Frozen Paint

[Argyll Andy]

Orange is not my cup of tea when it comes to car color but it looks nice when it is on Frozen paint.

That can’t be right, you come from the Orange state

[Wyldie85]

I’ve seen frozen orange and frozen grey in the flesh and I like them both but given my slight ocd, it’s not a finish I could live with.
When I looked at the frozen grey one, there was a mark on the bonnet. The dealer took a handy spray from his pocket and gave it a good circular rub. Not only did he scratch the paint, he then made it shiny. That was the bonnet ruined within all of about ten seconds. This was at a large BMW dealership on the south coast. The manager then got involved and we were told the car couldn’t then be sold.

As others have mentioned, there’s the issue with repainting or dealing with scratches.

I also read about bird poo and insects. These must be removed immediately, otherwise they burn into the paint and then when removed, they leave a burned outline on the bodywork.

I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night with the maintenance involved. San Fran red with a black interior is enough upkeep for me.

[Argyll Andy]

Wyldie85,

Thanks for that, it has just confirmed all my fears and more and I’m only a tiny bit OCD when it comes to cars. But worrying about every scratch, bird poo, insect is just madness IMO.

Very interesting to hear that a 10 second wipe damaged the bonnet. Even though I was told they were high maintenance I honestly didn’t realise it was that easy to remove the matt finish.

Up here on the west coast if you go out for a spirited drive anytime in the summer the front of the car looks like a fly cemetery by the end. Knowing you have to clean that, very carefully, immediately after arriving home because the 4:30 sun the next morning is going to bake them all on is not my idea of enjoying a car’s ownership.

My current ceramic coated VO is a breeze to keep clean, wash with a warm shampoo mix and wipe down with liquid wax, that’ll do fine for me

[F1SpaceMonkey]

I was told by many dealers that this sort of paint really has to have PPF on. You can get matte PPF so it would still have that "frozen" look.

[enuff_zed]

Indeed, life would be boring if we all liked the same things, I’m just happy that I have my taste and not yours

Anyhow, what is FWIW?

Touché

Answered in the first 4 words of my previous post

For what it's worth, I believe FWIW means For What It's Worth.
IMO.

[sars]

Indeed, life would be boring if we all liked the same things, I’m just happy that I have my taste and not yours

Anyhow, what is FWIW?

Touché

Answered in the first 4 words of my previous post

Duh, now do I feel stupid, for what it’s worth = FWIW

[Argyll Andy]

Indeed, life would be boring if we all liked the same things, I’m just happy that I have my taste and not yours

Anyhow, what is FWIW?

Touché

Answered in the first 4 words of my previous post

Duh, now do I feel stupid, for what it’s worth = FWIW

we all have those moments sars, all good

[Nanu]

Each to their own tastes but personally I like to see a nice shiny car

[Wyldie85]

Exactly @Argyll Andy. In the summer there’s plenty of bugs and stuff that gets plastered to the front. It just doesn’t seem right that you then have to carefully remove everything and have it all cleaned down after every drive.

I’m sure those with frozen paints may argue it’s not as horrendous as made out but it’s not something I’d want to live with.

Amazing that it was a £2k option for something that needs such specific care. I know there’s other shades used on other BMW’s. For example Portimao Blue Metallic looks lovely but I’d end up neurotic.

[Argyll Andy]

Exactly @Argyll Andy. In the summer there’s plenty of bugs and stuff that gets plastered to the front. It just doesn’t seem right that you then have to carefully remove everything and have it all cleaned down after every drive.

I’m sure those with frozen paints may argue it’s not as horrendous as made out but it’s not something I’d want to live with.

Amazing that it was a £2k option for something that needs such specific care. I know there’s other shades used on other BMW’s. For example Portimao Blue Metallic looks lovely but I’d end up neurotic.

I would stop using it because at night after you thought you’d cleaned it down (PITA) you’d be back out checking it again to make sure you hadn’t missed anything.

We also use ours mainly for weekends away and want to use it for a 16 day European road trip, I know, whenever that’ll happen, so does that mean you’d either need to carry your cleaning stuff with you or find somewhere to wash the car every night after your days driving?

A £2k premium for the paint and approx £4K for a full car PPF. I was looking at the Individual paint finishes @ £4k which is cheaper but they don’t offer them for the Z4.

I commented on a thread about 4 weeks ago saying of the M40i’s available at the time more than half were frozen paint and wondered if that was owners who’d thought they were lovely when ordering then found day to day use and the practicalities, or non-practicalities of having it and then have traded in.

The one thing I’ve noticed about this thread, and you’ve mentioned it too, is that there have been no responses from frozen paint owners and they may have a much better opinion of it through ownership, or confirm our fears

[handymanuk]

I have a frozen grey Z4 with Cognac and I really don't understand the concerns or share the experiences that others are reporting. Perhaps if you want your car immaculate all of the time right through the ownership period then it does sound that it would be harder to repair but honestly, I've had the car a year and have had zero issues.

I keep an eye out for any bird droppings and remove them as soon as I can, I'd do the same with non-matte paint.

It looks great even when it's slightly dirty because the matte finish hides a lot of the smaller dirt and water marks. I use shampoo for non-matte paint and the finish comes up great.

