

Uhhh......i think its called "acetic" acid. Citric acid comes from citrus; oranges, lemons, limes, and can be a bit corrosive in itself. All that being said, understand that the vinegar will clean the verdigris, but will the vinegar do any damage (over time) to vintage leather? Would hate to find my slings & holsters start to deteriorate from the use of vinegar...

[22SqnRAE]

728,

In short - not really. Lotsa "...but's..."

The vinegar does need to be good quality, hence reasonably strong to get the job done quickly and efficiently. Watered down cheap and nasty brands will prolong the exercise and annoy you and potentially have the item wet for too long. You're not going to soak the leather and keep it wet for more than a few minutes at tops, so no real harm can come of it. Consider that leather is in contact with skin and sweat in many uses, and it survives ok if we clean and look after it.

Once verdigris is removed and clean brass seen, then it's a simple and necessary task to rinse the metal and surrounding leather with clean tap water. It removes any residual acid and takes away any build up material from the leather. When the leather is mostly dried out, then it's time to apply some of your preferred leather preservative. Your choice as to what works best for you (wax based, lanoline based, neatsfoot oil based...) But certainly giving the leather a little preservative post wetting is a good move. I've found that lanoline or Renaissance Wax is the go-to for my leather reservation.

Like most things, anything in moderation (even moderation!)