What is phenolic plywood?
In concrete formwork, phenolic plywood is a panel with a phenolic film face pressed onto a wood-veneer core. Crews pour against that face and strip the sheet so it can go back up on the next lift. Retail Baltic birch sheets sold for CNC jigs also get called phenolic, but they belong to a different product family. Before comparing offers, write the face film, core bond, sheet size and reuse as up to N on the RFQ.
Are phenolic face film and phenolic glue the same thing?
No. The phenolic face film is the wear layer crews pour against, while phenolic glue (PF, EN 314-2 Class 3) is the veneer bond that survives the boil test. A phenolic-looking face over an MUF Class 2 core is not the same product as Pro Form on a Class 3 bond. Write both the face type and the bond class on the RFQ so the datasheet check compares like with like.
What bond class is phenolic plywood under EN 314 and EN 636?
Phenol-formaldehyde glue is the bond that reaches EN 314-2 Class 3 and EN 636-3, the exterior class used for formwork. MUF glue sits at EN 636-2, or Class 2, and a phenolic face film over an MUF core stays Class 2 even when the face looks the same. On the Vinawood ladder Pro Form, Pro Form Lite, HDO Standard, HDO Premium and the MatteFace Panel 1S, Panel 2S, 1SF and HD 1SF panels are written as Class 3. HDO Basic (1SF and 2S), Form Extra on its MUF core and MatteFace Eco 1SF are Class 2, so check the exact panel name on the datasheet before you order.
Is phenolic plywood the same as film faced plywood?
In export formwork RFQs the two names usually point at the same family, a phenolic film face on a hardwood core made for concrete. Buyers still need to separate the face film from the core bond, and film-faced sheets from HDO, which uses a fibre overlay. Vinawood maps that family to Form Basic and Form Extra on MUF Class 2 and to Pro Form Lite and Pro Form on PF Class 3, with HDO as a separate overlay range.
What should a phenolic plywood datasheet list before you order it for formwork?
A usable datasheet names the face film weight in g/m², the core species, the glue bond class to EN 314-2 or EN 636, the sheet size and thickness, and the density, because those lines decide how many pours a sheet will survive. Ask for the reuse figure as up to N for a stated pour type rather than a flat promise. Across the Vinawood film faced range the core is plantation Acacia and Eucalyptus, the formats are 1220 × 2440 mm or 1250 × 2500 mm from 12 to 21 mm, and phenolic glue to EN 636-3 is written on Pro Form Lite and Pro Form. Send those lines with your destination port through the
contact form and the mill will quote against the same spec.
Which concrete jobs justify phenolic-bonded plywood over a cheaper film faced grade?
Phenolic-bonded Class 3 sheets earn their price on long programmes, where the same panels cycle through many slab or wall pours and the finish has to stay smooth, because the PF bond holds up to repeated wetting and stripping. On a short job with a handful of pours, an MUF Class 2 sheet usually does the work for less money. In Vinawood terms that means Pro Form, rated up to 20 reuses, for the long programme and Form Basic, rated up to 10, for the short one. Count the pours you expect before choosing, and check the bond class on the datasheet rather than judging the sheet by its face colour.