Honestly, if you want it go for it. Unless you are going to keep your car in a showroom then I don't quite understand the obsession with keeping it pristine AND also wanting to drive the car as well. It will get dirty, it will need cleaning. You may get stone chips. You may get minor scratches. It's just a fact of car ownership.

[Obs-Com]

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Just want to provide a bit of balance on frozen paint as there’s a lot of crap being written from my direct experience. I’ve previously posted the following in previous discussions:

“ How it looks in years to come is down to how you actually care and maintain the paint generally. It’s the same for all paint finishes. I have a Frozen Orange First Edition. It’s probably easier to look after than gloss finish and is much less time consuming as you’re not constantly striving for the perfect finish. Obviously, major blemishes can’t be polished out as with a normal paint finish but as long as you use the right products in the right way, its quicker to clean and maintain.

I use Nanolex Final Finish matte detailer to get rid of blemishes and contamination. When I first brought the car home I used Dr Beasley’s Matte Paint Cleanser followed by a Matte Paint Coating. Very easy to apply and provides paint protection. I’ve also used Chipex chip repair kit on minor stone chips. The paint match is good and think they do it in grey?

Frozen Orange And Grey looks fabulous on the G29. The car really suits the matte finish IMO.”

My First Edition will be two years old in June and done 10K. My attention to detail with my cars is reflected in the Reg No of my car. It’s well cared for! It is the easiest car I’ve ever had to look after. I’ve had fly squats and bird poo and non have caused any significant damage and have been easily rectified, possibly due to the coating that I apply a couple of times a year. I’ve touched in minor stone chips without any problems.

Some people like shiny cars (I do too!) and I was very concerned about maintaining the car prior to purchase but I’d definitely buy another frozen paint car if it looked as stunning as it does on my M40i. I never had as many people ask me about a car and all seem to think the paint finish is stunning.

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[Argyll Andy]

I have a frozen grey Z4 with Cognac and I really don't understand the concerns or share the experiences that others are reporting. Perhaps if you want your car immaculate all of the time right through the ownership then it does sound that it would be harder to repair but honestly, I've had the car a year and have had zero issues.

I keep an eye out for any bird droppings and remove them as soon as I can, I'd do the same with non-matte paint.

It looks great even when it's slightly dirty because the matte finish hides a lot of the smaller dirt and water marks. I use shampoo for non-matte paint and the finish comes up great.

Honestly, if you want it go for it. Unless you are going to keep your car in a showroom then I don't quite understand the obsession with keeping it pristine AND also wanting to drive the car as well. It will get dirty, it will need cleaning. You may get stone chips. You may get minor scratches. It's just a fact of car ownership.

As if by magic

A couple of questions, do you have to wash the car after usage, I’m referring to my concerns about use in the summer when here the number plate and front of the car looks like a science project

Do you have any sort of preventative measures like coatings or PPF?

How many miles have you covered and have you picked up and stone chips and scratches?

I’m the same as you, remove bird poo ASAP on any car I’ve got. For me this isn’t about keeping the car immaculate and pristine, it’s actually the opposite, I want to be able to drive it hard for 3+ days then bring it home, park it up and give it a good clean within the next couple of days and the information I’ve got so far is with frozen paint this may not be a sensible option, particularly for when it comes time to sell on if by not cleaning it after use you have lots of blemishes that can’t be rectified in the way “normal” paint can

Andy

EDIT and a comprehensive answer from obs-com covering my points

[Obs-Com]

Last July I drove through the night from the Italian Alps to catch the morning Ferry from Caen. Not only did the M40i prove itself a a fabulous long distance tourer, the front end was splattered with a mass of dead nightlife! This was cleaned without and additional problems just as easily as gloss paint.

I’ve had bird poo on my gloss finish cars that still leaves residue and can still be seen from certain angles. I don’t get this on the Frozen Orange. A spray with matte detailer and any contamination is gone.

A quick rinse, wash with Autoglym Pure Shampoo and a microfiber dry is all it needs to remain looking pristine. NO POLISHING REQUIRED!

Andy Argyll: That respected detailer you trust; he doesn’t have a Labrador by any chance???

[Argyll Andy]

Last July I drove through the night from the Italian Alps to catch the morning Ferry from Caen. Not only did the M40i prove itself a a fabulous long distance tourer, the front end was splattered with a mass of dead nightlife! This was cleaned without and additional problems just as easily as gloss paint.

I’ve had bird poo on my gloss finish cars that still leaves residue and can still be seen from certain angles. I don’t get this on the Frozen Orange. A spray with matte detailer and any contamination is gone.

A quick rinse, wash with Autoglym Pure Shampoo and a microfiber dry is all it needs to remain looking pristine. NO POLISHING REQUIRED!

Andy Argyll: That respected detailer you trust; he doesn’t have a Labrador by any chance???

These are the answers I was looking for and why I’d previously posted we hadn’t had any responses from owners at that point.

I’ve no idea what his pet situation is but the award winning detailer has first hand, hands on experience of working with, and trying to resolve paint issues on an almost new frozen paint car and on that, and other experiences, he strongly advised me against it. As already said I trust and greatly appreciate his input, he knows what he’s talking about