Ruined Paint Jobs? More C8 Corvette Body Fitment Issues Popping Up

C8 Corvette headlights and taillights are chipping the paint from the body and owners are understandably mad.

The C8 Chevrolet Corvette is a high-performance masterpiece, offering the supercar feel for a fraction of supercar pricing. The initial media reviews of the new Stingray are glowing and the first owners love just about everything that the C8 has to offer. However, there are some issues with body fitment that are causing damage to the paint. For example, “19/C7Z” shared the pictures here showing damage on a white C8 around the headlight and taillight.

Worst of all, this problem is not new, nor is it specific to the 2020 Corvette. C6 and C7 owners had to deal with similar problems and it appears that with the C8, those problems still exist.

White Corvette Paint Problems

When the OP first started this thread, he explained that a friend of his is a detailer who has worked on several C8 Corvette Stingrays. On two of them, there were paint issues around the headlights and on one, the taillight was digging into the body paint.

My buddy is a detailer and ppf installer in northern NJ. He sent me these pics just now. He has worked on several C8s so far and of those he has already witnessed 2 with immediate flaws near the headlight.

Now he has one with taillight paint pushing up in the corner. Keep an eye out on your cars. Sooner it is documented easier it is to have prepared. I went through similar issues with my 2016 Z06 with the front fender inserts expanding and contracting at different rates than the composite fenders causing the corners to push the paint. Happened all the way through 2018 new paint plant switch before Chevy changed the size of the fender inserts and added little nubs on the backs to keep the inserts away from the actual panel. But the undersize insert was what really stopped it.

He also included the pictures shown here. One shows the area just above the headlight while the other shows the area where the taillight comes to a point. Later on in the thread, he shared a picture of the whole car, which is shown atop this piece.

Continuation of Past Issues

Many of the members who replied over the course of the three-page discussion pointed out that this problem is not specific to the C8.

The first person to reply was “Avanti”.

Here we go, again!

While “G.Reed” questioned the materials in use.

Why do Corvettes have this problem year after year? Is it due to the composite body panels?

“MitchAlsup” thinks that people are expecting too much for their money.

It is not feasible to put a $30K paint job on a $60K sticker price car. {Or even a $10K paint job}

While “GoldDog” pointed out that it isn’t technically a paint issue.

Yes, but they can paint a Chevy Trax and not have this problem.

Its not the paint, its the poor fitting panel alignment on some of the cars.

Owners Share Past Experiences

While many Corvette enthusiasts are unhappy to see these issues, several members shared their own experiences with paint problems relating to body fitment. One was the OP.

It sucks when it happens to you. I was sick over having my first new Corvette (in 2106) painted on both fenders because of those vents digging in. Luckily they airbrushed, blended the corners and wet sanded instead of refinishing the entire panels. came out perfect. Problem is the shops don’t ordinarily want to do that because it is tedious and takes longer than pull sand paint reinstall.

I was insistent on doing it that way and it took twice thw labor but my service mgr was creative to make sure the body shop spent the time.

“Thill444” talked about not just his own car, but cars that he has examined at dealerships.

I walked the lot of a very large Corvette dealer here in the Northeast last year. Brand new 18-19 C7’s and nearly all of them had similar issues to what you see in this thread, especially on panels that had close fitment. I pointed this out to the salesman and he just shrugged his shoulders and told me I could try to address it if I was going to buy one…

I’m not surprised to see this with the C8, but it’s still disheartening. My 16 Z51 had more orange peel than the newer cars but I did not have paint chipping. I did have some shoddy overspray on the inner doors and hood/trunk but you didn’t see it if the doors, trunk, etc were closed. But it always bugged me as it just seems like poor quality control and sloppy workmanship.

While “RapidC84B” has had similar paint issues addressed on a C7 and he is surprised that they haven’t fixed the problem with the new generation.

This is ridiculous… this is one thing I WILL NOT tolerate on a car. I owned 4 C5s and the paint NEVER bubbled off of them. My C7 did this on the front bumper and you’d think they’d fix it for the new car. COME ON!

However, “Pietro C7” has a unique outlook on problems like this.

Small quirks of owning a Corvette …I absolutely love those little imperfections,That’s why I keep forking over the coin to purchase them…Love it..Makes me focus on more important things.

Not many people agree with him.

If you have input on body fitment causing paint issues, or if you want to read the rest of this thread, click here for a closer look.

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