What is formwork plywood?
Formwork plywood is a structural film-faced panel crews cut and fix so wet concrete casts against the overlay, not bare veneer. On commercial pours it covers walls, slabs, columns, and openings where the sheet must stay flat under pour pressure and strip clean for the next cycle. Buyers writing formwork plywood on an RFQ should name overlay gsm, EN 636 bond class, thickness, sheet size, and reuse as up to N — not hobby phenolic birch craft stock.
What is concrete forming plywood?
Concrete forming plywood is the same export family as formwork plywood under a US search synonym: phenolic film face on a hardwood core for pouring concrete. Specifiers still separate face film from core glue — MUF Class 2 versus PF Class 3 — and never treat retail DIY phenolic sheets as mill form packs. Vinawood maps that family to Eco Form Plus / Form Basic / Form Extra (MUF) and Pro Form Lite / Pro Form / HDO (PF Class 3) for factory-direct programmes.
Is the brown film the same thing as phenolic Class 3 glue?
No. Face film and core glue are separate lines on the TDS. Vinawood formwork faces are phenolic kraft paper. Core glue is either MUF (EN 636-2 Class 2 on Eco Form Plus, Form Basic, and Form Extra) or PF (EN 636-3 Class 3 on Pro Form Lite, Pro Form, and HDO). A brown face on an MUF panel is still Class 2 — write the class number on the PO, not just the film colour.
What overlay gsm and EN 314 bond class belong on a formwork RFQ?
Name film weight where the catalogue lists it (commonly 120, 165, or 220 g/m² kraft phenolic film) separately from the veneer bond. Weather-and-boil-proof bonding is checked under EN 314-2; exterior formwork programmes usually write EN 636-3 / Class 3 when the core is PF. Overlay gsm does not upgrade an MUF Class 2 core. Put both gsm and bond class on the RFQ before price.
How many reuses can film faced plywood take on a pour programme?
Reuse is always an up-to N mill card, never N+. Typical Vinawood ceilings under good site care: Eco Form Plus up to 8, Form Basic up to 10, Form Extra and Pro Form Lite up to 15, Pro Form up to 20, HDO Basic up to 10, HDO Premium up to 20 by card. Release agent, sealed edges, and flat stacking decide whether you hit the card.
Where do importers buy mill film faced plywood for concrete formwork?
Factory-direct mill supply is the B2B path: name overlay gsm, bond class (EN 636-2 or EN 636-3), size, thickness, and reuse as up to N on the RFQ. Vinawood ships plantation-grown formwork panels from Vietnam to 55+ countries. Start with the film-faced collection or request mill specs at /rfq. Big-box SKUs and hobby phenolic birch boards are a different buyer channel.
Is film faced plywood waterproof?
Not in the strict sense, and a purchase order that only says waterproof leaves the line that matters blank. The phenolic film sheds water and lets concrete release cleanly, but the glue inside the core decides how the panel holds up after many wet cycles. An MUF core rated EN 636-2 Class 2 is water-resistant for normal pour programmes, while a PF core rated EN 636-3 Class 3 is the weather-and-boil-proof choice for long outdoor work. Cut edges need re-sealing on site, because water gets in at the edge long before it gets through the film.
Is black film faced plywood better than brown?
Colour on its own does not set the grade. Black and brown faces are both phenolic-impregnated paper, and the shade mostly follows the paper a mill buys or the convention a market is used to. Pour count depends on film weight in g/m² and on the core glue class, with the veneer build close behind, so compare those lines on the data sheet before you compare price. Under the same site care, a brown panel on a PF Class 3 core will usually take more pours than a black panel on an MUF Class 2 core.
