Backboard of old mirror shedding

Hi guys. I just picked up a bunch of large mirrors that came off of mid century dressers. My favorite mirror has a backboard made of some kind of very thick cardboard or pressed board of some type. Any time you rub up against it you get brown stuff all over you. It appears to be shedding. I really want to keep this in my apartment so just trying to weigh my options.

I have not tried anything yet to clean it. It is a textured surface so wiping down with a wet rag doesn't really work.

Any tips or tricks on how to clean this or stabilize it or should I just take the whole piece off and throw it away?

I like the backboard because it has the date and other info for the piece on it.

Thanks!

 

Brush with a soft brush, then a coat of clear matte varnish will fix it. Looks like MDF or particle board.

 

Ditto what Owned said. Could use a spray acrylic as well.

 

True, and that might work a bit better, as it won't mean touching the board.

 

Thanks guys! Honestly, don't care that much to clear coat it. It will never be seen. Will probably just get rid of it. It seems to be disintegrating so clear coating it is probably just prolonging the inevitable. I just always try to preserve as much as I can, but I think in this situation it probably doesn't make sense. Thanks for the suggestions!

 

On an somewhat related note, what are the backboards on these mirrors for? They seem superficial. Are they just for show? Are there any health risks or anything to having the exposed back of the mirror?

Thanks!

 

Generally it holds and supports the mirror in the frame, and probable offers some protection to the mirror. As to health risk some fiber board products may have formaldehyde used in the mfg process, I don't know if that is the case with yours.

 

Your mirror might fall out of the frame without some kind of backing. . .just sayin'.

 

On all of the mirrors I got there are little angled pieces of wood that hold the mirror in. The backing is held with staples and doesn't look to have any actual purpose other than covering up the back of the mirror (certainly couldn't hold the mirror in)

So if it's not holding the mirror in, is there any reason I should be concerned about just removing it?

 

Mirror silvering can get scratched without it.