# Repair to BMW Frozen paint



## Alrighter (Oct 13, 2012)

I have found a car that I really like (BMW E60 M5).

However, it has BMW's 'Frozen Grey' paintwork and has a bonnet dent and scratch and also scatches on front and side of front bumper. I attach a couple of pics that have been supplied, one of the bonnet dent and one of the front bumper (on ns wing).

I understand from doing a little research that this paintwork is very difficult to do a smart repair and the whole panel might need to be resprayed.

Does anybody on here have experience of dealing with BMW frozen paint? 

Or any idea of approximate costs for a bonnet respray and front bumper respray if I took it to BMW bodyshop?

Thanks for any assistance, it will really help make my decision on whether to proceed or not.


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## pcm1980 (May 4, 2009)

Frozen grey is a matt finish, therefore it is not possible to do local/smart repairs with this colour, it would require the full panel to be clear coated. As for a price from a bmw bodyshop, i would estimate £600-800+vat.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2


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## JonD (Aug 2, 2010)

From experience you are looking at more like £1,000+ for Bonnet and bumper repair from BMW


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## Alrighter (Oct 13, 2012)

*Thanks*

Thanks for the replies so far. If I were to factor in say £1,500-£2,000 (incl VAT) in negotiating the price it sounds like I will be OK.

Anyone had good experience of a particularly good BMW bodyship in South of England?


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## craigeh123 (Dec 26, 2011)

isnt andy a bmw paint tech ? im sure hes in essex


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## MK1Campaign (Mar 27, 2007)

A bodyshops nightmare. Has to be perfect out the gun with no dirt as it can't be polished after.


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## Kerr (Mar 27, 2012)

I like some of the matt frozen paints but I would be utterly terrified of owning one. 

BMW made owners of the frozen grey M3s sign a disclaimer about the paint warning them of various potential issues. 

You have to get any contaminates off immediately such as bird droppings. 

You won't be able to blend in any inevitable stone chips either. 

What I'm thinking is you are looking at a high end specialist car and most people expect the car to be in top condition. 

Is there any reason the dealer/seller hasn't had the work carried out before selling? 

Has he been advised of the difficulties and cost? 

What happens if you spend a lot of cash on a car and then find you will never be happy with the colour match once the job is done? 

Call me a pessimist but I do think it is a pretty big risk to be taking.


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## amiller (Jan 1, 2009)

I saw a brilliant youtube video on this paint. Pretty sure it was on the 'drive' channel I'll try and find it now...

EDIT:

Here...






Well worth a watch. :thumb:


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## xJay1337 (Jul 20, 2012)

Yeah I saw that too. Drive(Clean) channel


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## Ultra (Feb 25, 2006)

MK1Campaign said:


> A bodyshops nightmare. Has to be perfect out the gun with no dirt as it can't be polished after.


A nightmare indeed, the risk of not matching the finish must be very high.


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## Alrighter (Oct 13, 2012)

Kerr said:


> I like some of the matt frozen paints but I would be utterly terrified of owning one.
> 
> BMW made owners of the frozen grey M3s sign a disclaimer about the paint warning them of various potential issues.
> 
> ...


I think that the paint is exactly the reason why the dealer can't be arsed, hence why it could be a bargain.

Could anyone supply a link to the andy mentioned above? I would really appreciate being able to speak to someone who has dealt with this paint first hand and knowledge of just HOW hard the panel is to match.

Interesting video too.


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## Andyb0127 (Jan 16, 2011)

Alrighter said:


> I have found a car that I really like (BMW E60 M5).
> 
> However, it has BMW's 'Frozen Grey' paintwork and has a bonnet dent and scratch and also scatches on front and side of front bumper. I attach a couple of pics that have been supplied, one of the bonnet dent and one of the front bumper (on ns wing).
> 
> ...


Your looking at around £1500 upwards to do that. But dependent on how close the dent is to the wing, you may be looking at blending wings aswell. Which really should be done anyway because the bumpers being painted. Then comes what could cause a problem, depending on how the previous owner looked after the paint work ie using correct products. Problem being finish may look different on the doors to the fresh paint on the wings. 
Every time we do one of these Matt paint jobs they are a pain, no room for error one chance to get it right. Then you have to hope owner hasn't used any products which have turned it from Matt to satin. Hears of a case on a Matt black 3series where the owner had used some sort of carbuba wash/wax, had a wing and door painted. They looked Matt reset of the car had a satin finish stuck out like a sore thumb. It wasn't just a case of using same carnuba wash owner had been using to get same paint finish, the whole car ended up being painted. To me these frozen/matt finishes are just a gimmick yes they might look good to people, but not to the people that have to paint these.


