[BroDoze]

Nothing beats the real thing. The frozen grey is amazing paint with a ton of depth - you cannot replicate that with matte PPF.

[BradMX5]

Originally Posted by BroDoze

Nothing beats the real thing. The frozen grey is amazing paint with a ton of depth - you cannot replicate that with matte PPF.

I agree, pictures do this color very little justice.

It was a color I overlooked until I saw it in person then it made me almost pull the trigger on it.

If anyone hasn't seen the color in person they definitely need to.

[ednir98]

Originally Posted by BroDoze

- you cannot replicate that with matte PPF.

It's really not that different.

https://www.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...php?p=29937438

[BroDoze]

LOL - WAY different- I can see the difference just in those pics. In-person will be night and day.

[JABCAT]

Originally Posted by BroDoze

Nothing beats the real thing. The frozen grey is amazing paint with a ton of depth - you cannot replicate that with matte PPF.

There was a brand new frozen grey M2 in the service drive at my dealer last week, and honestly I was really disappointed. This car had obviously been run through the dealer's automatic car wash. It had a lot of very noticeable water spots & swirls in the paint. I was going to take some pics but the owner came out to grab it.

[ednir98]

You get 95% the same-looking finish without the complete hassle of maintaining matte paint. Frozen grey + PPF you're looking at $7k+ for... a grey car.

If there's nothing like the oem finish then how will you protect such a vulnerable paint job? If you PPF frozen paint then isn't that a waste of $2,400?

[BroDoze]

Hard to explain until you see a bunch of them, but first and foremost is doing a matte ceramic job on the car, and carrying that over to any matte PPFd parts.
PPFing an entire car (well) is anywhere from $5,000-$7,000 or higher. How is that cheaper than just getting matte paint and PPFing the front?
Do what you want, but there’s a big difference between the two. Matte PPF on a non-frozen car has no depth in the paint. Matte PPF protecting an already matte car retains this depth almost perfectly. Seen probably 7 or 8 examples of it personally along with multiple PPF dealers describing the exact same thing. It worsens with age, too, which is where the ceramic comes in to keep the color and depth “popping.”

YMMV - I’d suggest trying to find as many fresh and older examples as possible.

[ednir98]

BroDoze I personally wouldn't just wrap the front of a matte car considering the cost and serious labor involved with repainting that kind of finish.

I guess Frozen Grey is worth it if you're only going to wrap little bits and pieces but expect complications later on when scratches and chips happen on the other 75% of the car.

My point is, skyscraper is $600, wrap is $5-7k. If you're gonna fully wrap FPG (which you should) then skyscraper + matte ppf is the better "investment".

[BroDoze]

^^ No way I’m dropping $7k+ on PPF. The $2,500 or so will be bad enough.

I’ve got a 10yr old rig right now I only did the front on and it looks excellent. Mostly garage queen. Not frozen, but I’ll be ceramic coating fairly regularly on this one, which should help with the light scratches.

[ednir98]

Originally Posted by BroDoze

^^ No way I’m dropping $7k+ on PPF. The $2,500 or so will be bad enough.

It's a lot of money for sure. It'd be the only way I could rock frozen paint though. Otherwise it'd probably keep me up at night lol.

[fanofbmwe46]

Originally Posted by JABCAT

There was a brand new frozen grey M2 in the service drive at my dealer last week, and honestly I was really disappointed. This car had obviously been run through the dealer's automatic car wash. It had a lot of very noticeable water spots & swirls in the paint. I was going to take some pics but the owner came out to grab it.

Oh that would suck

[JABCAT]

Originally Posted by ednir98

It's a lot of money for sure. It'd be the only way I could rock frozen paint though. Otherwise it'd probably keep me up at night lol.

100%. matte finishes don't hold up over time & look bad when not taken care of. Ceramic coating doesn't protect against rock chips. I was all about the frozen grey until I saw it in-person. I also have to disagree with the "depth" comments, frozen colors do not have the depth of metallic or pearl colors.

[BroDoze]

Originally Posted by JABCAT

Ceramic coating doesn't protect against rock chips.

Duh. That’s what PPF (in the front) is for.

[JABCAT]

Originally Posted by BroDoze

Duh. That’s what PPF (in the front) is for.

If you only get rock chips on the front...

[BroDoze]

Originally Posted by JABCAT

If you only get rock chips on the front...

By “front” I mean all forward-facing surfaces, including side skirts, a-pillars, mirrors etc. I’ve been PPFing tons of cars for a LONG time - I know what areas to get done, and what naked areas still look new after 5+ years.

[JABCAT]

Originally Posted by BroDoze

By “front” I mean all forward-facing surfaces, including side skirts, a-pillars, mirrors etc. I’ve been PPFing tons of cars for a LONG time - I know what areas to get done, and what naked areas still look new after 5+ years.

me too. With the G87 at that point the only thing you won't have covered is the trunk lid, rear bumper cover & maybe rear fenders. So you might as well do it all.

[techwhiz1]

Originally Posted by BroDoze

By “front” I mean all forward-facing surfaces, including side skirts, a-pillars, mirrors etc. I’ve been PPFing tons of cars for a LONG time - I know what areas to get done, and what naked areas still look new after 5+ years.

I've done only front for my last 5 cars. Most it to the middle of the hood.

I just don't like the little rock chip specs you get right on the front.

$7500 for full PPF? That's why I pay for comprehensive insurance. If it gets damaged enough for a full paint job, I'll let them pay.

Here in California, comprehensive damage claims like glass, bird crap, vandals, etc don't effect the rates.

Anyway I have a matte car with front PPF and ceramic (not M2).

[two_three_two]

i'd PPF an individual color but not a standard. there's no value in original paint for them. i'd rather let my shop respray the bumper cover and hood if needed in a decade but tbh i have accumulated very, very few chips on mine so far at 11k miles.

[ednir98]

Originally Posted by two_three_two

there's no value in original paint for them.

That's a hot take. The M2 individual program isn't even a true individual program. There, I said it.

If I have a choice between two cars, one with solid original paint or one that's been resprayed, I'm picking the original one. Too many subpar body shops out there.

[JABCAT]

Originally Posted by ednir98

That's a hot take.
If I have a choice between two cars, one with solid original paint or one that's been resprayed, I'm picking the original one. Too many subpar body shops out there.

And people are significantly underestimating the cost to respray panels by a quality shop. For reference, it cost $750 to paint my new rear bumper cover & $350 to paint the rear spoiler. That's already 1/2 of what I paid for Xpel.

[ednir98]

JABCAT not to mention you can't even blend panels on frozen paint. You either respray the panel and have it match perfectly or start over.

Last year I was quoted $1080 to respray the front bumper on my X5. Bought it preowned and didn't get to protect it from day 1.

[two_three_two]

Originally Posted by ednir98

That's a hot take. The M2 individual program isn't even a true individual program. There, I said it.

If I have a choice between two cars, one with solid original paint or one that's been resprayed, I'm picking the original one. Too many subpar body shops out there.

its pretty easy to visually tell whats a quality respray and what isn't- my shop is incredible at paint matching so i guess YMMV.

I couldn't get a PPF quote under 3k for the front of the car, and if i would PPF it would be the whole car, which was around 7-8 grand. i had an entire car glass out resprayed for approximately the same price, and you still have to worry about the quality of the film used and the quality of the install. personal preference i guess. i am not afraid to pick up cars that need some help visually because i have a lot of confidence in my vendors to get it right though.

hadn't really thought about it until now but what does 7-10 year old PPF look like anyway? does the new stuff age OK or does it get hazy/pick up chips and stains etc? you may end up needing to put some money into it eventually anyway?