What is film faced plywood?
Film faced plywood is a panel with a phenolic resin film hot-pressed onto one or both faces of a cross-laminated hardwood core. The film takes the wet concrete and the wear of stripping, while the core carries the pour pressure, which is why formwork crews treat it as a reusable casting face. How long it lasts comes down to the film weight, the core glue class and how panels are handled on site.
How many times can film faced plywood be reused?
On the Vinawood range the maxima under good site practice run Eco Form Plus up to 8, Form Basic and HDO Basic up to 10, Form Extra and Pro Form Lite up to 15, and Pro Form, HDO Standard and HDO Premium up to 20. MatteFace depends on the SKU: Panel 1S and 1SF up to 15, HD 1SF up to 17, and Panel 2S up to 25. Those figures are ceilings, not promises, and crowbar stripping or wet stacks cut them well short.
How well does film faced plywood handle water?
The phenolic face is water-resistant and stands up to wet concrete and cement alkalinity, but cut edges and drilled holes still let water into the core. WBP on a datasheet describes a glue line that holds when wet, not a panel that water cannot reach. Sealing edges at the factory and again after every site cut is what stops reuse from dropping off early.
How do you compare the cost of film faced plywood?
Compare cost per pour rather than sheet price, by dividing the landed cost of a panel by the pours you realistically expect on that job. A lighter MUF panel and a Class 3 phenolic panel can end up close on that measure when the lighter sheet only lasts a few cycles. Ask the mill for a landed quotation against your pour programme, with grade, thickness, size and bond class stated.
Is film faced plywood the same as phenolic plywood?
The terms overlap, but they are not identical. Film faced describes the phenolic film on the surface, while phenolic plywood can also mean a phenolic (PF) glue in the core, which is what earns EN 636-3 or Class 3. A panel with phenolic film over an MUF core is correctly sold as film faced and still stays Class 2. At Vinawood the Class 3 grades are Pro Form Lite, Pro Form, HDO Standard, HDO Premium and MatteFace; HDO Basic and the Form Basic / Form Extra / Eco Form Plus set stay Class 2.
Which film faced grade should I specify?
Match the grade to the pour count your crew can actually run. Eco Form Plus or Form Basic on an MUF core at EN 636-2 suits short covered cycles, and Form Extra stretches that to up to 15 reuses while staying Class 2. When the tender asks for Class 3, Pro Form Lite is the step in, Pro Form takes longer programmes at up to 20, and MatteFace or HDO Standard / HDO Premium cover matte-face and denser-overlay fair-face work.
