What is the difference between film faced and phenolic plywood?
Film faced names the surface, a phenolic resin film pressed onto the panel, while phenolic plywood can mean that film or a phenolic (PF) glue in the core. The two do not always come together, because a phenolic film can sit over a melamine (MUF) core that is rated EN 636-2. Only a PF core reaches EN 314 Class 3 and EN 636-3, so ask for the bond class on the datasheet instead of judging by the face.
Is melamine the same as phenolic?
No. In formwork plywood, melamine usually means MUF resin in the core, which reaches EN 314 Class 2 and EN 636-2, while phenolic means PF resin rated Class 3 and EN 636-3. Both are used in real film-faced panels, but they suit different pour counts and different exposure on site. The colour of the face film tells you neither, so read the bond class line.
What does melamine mean on a film-faced RFQ?
The word covers three different things, so name the layer you mean. It can be the MUF core resin used in Eco Form Plus, Form Basic and Form Extra, a melamine paper face found on some light-duty panels elsewhere, or decorative laminate for cabinets, which is not a formwork product at all. Every Vinawood film-faced formwork panel carries a phenolic face film, so on our range the melamine or phenolic decision is really a choice of core glue.
How many times can film-faced plywood be reused by glue class?
On MUF cores, Form Basic is rated up to 10 reuses and Form Extra up to 15, both at EN 636-2. On PF cores, Pro Form Lite is rated up to 15 and Pro Form up to 20, both at EN 636-3. Those figures are maxima under good site care, and on a mixed crew with wet weather it is safer to plan on roughly 60 to 80 percent of the catalogue number for either glue.
Is phenolic film-faced plywood always better than melamine?
No, because the right panel depends on the job rather than on the stronger-sounding resin. PF suits long programmes, weather-exposed forms and any drawing that names Class 3, while MUF fits short and mid-cycle work under cover at EN 636-2. Paying for a PF panel on a six-pour covered slab buys cycles the job will never use.
Is Form Extra phenolic Class 3?
No. Form Extra uses Superior Glue MUF in the core and is rated EN 636-2, and its extra reuse comes from that glue chemistry rather than from a heavier face film. If the engineer has specified Class 3, choose Pro Form Lite or Pro Form, or HDO Standard or HDO Premium in the North American range.
