On 12/08/2019 16:53, Clive Arthur wrote:
I have a Roberts DAB radio with a traditional style caseÂ* It seems to be
covered in some fake leather or suede effect stuff with a very thin
plastic skin on some powdery cork-like substance.

The plastic is shedding, it's really badly made.Â* I thought I might get
a second hand faulty one on eBay and swap the innards, but they all seem
to have the same problem.

I can fairly easily remove the plastic coating, but how could I seal the
crumbly substrate?

Cheers

It depends which traditional style it is. The only Roberts I can think
of which fits the description has, I think, a fake leather cover over
something like I know as hardboard- a 'cross' between wood and
cardboard, often found in back of cheap furniture etc.

You could try the stuff intended to stablise rotten wood. It is a thin
resin like liquid you paint on, it soaks in, sets hard, bonding the
fibres together. I think Ronseal make it.