Editor’s Note: This article is the first of a two-part series about marine protection film.

Chris Brooks couldn’t believe his eyes. The now-vice president of Kauff’s Tint & Wraps in Palm Beach County, Florida, stared right at a customer’s boat. Except for one untouched patch, it was covered in more scratches, dings and scrapes than he thought possible.

The customer had originally gone to Kauff’s to have paint protection film (PPF) installed on his high-end cars, Brooks says. He returned to the shop impressed with the PPF’s effectiveness and asked Brooks if he could put it on his fishing boat, too.

“I knew it could be done in theory, but I wasn’t sure how it would perform,” Brooks says. “So, I installed a test strip of PPF before he headed to Puerto Rico for a fishing trip.”

Chris Brooks now works on more than 30 boats a year. Image used with permission.

Fishing equipment and rocks scraped the boat’s exterior, Brooks says, causing a surprising amount of damage. The test PPF strip had protected the one untouched patch, and a marine division of Kauff’s Tint & Wraps was born.

That was around 20 years ago. Brooks believes he was one of the first to install PPF on marine vessels. Now, he works on more than 30 boats a year, including everything from small fishing vessels to yachts that are more than 300 feet long.

Where It’s Used

Many of Brook’s clients want to protect their boats’ hulls the way his first customer did. And, that’s far from the only application for protection film on a boat, Brooks says. It can also protect the outside of the cabin and some interior elements.

“We’ve installed film on fixtures like marble countertops and wooden tables,” he says. “Some customers also like to protect the wooden pieces of those chairs that fishermen strap themselves into on fishing boats.”

Dan Birkenmeier is a segment marketing manager for Eastman and works with the company’s marine offerings. Before launching a marine line in July, Birkenmeier says Eastman’s LLumar brand worked with its dealers for months to learn what they needed most.

Eastman launched the LLumar marine line after taking suggestions from its dealers, says segment manager Dan Birkenmeier. Image used with permission from Eastman.

“Many of our dealers tell us they put protection film on boats’ railings and outboard motors,” he says. “Those motors are expensive, and customers want to keep them safe.”

There are so many marine applications for protection film that it’s no longer accurate to call it PPF, says Ryan Tounsley. He owned Protective Film Solutions for more than 23 years before selling his company to XPEL. Now, he’s the film manufacturer’s marine and RV director.

“We call it marine protection film (MPF) instead of PPF,” he says. “Most boats aren’t painted; they have a gel coat, so the film doesn’t protect paint at all. Plus, it can be used on plenty of other parts of the vessel.”

XPEL launched its MPF line at the beginning of 2024.

What’s the Difference?

Tounsley first installed protection film on his own boat back in 2001, he says.

“My friends and family kept dinging up the transom and swim deck when they were getting in or out with the wakeboard or water skis, so I installed PPF,” he says. “I had to use automotive PPF because there wasn’t a marine-specific product available at the time.”

Like Tounsley, Brooks used PPF for many years until MPF became available. He is a LLumar dealer and uses their marine products. Birkenmeier says LLumar’s marine protection film is similar to its automotive products in many ways, with one key difference.

Chris Brooks says he works on everything from fishing boats to yachts that are more than 100 feet long. Image used with permission.

“The adhesive has more of a grip to it than regular PPF,” he says. “At the end of the day, though, it does the same job as automotive film.”

XPEL’s MPF is also similar to automotive PPF, Tounsley says, but with a stronger adhesive and a stronger top coat.

“The top coat means the film is less susceptible to staining,” he says. “The adhesive needs to be a bit more aggressive [than automotive film] because when a boat’s moving through the water, it’s kind of like having a high-pressure washer on it at all times. High-pressure washers and PPF are typically a bad mix because the water can cut the film and create a blister.”

In the next newsletter, Window Film will cover special considerations and techniques for installing marine protection film, as well as warranty differences and customer education.