Years ago I bought a tin vest from an old boy that never used it. It is well designed but really sucks to wear in Arizona! Is there a process to convert the material from plywood to cloth without damage?

Drag it through the brush behind several bird dogs for about 15 years & it will become much more flexible & comfortable. I wore one of the original style Filson tin vests for years but now prefer the strap style.

Tumble it with several sets of boots in the dryer on no heat

I remember somewhere that dry cleaning will remove the wax, the solvent breaks it down.

I found the Filson wax used to reconstitute my chaps actually softened up the material. The chaps were well worn so I don’t know if it would work on newer unused tin cloth

Yep.
Dry cleaning is supposed to remove the wax/oil

Best way is to tie it in an opened state outside the cab of a pickup.
Drive 5 miles and let it flop, check it and drive more if needed

Mike

Thanks for the ideas. I soaked the vest in kerosene out in the AZ sun for a day. Then I washed/rinsed in Dawn dish soap several times until the vest felt like the oil was gone. I now have an un-tin cloth vest that feels more like my Carhartt double front trousers. Far better for AZ hunts in 80 degree weather.
I will add that it is soft and pliable and I sprayed it with Scotchgard.
If I was to make a recommendation for de-oiling I would use white gas (Coleman) as the kerosene odor took a bit of work to remove.

I removed the wax from mine years ago.
You are really going to like it.

Just this week I sent my mesh strap vest back to Filson for repair. I've had it for over 15 years. It had a few holes in a pouch and a seam separation. If they can fix it, the repairs are free. They emailed me a UPS label for return. Great customer service. Gil

I always send any new Dillon vest to the dry cleaners. Comes back perfectly soft and oddly enough I think the vest without oil last longer. Something in their oil that seems to decompose the canvas.