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## Alrighter (Oct 13, 2012)

Thanks Andy, good to hear your experiences of matt paint and also the likely cost. 

I attach a pic of the car from which you can see the bonnet dent, approx 1ft behind the BMW badge on the bonnet. I wonder whether a PDR job could be done from the underside pushing the metal back into shape without need for paint.

Seeing it in the flesh tomorrow morning so will post up further pics if I can.

Thanks,

Dan


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## xJay1337 (Jul 20, 2012)

Does look like the kind of a job a PDR company could do.
I had a worse crease pushed out of mine..


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## Andyb0127 (Jan 16, 2011)

Alrighter said:


> Thanks Andy, good to hear your experiences of matt paint and also the likely cost.
> 
> I attach a pic of the car from which you can see the bonnet dent, approx 1ft behind the BMW badge on the bonnet. I wonder whether a PDR job could be done from the underside pushing the metal back into shape without need for paint.
> 
> ...


A lot would really depend how much access a pdr guy will have, to get to the dent. But also it may of actually marked the paint, so may require painting anyway. It's personal preference with these paint jobs you either love them or hate them. If your happy with the car when you look at it. Just say to them you've enquired about this Matt paint and understand how hard this could be to have painted. If you have any other questions after looking at the car, just ask ill help how ever I can.


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## squiggs (Oct 19, 2009)

Andy - you say the wings may need to be blended, would that be colour blend or lacquer blend.
I'd imagined that BMW give you the correct lacquer as far as matting goes and you'd go to an edge.


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## Andyb0127 (Jan 16, 2011)

squiggs said:


> Andy - you say the wings may need to be blended, would that be colour blend or lacquer blend.
> I'd imagined that BMW give you the correct lacquer as far as matting goes and you'd go to an edge.


It would be colour blend. Yes we have the bmw colour system, which gives you the correct Matt laquer, as the guy said in the YouTube video it's surprising how much a slow/normal hardner will actually alter the finish.


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## Alrighter (Oct 13, 2012)

Andyb0127 said:


> A lot would really depend how much access a pdr guy will have, to get to the dent. But also it may of actually marked the paint, so may require painting anyway. It's personal preference with these paint jobs you either love them or hate them. If your happy with the car when you look at it. Just say to them you've enquired about this Matt paint and understand how hard this could be to have painted. If you have any other questions after looking at the car, just ask ill help how ever I can.


Thanks Andy, as soon as I get 10 posts I will PM you to get your details (or PM me your details if function allowed).

If I buy the car you may well end up with the job - if you want it(!). Would rather have it done by a bodyshop with experience of Frozen paintwork even though you are a fair distance from me.


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## squiggs (Oct 19, 2009)

Andyb0127 said:


> It would be colour blend. Yes we have the bmw colour system, which gives you the correct Matt laquer, as the guy said in the YouTube video it's surprising how much a slow/normal hardner will actually alter the finish.


Presumably then you're given an 'as near as factory finish' lacquer mix.... And then you go edge?
(I mean this matt finish cant be blended?)


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## Andyb0127 (Jan 16, 2011)

Alrighter said:


> Thanks Andy, as soon as I get 10 posts I will PM you to get your details (or PM me your details if function allowed).
> 
> If I buy the car you may well end up with the job - if you want it(!). Would rather have it done by a bodyshop with experience of Frozen paintwork even though you are a fair distance from me.


No problem mate. Let me know how you get on.


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## Andyb0127 (Jan 16, 2011)

squiggs said:


> Presumably then you're given an 'as near as factory finish' lacquer mix.... And then you go edge?
> (I mean this matt finish cant be blended?)


Yes mate. You just have to check the sprayouts not only for the colour, but also for which hardner to use. Fast or normal will give the more Matt finish, when you use slow or extra slow the finish will be more satin, no Matt finishes can't be blended the whole panel has to be painted.


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## Ronnie (Nov 15, 2006)

If you need any products to protect it after give me a shout! the only advice i can give is to either get teh previous owner to sort it but e will do it on the cheap or as said negotiate a deal to reduce the price. we matched one before and it is a right pain to be honest. I would only go to one that has experiance with it and is BMW approved so warrenty is not voided.


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