On Mon, 8 Sep 2008 08:25:10 -0700 (PDT), nimbus
wrote:

....
Now, only after 2 years, the plastic is becoming
brittle. It seems to be at an end of life.

My 6 or 7 years old Jaxida set had lost all weatherproofing. The
coating progressively turned into a white powder that was filling my
clothes during the cover/uncover process.

I have sprayed the whole (cleaned) set with two thin coats of a
plastic paint called "Plastivel". The result is a different looking,
slightly more rigid and crisp glider cover.
No water passes through the fabric now, even under heavy rain. I still
can easily store the set in its bags, though the sound is definetely
different.
The seller claims that the treatment will last for more than 3 years.
It is in commont use on camp tents and for sealing toxic-painted
aquarium decorations from the vital environment.
My 18m single seater required 8 cans of spray paint for a total cost
of about 60 Euros.

Plastivel:
http://www.bricoliamo.com/17/37/546/
http://www.costruire.com/a+r/prod_sx...0&w=1332&n=153


The following product might be a good alternative, though it's based
on rubber instead of plastic.
http://www.plastidip.com/home_solutions/Plasti_Dip

Any other suggestions?

Aldo Cernezzi