Let's Talk Frozen Paint

h_bakken

Second Lieutenant

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149

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289

Join Date: Jul 2015

Location: Cupertino CA

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Drives: 2012 M3 (E93) Convertible

I just got my first Frozen, 2016 GTS Frozen dark grey metallic.

First let me say I absolutely love the paint. Lusted after it for years.

I was very nervous about cleaning and even started a thread asking questions. Caveat, previous owner had XPEL Stealth over hood, front bumper, front quarters, A pillars, mirror housing, anything facing the bug blast, also XPEL gloss over all CF (front splitter carbon, roof, wing). He did not do the runners (too bad) but they were already dinged on the bottom from all the rocks flung up by Sport Cup 2 maybe that's why?

Also live in TX so no winter conditions (although Iowa native so in KNOW about winter, salt etc).

Anyhow my observations (just detailed the car myself for the first time)

I watched that same video as well!

soaked car with regular garden hose and then hosed it off again after 15 minutes to remove large chunks.

Nasty chunky bug residue (big grasshoppers etc) was very easy to remove after 3+ weeks, but bugs were on the XPEL covered parts mostly.

I used BMW's matte finish "shampoo" and chenille microfiber mitt, with MF rags for the grubbier parts underneath (consumable).

Then rinsed forever, then 2-stage dry with chamois type cloth for most of the water then larger drying towel to remove water smears.

I also make sure to hand dry areas of water collection in the doors, hood and trunk (outside the inner seals)

Then quick drive to blow water out of crevices (we have really hard water here you can see where every drop lands and dries).

My final detail is clean MF rag and and warm water with a couple caps of white vinegar to remove the few water spots and streaks from the drive, wipe gently then use the now damp final dry towel to finish, the hard water marks just wipe away.

Paint was far easier to clean than I expected. Seemed easier than normal gloss clear coat IMO. Even the non PPF coated sections although no real bug residue on these. I think matte paint hides some of the water smear much better than gloss clear coat.

XPEL may be worth the price of admission but will defer to those with more experience. Stealth does subtly change the finish to a bit more of a "satin" but very close to the original

Frozen texture, you can see the difference side by side on my car but if you did the whole car would be very tough to tell IMO.

And your wheel liners will get destroyed for sure if you DD in the winter. Mine are gross (car had only 5K miles but obviously the previous owner must have driven in the rain at least once) I have learned to ignore that part of the car.

I would not use a car wash ever, even touchless, but in winter mid west you really want some sort of underbody flush. Problem is most automatic washes use waxes!

Any paint will eventually be damaged even with PPF. Frozen can't be buffed to repair, that's the difference.

And for sure no standard wax, will make it shiny. Even avoid soap with wax!



Hope this helps