Thread: Suitable paint for black form ply?

You will need to key the surface really well, then prime and paint. I would go for oiled based paints if its outside. Good luck.

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I painted mine with a water based exterior paint that was left over from painting my deck. That was about 12 months ago and seems fine. My form ply was second hand so the surface was already fairly keyed

Thanks for these replies, much appreciated. Excuse my ignorance, but what do you mean by keying? Coating with Bondcrete first?

Keyed = physically roughened (typically: sanded 80 or 100 grit). The paint has to adhere mechanically. And remember to seal the cut edges really well.

The black/brown surface is designed so that nothing sticks to it - or if it does, it doesn't take much scrubbing to remove what is stuck. It is designed to be reused for cementing - rather than being called form ply it really should be called formwork ply.

The only way you will be able to re-coat it with paint or similar is to remove the plastic type surface. I have done this before using a belt sander. It will take a bit of work but the surface will then be fine to refinish. I like using it despite the extreme cost compared to other ply forms because it tends to stay straight, is strong, fairly waterproof, fixings such as screws hold well and I can't say I have ever found a void or bog in it which is fairly common with other types of ply unless you buy top furniture grade which is very expensive.

Hope it helps.