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Guides

TPU vs TPH paint protection film

What TPU and TPH mean on a PPF listing, how the two materials differ, and how to check what a film is really made of before you put it on a customer’s car.

Updated

Two films can both be sold as “PPF” and still be different materials. The acronym on the listing tells you a lot, as long as you know what it stands for and how to check it.

TPU: thermoplastic polyurethane

TPU is the base film used by the established paint protection film brands. It is elastic: it stretches around curves and edges and pulls back toward its original shape. TPU paint protection films usually carry a clear top coat, and on many films that top coat is self-healing. Light swirl marks fade with heat from the sun, warm water or a heat gun.

There are two families of TPU, and the difference matters for clear film:

  • Aromatic TPU is cheaper to make, but it yellows when exposed to UV light.
  • Aliphatic TPU is far more resistant to UV yellowing. That is why clear PPF meant to stay clear for years is made from aliphatic TPU.

If a data sheet says “TPU” without saying which kind, ask.

TPH: usually a PVC-based film

“TPH” has no single standard definition. Sellers often expand it as “thermoplastic hybrid”. In practice the term is used for films based on PVC (polyvinyl chloride), softened with plasticizers and sometimes blended with other polymers. It is sold as a lower-cost alternative to TPU.

PVC-based film is a different material, and it behaves differently:

  • It is generally less elastic, so it is harder to stretch around complex shapes and more likely to lift at edges and recesses.
  • Plasticizers can migrate out of PVC over time. As they do, the film can harden, shrink, crack or discolor.
  • Self-healing is limited or absent.
  • It is cheaper, which is why it shows up in listings priced well below TPU film.

TPH is not automatically a scam. It is a different, cheaper product. The problem is a TPH film sold as if it were TPU, with no data sheet to show the difference.

How to check what you are buying

  1. Ask for the technical data sheet (TDS). It should name the base material, ideally “aliphatic TPU”. If it says PVC, or doesn’t name the material at all, treat the film as unverified.
  2. Read the warranty document, not the ad. What does it cover (yellowing, cracking, delamination, adhesive failure)? For how long? Under what conditions, for example installation by a professional or care instructions? Who handles a claim?
  3. Ask for test reports. A manufacturer that has run accelerated weathering or yellowing tests can usually send the report.
  4. Be wary of a price that is far below the market for TPU. Ask why. Often the answer is a different material.
  5. Don’t rely on feel alone. Thickness, stretch and smell vary between films of the same material. A document is the reliable check.

How we handle it

SHIELD’s spec target is aliphatic TPU. We only list a film as SHIELD when the manufacturer’s data sheet says TPU, and the data sheet goes on the product page. Until it is on file, the product page says so.