Film faced plywood is a kind of hardwood plywood laminated with black or brown color film. The use of it is for concrete forming and shuttering. Its veneer structure is different from normal commercial plywood. The panel requires higher strength to be used in formwork.
Film Faced Plywood Glue
Film faced plywood made in China uses three types of glue, Urea Formaldehyde Glue, Melamine WBP Glue, Phenolic WBP Glue. Among them, WBP Phenolic is the best kind. WBP means water boiling proof. The WBP plywood can endure more than 72 hours boiling in hot water. UF glue is the normal kind. Melamine glue is better than UF and inferior to the WBP Phenolic.
Film Faced Plywood Core
Poplar Core
The poplar core plywood is light weight and cheap in price. Poplar plywood with WBP melamine glue or phenolic glue has high quality. Poplar veneer is easy to obtain in China thus it is low in price. The poplar plywood are usually non-structural grade.
Hardwood Core
Eucalyptus is a hardwood veneer grown in South China and Vietnam. Chinese plywood manufacturers uses eucalyptus to produce hardwood film faced plywood. Euca ply usually come with WBP melamine or phenolic glue. It is the highest standard structural ply.
Finger Joint Core
Finger joint core plywood is the cheapest film faced plywood. Why do we call it to finger joint? Its main material is a recycled board from the working field. Factories will polish the used plywood and cut them into small pieces. Then they will laminate the blocks with finger joints and glues. This significantly reduces the price. Some formwork companies buy this kind of product to reduce their cost. But there is a risk of using finger joint core plywood that it may break suddenly and cause problems with your work and people.