Thanks to all who replied. I managed to get the majority of covering off (with the exception of what is glued onto the hinges), but it should not be noticable when I recover it. I did not have much luck with the split - I ended up cutting out that section and replacing it with another piece of sheeting. As I wanted to use a transparent covering, you can see the difference inthe wood grain when you look closely at it. Not pretty, but effective I guess.