I had painted the calipers on my C5 and most of the time spend was cleaning them and still took about 2 hrs, I am planning on doing that when I get my C8 it should take less time because I’m planning on doing it as soon as I get the car so not much to clean, it is pretty simple and it will save me over 600 dollars for at most 2 hrs of work plus GM does not have them in the color I want

 

Do you know of any option on any new vehicle where the price is not jacked up? It's not just Corvettes.

 

As others have mentioned, painting the calipers is pretty easy & inexpensive. I've used both the G2 kit and spray paint, both came out great and lasted the life of the vehicle. On a brand new vehicle, prep is very little.

Which ever method you choose, I recommend having the vehicle up on jack stands, quickjack, whatever and do all 4 calipers at the same time. Move from one caliper to the next allowing them to dry before getting back to the first caliper.

 

"How much did painted calipers cost in 2020?"
$595 in 2020
2020 Corvette C8 To Offer Four Brake Caliper Colors | GM Authority

 

I agree. As mentioned, prep work is the key to a long lasting paint job.

 

I can understand your sentiment, if not the reasoning about "older gentlemen" - as an older gentleman myself, I can say that I have both more time and more skill to do this work myself than I did 20 yrs ago. I also possess more understanding of what things are better to pay professionals to do, and I have more money to do so!

$700 seems like a lot for painted calipers, especially as you pointed out, it doesn't actually cost much of anything for GM to do it. But the same can be said of almost every option on the list. I have had long debates about the "value" of the Z51 package, or the 2/3LT packages. You can make the same argument about colored seat belts, or different color seat options, dipped interiors, wheel options, etc. A simple swap of componentry is pretty much a cash grab for GM, and even adding some features like Blind Spot Monitoring or the front camera likely cost GM more to de-content the lower trims than if they just included it for every car.

Things that are easily removed from the car, like the engine cover, are good DIY options. Calipers are tricky. You can paint them yourself for a lot less money if you do it by hand, attached to the car. It works decently well, I have done it on other vehicles, but not on anything of real value. The hand paint doesn't come out as smooth as spray or powder, which is not too important on cast calipers, but these C8 calipers have flat smooth surfaces and they won't come out as perfect when you hand paint. Since they are behind the wheels, its not very noticeable, and generally looks fine. It will probably last a few years or so, and takes a day or of work, jacking the car, removing wheels, preparing the surface, putting on a few coats, letting it cure, etc. Now if you spray them attached to the car, that's a bigger mess and you are unlikely to get the paint in every nook and cranny, especially on the interior surfaces, etc. Still possible, but more of a hassle, more cleanup, etc, but a smoother finish. The "right way" to do it is to remove the calipers, drain them, disassemble them properly, take them to a powder coating place and have them powder coated properly. That will likely cost you $500 or so in powder, and all the time and joy involved in doing the labor. Plus your car is sitting on jack stands for at least several days, if not weeks, depending on how long it takes your powder coater to do the work. But they will come out perfectly, and last for a decade or more. Honestly I don't even think the factory does powder coat, someone told me it was just high temp paint. If you can't do the brake work yourself (and there is no shame in admitting you can't, the C8 brakes are not like a Honda Civic), the cost goes up dramatically. There is some special procedures that need to be followed, not to mention, this is a bigger job than changing out brake pads. Its a big job and there is a safety concern if you do it wrong. You are looking at a grand, maybe $1200 to have that work done by professionals. When you look at the real costs involved in a proper professionally done caliper re-color, $700 is a deal. I paid for the yellow calipers, and I would do it again. I get a lot of compliments on them.

If I wanted to save the money, I would take the black standard calipers and be happy with them. They still look good, but I would not want the look of the DIY paint, and I wouldn't spend the time or money to get them power coated properly. Better to spend that money on a nice set of wheels that will be immediately noticeable vs a tiny detail that few will notice if you don't have it. Mine get noticed, but people only notice them because they are yellow. If I did not have them, the standard calipers do not detract from the look of the car.

 

i still want to see someone with bronze/gold painted calipers on a c8

 

Are you assuming Chevrolet has a color he actually wants for the $700 he would spend on his $80K>$100K sportscar?? Suppose he wants orange on his Stingray, which is only available for his a Z06?

 

The optional red painted calipers on my 2013 427 convertible was $595.00, so I guess 10 years later an extra $100. or so doesn't seem too bad

 

Don't think anybody mentioned this place, but I've seen these guys:

https://www.tpsmotorsports.com/tps-c...-calipers.html

Basically they are powdercoating calipers whatever color you want. You can buy a set outright, or send yours back to them after the swap for a discount. It's a bit more than the factory option, but custom color is awesome and they are doing the rebuild with new seals.

 

It’s not about spending $695 for an option, it’s about spending $695 for absolutely NOTHING.

 

This is a good option... better at 729 than at the 899 it used to cost. But if you want a color not offered by the factory, definitely a good choice. Still requires the work to swap, but a $1500 deposit lets you do the job in one step, no waiting.

 

It's not nothing, it's a custom-colored caliper. It costs GM money to offer additional colors, to stock them, to track them. to make sure the right calipers get installed on the right cars. It costs money to do all that, and they also deserve to make a little profit off it too.

 

I used them for my rapid blue calipers and was happy with it other than some shipping delays (par for the course these days, so not terrible/unexpected).

 

Did you only need one G2 kit for all 4 Z51 calipers?

 

If you follow what I suggested in post #11, by splitting the paint into two, I think you could do it with one kit. I bought two kits when I did mine.

 

Now that’s funny. $695 for the identical caliper just in a different color. That $695 is pure, 100% profit.
You are paying $695 for NOTHING.
But your reply was good. GM loves guys like you.

 

hey now laugh all you want but don’t lump me in with the GM apologists! 😅

I didn’t say it was a good value. I’m just saying there is “something” there for the money. I’m the first one to call out the poor value of a lot of these options. The Z51 package is a big hot button for me. 95% of it is even swap components that cost GM nothing. Like these colored calipers. Yet 3/4ths of buyers can’t wait to pay for it. You know that GT2 seats do not cost GM $1500 more than GT1 seats but how many people choose them? How about $1000 to paint the wheels black? $500 for different colored seat belts?

These are just all the ways GM makes a $65k mid engine sports car profitable.

 

$37 have used it in the past, came out very good

 

The G2 kit is plenty for all 4 calipers. You should be able to get 3 costs on each. If you've from one caliper to the next, by the time you get back to the first it'll be dry & ready for another coat.