I purchased a ching sling last year that was soaked in oil when made and is basically unusable because it still "sweats" oil. The maker provided me with a new black dyed sling right away and said keep the old one. I have taken his reccomendation to lay it out in the sun on some cardboard to get more oil out of it and have then wiped it off but it still has a way to go. Any idea on how to dry it out more without ruining it? I was thinking of soaking it in some warm soapy water and then wiping off and air drying away from heat.

Kevin,

See if you can get some of the stuff garages use to soak up oil spills. It looks like kitty litter (hell, it might BE kitty litter!).

Bury the sling in the stuff for a few hours and check it often.

George

Kevin,
Just like a saddle maker does...soak it in water and detergent toss in some ajax or whatever, for a few days, give it a good bath and dry it in the shade or way from heat..you may even have to re-oil it.

Kevin
From time to time I get an oil painting in for restoration that has been restored once before using the bees wax and..forgot what the other one is. Trying to reline an old canvass with old wax and accumulated dust, bugs, candle wax, cooking oil etc. mixed in is a bit of a pain. I use a layer of rag paper then several layer of newsprint to absorb the wax. I put the intire bundle in a heated vaccumn press and apply pressure. The heat and the pressure causes the wax to literally get sucked into the rag and newsprint. I'll repeat this several times until the wax is completely gone.
You could do the same using newsprint or newspapers and your wife's iron. Do clean any oil off the iron or your bride may use that strap on your backside while you are drying off from a shower.
Jim

You can buy powdered D.E. from a pool supply company.

Put it in a box of corn meal overnite, then check it. You might have to leave it in for a couple of days to get all the oil out, but like it was mentioned you can get enough oil out that you will have to re-oil it. Heat speed it up but nobody is in that much of a hurry, do it the slower safer way. Flour will work too but is messier, if it is all you have in a pinch.

HenryC470, yes Diatomaceous earth. It is used in some filter systems for pool cleaning. Thats where I have bought my DE before.

Thanks guys. Looks like I have 3 options, heat and pressure, wash and dry, and a dry media. I think I'll try the wash and dry with a mild detergent first, the hot sun has cooked out some oil so far and the oil-dri sounds a bit messy. Every time I go to the range with a ching-sling or safari ching sling I seem to sell another shooter on it,maybe I need to look into my commision check, it seems to have gotten lost in the mail.

I've restored many oil-soaked military slings by simply soaking them for an hour or so in mineral spirits. Blot them with paper towels and let air dry.
Re-oil to suit your preference.

You can also try oven cleaner. It works on stocks and I started cleaning a over oiled lathe.
I am impressed with the results.

Pantanal