What is Phronolic Ply?

[Mac]

Hi Folks!

 

I was chatting away about puting in a new stern deck and I was told I needed phronolic ply.

 

So come tell me what it is? please?

 

Do I need it or can I use marine ply from B&Q, or better still what would you recommend?

 

Many Thanks

Mac

[smileypete]

Hi Folks!

 

I was chatting away about puting in a new stern deck and I was told I needed phronolic ply.

 

So come tell me what it is? please?

 

Do I need it or can I use marine ply from B&Q, or better still what would you recommend?

 

Many Thanks

Mac

 

Just normal 'WBP' ply will do, but once cut to size treat it very well with clear wood preserver before painting. Give the faces a few generous coats and plenty on the edges, preferably dip them in a small trough of it.

 

Coat the underside with a wood stain so if the wood gets wet it can dry out fairly easily.

 

cheers,

Pete.

[John Orentas]

Probably thinking of the stuff that is used on the rear decks of Liverpool Boats. Seems like godd stuff. You could try LB themselves.

[Norman Bond]

I think you mean Phenolic Ply. Phenol-Formaldehyde resins were the basis for Bakelite ( for all us oldies that remember such things).

[DHutch]

I think you mean Phenolic Ply.

Ahh, you got there before me!!

 

Yes, Phenolic Ply, or 'resinboard' as ive also heard it called.

- Its used for floors in trailers and lorrys, flight cases, outdoor climbing equipment, etc.

 

Its basical just very high resin content ply, made using phenolic resin, to the extent that is more like wood-renfored plastic than plywood itself.

- Phenolic resin is also what gives it its charisteristic brown colour.

 

Its been discusted on here before, if you seach 'Phenolic' on the forums. There are several brandnames, including 'Rhino Board' and 'Hexgrip' or somthing, and proberbly a whole host more.

 

 

 

Daniel

[David Schweizer]

I suspect that what the person, to whom you spoke, meant, was Phenol coated ply. This is available from any good plywood stockist in 1200x2400 sheets. It is the standard stuff used on boats for decking, and is usually based on 19mm Birch ply. On one side, the phenol coating, (which as Daniel has already indicated is very similar to bakelite), has a moulded anti slip suface, usually a honeycombe pattern. It is very expensive so work out exactly how much you will need, and try and negotiate a price for part boards, or try and persuade a friendly boat fitter to sell you some large offcuts.

 

As far as the so called Marine Ply form B&Q is concerned, don't even go there, it is not Marine ply at all, but imported WBP ply, manufactured under often suspect conditions in places like Indonesia. One of the problems with this material is that the laminate bonding process relies upon heat to cure the waterproof glue, The electricity supply at some of the mills is intermittent, and regular power failures can result in poorly bonded ply. If you are unfortunate enough to buy a suspect board (and there is no way of telling by looking at it), the outcome is that the glue will crystalize under heat from the sun, and the boards will start to de-laminate, believe me I have had personal experience of this happening. If after all that you still want to use marine ply, get it from a reliable supplier like Robbions of Bristol, but it is even more expensive than Phenol Coated Ply.

[ChrisPy]

Personally I would go for a good WBP fair faced 19mm shuttering ply for fixed panels (only about £28 a sheet from a specialist supplier), and phenolic ply for removeable hatches. Make sure the fixed panels are well sealed all round the edges before finally fixing.

[Mac]

Thanks everyone!

 

I'll go and find a supplier of this 'Phenolic Ply'

 

Mac

[GLYN FORSTER]

Thanks everyone!

 

I'll go and find a supplier of this 'Phenolic Ply'

 

Mac

Hi there we get our Phenolic faced ply from the Timber Centre but most big woodyards stock it, it comes in either hexaon or diamond pattern normally and if you count the number of plys in it you can see it is far superior to the standard exterior ply, allthough it is quite expensive it saves on time as all you need to do once cut to size is seal the edges, we use a walnut coloured sadolin or similar.

[David Schweizer]

.....as all you need to do once cut to size is seal the edges, we use a walnut coloured sadolin or similar.

The accepted wisdom is to coat the edges of ply with several coats of varnish to seal it, However I have found that if the ply is outside and subject to wet weather, the sealing process needs to be repeated every couple of years. This is fine if the panels can be removed easily, but where access is difficult I havs found that coating the edge with two layers of glass fibre resin gives lasting protection.