Lauan plywood

Overview

Lauan is a thin tropical hardwood plywood, usually 1/8 to 1/4 in, used as underlayment and for laminating. Patriot Timber, a seller that promotes a competing product, describes it as made from Shorea species (Philippine mahogany, meranti) and produced in Japan, Korea and Taiwan from Philippine, Indonesian and Malaysian logs. Wikipedia's Shorea page says "lauan" is one of several trade names for the genus, along with meranti, seraya, balau and Philippine mahogany, and that Philippine mahogany is not a true mahogany but a mixture of woods. In practice lauan is the cheap, thin ply for backs, bottoms and templates.

Pros

• Cheap and thin. Toledo's 1/8 in sheet is $15.95.
• Flexible when thin, so it bends for curved work.
• Smooth enough for paint, laminate and veneer faces.
• Available widely as underlayment.

Cons

• Quality varies by shipment and sources have declined (Patriot Timber, an interested seller).
• Toledo sells its underlayment as "non-warranted": no guarantee of flatness or voids.
• Open grain and soft veneers; the face dents easily.
• Core voids are common in cheap sheets.
• Species and origin are rarely declared, which makes legality and sourcing opaque.
• Poor screw holding in thin sheets.

Variants and subspecies

• Lauan underlayment: Toledo's interior non-warranted sheets, 1/4 to 1/2 in.
• Door-skin and thin lauan: 1/8 in sheets at Toledo for $15.95.
• Bending lauan: Toledo sells 3/8 in "bending lauan" for curved work; see Bending plywood.
• RevolutionPly: a plantation-wood alternative; Patriot Timber's blog promotes it, and Toledo lists 1/4 in at $29.95. I did not verify its species or performance independently.
• Meranti and Shorea: see Meranti and Marine plywood.
• Wikipedia's Lauan page is a disambiguation page, so "lauan" can mean different woods in different markets.

Working and finishing

Cut with a fine blade and tape the line to prevent face tear-out. Glue and brad it onto frames, or laminate in layers over a form for curves. Prime and paint; the open grain needs filler for a smooth finish. Pre-drill and use short screws or brads rather than long screws.

Staining and finishing colour

The reddish-brown face takes stain unevenly because the open grain absorbs more at the pores; fill first or use gel stain. Most users paint or cover it. A clear finish shows the grain and the colour variation between sheets.

Sustainability and handling

Wikipedia reports that of the Shorea species assessed by the IUCN, 102 are critically endangered, 34 endangered, 3 vulnerable and 6 least concern, with about 48 not evaluated; it also notes concern that the IUCN's criteria may overstate the threat to long-lived trees. Because "lauan" covers several species, you cannot assume any one sheet is a threatened species, but you cannot assume it is not either. WRI found that 62 percent of 73 wood products tested were mislabelled. Imported hardwood plywood must meet EPA TSCA Title VI limits (0.05 ppm). Legal status checked 2026-09-30. Ask for species, origin and an FSC chain-of-custody record.

Popular projects

Underlayment, drawer bottoms and cabinet backs, template and pattern making, curved laminations, theatre sets and models.

Buying notes

Toledo (September 2026): 1/8 in 4x8 $15.95; 1/4 in underlayment $18.95; 3/8 in $31.95; 1/2 in $42.95. Check sheets for voids, warp and patches, since non-warranted stock varies. For a better face, use Cabinet-grade hardwood plywood or birch.