Guides / Specification

How to Specify Film Faced Plywood from Vietnam

September 21, 2026

Film faced plywood is the product buyers get burned on most, because two panels that look identical in a photo can behave completely differently on the third pour.

The film is the part you see. The panel underneath is the part you are buying.

Start with the film weight

Film weight is given in grams per square metre, per face. Three levels cover most work:

• 120 g/m2: light film, a handful of pours, common on price driven orders
• 220 g/m2: the normal working spec for repeated formwork
• 440 g/m2: heavy film for abrasive mixes and long reuse

Some quotes state the total for both faces, which makes a 110 g/m2 panel look like a 220 g/m2 panel. Write “per face” in the enquiry and the ambiguity disappears.

Brown film and black film are both phenolic. Colour tells you nothing about quality on its own, so ask for the film brand and weight rather than the colour.

Then the core

The film sits on a normal plywood core, and that core decides stiffness, screw holding and how the panel survives being dropped off a scaffold.

Ask for a full hardwood core with a stated ply count. A combi core with softwood centres is cheaper, lighter and softer, which is fine for light formwork and wrong for anything carrying load. State whether core gaps are acceptable. They usually are not, because a gap under the film shows up as a mark on the concrete.

The bond is not optional

Film faced panels must be pressed with WBP phenolic glue. The film protects the face, not the glue lines, and formwork takes water at the cut edges every single pour. MR glue in a film faced panel is a delamination waiting for the second cycle.

Put the bond in the contract by name and ask for the boil test report that goes with the batch.

Edge sealing

Cut edges are where water gets in. Mills seal edges with acrylic or phenolic paint, and the quality varies from a proper two pass seal to a spray that covers half the edge. Specify edge sealing on all four sides, and ask for a photo of the sealed edge from the production batch, not from the sales folder.

Once your crew cuts a panel on site, that new edge is unsealed. Give them the paint.

Number of pours

Every mill quotes a reuse number. Treat it as the best case under ideal handling. What the panel actually gives you depends on film weight, core, edge sealing, release agent and whether the crew uses a hammer on the face.

Buy a trial load before the running order, and photograph the panels after the first three pours. That single step has saved more money on formwork than any negotiation on price per sheet.

What to put in the enquiry

Line	Example
Product	Film faced plywood, brown film
Film weight	220 g/m2 per face
Size	18 mm, 1220 x 2440 mm
Core	Full hardwood core, 13 plies, no gaps
Bond	WBP phenolic, boil test report with the batch
Edges	Sealed all four sides
Volume	2 x 40ft per month, running order
Destination	Port and Incoterm

Eight lines. Send them and the quotes you get back are comparable, which is the only way to tell a good price from a cheap panel.

See also the reference page on film faced plywood: film weights, cores, glue and reuse.

Frequently asked questions

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