Looking for a reputable body resto shop in Mexico

[twas_brillig]

Our 62 BJ8 was painted in the mid-80s; we only finally got 'round to driving it a bit over the last three years. Last winter (indoor storage; middle of Alberta), it developed blistering in all the paint over the steel body parts - like a bad case of measles/chicken pox.

I stopped by at a very good body restoration shop today today: without sanding and/or scraping, the guess was that moisture has worked its way in and I've got generalized corrosion under the paint (the paint shows no signs of damage). The suggestion was that there was probably no real problem with the original paint job, but that modern primers (such as zinc chromate) didn't exist back then and that I have a rust problem.

THe cost guesstimate was about 40 grand to take everything down to bare metal, eliminate corrosion; repair some cracks by welding and a couple of misc. dints & dents; if I disassembled the car myself and did the reassembly, then probably 25K. And I won't disagree with the guesstimate: paint is $ 400/gallon, etc. etc., so presumably a minimum of two grand for materials, up to maybe four grand. The rest is labour.

The chap made a semi-humourous suggestion to go outside of the country and find a place where labour is cheaper.

So: is anyone aware of a reputable restoration shop in Mexico or elsewhere where the hourly rates would be less than the local $100 or so?

Not quite sure what I'm going to do - probably just drive it and feel bad about the body slowly dissolving under the paint. Think I'll get it sprayed by Rustchek underneath for a bit of protection; the only real affordable option I can think of is to sand it all down to bare metal, then get the barrel of rustoleum and a paint brush out, but I'm thinking that the aesthetics might be lacking.

Thanks,
Doug

 

[rjc157]

thats insane 40 grand for a paint job even if they have to sand it all down to bare metal their ripping you off just because its a healey ,body work is body work .if your car wasn't concourse to start you could look around and find a reputable auto body place these so called restoration shops i think are just rip offs

 

[Michael Oritt]

I agree that you have been highballed. BTW you don't have to go to Mexico to find cheap labor and what with the strong CD vs US $$ I'd suggeset merely driving across the US border and finding a decent body shop who can do your repairs--we have not yet outsourced everything!

 

[Randy Forbes]

I get RAVE comments on the paintjob on my Healey, and it cost $8k, perhaps 7-8 years ago (?).

I had my entire black car (99 BMW M Rdstr) repainted after a drunk clobbered the rear fender/bumper in a parking lot (my fault for blocking the "line of sight" between the street and State Liquor store...); again, this car is black, and the $4k paint job (sanded to original primer, not quite bare metal) also looks great. It's definitely better than the water-based paint applied at the BMW plant in Spartanburg, SC (waaay less orange peel__like NONE).

 

[AUSMHLY]

Hi Doug,

To repaint a new car, R/R of all the exterior trim, it would cost about $5000 now.

Our cars, need more work and time to get them ready for paint, because the typical body shop is not familair with how are cars are put together. R/R stainless beads, and all the brightwork takes longer than new cars they are familar with. Add in any body repair and alignment of panels, the cost goes up quickly.

Some people here may have had their cars painted recently (Tahoe Healey) and may chime in what was required to paint their cars and what the fee was.

Again, it depends on what the body shop is required to do (extent of the damage to fix, rust, dents). And if the owner is helping in the process by providing a car with all the trim pieces removed and willing to reinstall.

I'd put a lot of weight on finding a good body shop in your search. For if they cut corners things happen down the road. Maybe that is why your car has those issues? And you don't want to have similar things happen after your new paint job.

So I'd question what that restoration body shop said...
I stopped by at a very good body restoration shop today today: without sanding and/or scraping, the guess was that moisture has worked its way in and I've got generalized corrosion under the paint (the paint shows no signs of damage). The suggestion was that there was probably no real problem with the original paint job, but that modern primers (such as zinc chromate) didn't exist back then and that I have a rust problem.

The problem was the body shop that painted the car in the 80"s didn't do a good job. His logic, all cars painted in the 80's would be in the same condition as your car, and that's just not the case.

Body shops know (in the 80's) about cleaning the surface, using primers and paint from the same manufactor so they work together. No real problem with the orginal paint? It's all about the paint, the prep/primer/top coat.

The problem was the body shop did something wrong with the prep or mixed brands and they reacted, not adhearing to the car properly and down the road is when you find out.

Make sense?

Shop around your area for some other body shops. Sooner or later you'll find a good one that will work with you on a price much more resonable than what that body shop wanted.
Best of luck Doug,
Roger

 

[twas_brillig]

I chatted with my brother (retired mechanic; perfectionist) and he suggested taking the car around to a couple of local shops and asking the foreman (not the estimator) to take a look at the paint and get their thoughts on diagnosis; also to crawl under with a really good flashlight to see if there's any rust indications on the inside.
He also asked about the quonset the car has been stored in the last few winters - there were several other cars in there and none had this problem, so probably unique to our Healey rather than being something external (like spilled chemicals, generic bad karma, etc.).
I'll also get the body shops' thoughts on trying to figure the problem out (ie are the blisters due to problems right down at the metal or would it only be necessary to sand down to the primer layers), and if they suggest doing some spot sanding/scraping to see, as well as how they would suggest preparing the car should the final approach be a complete paint job, either down to bare metal or down to whatever level is necessary to sand out the blisters.
And I expect that the 40k estimate was legitimate - a good friend has probably well over 100k into his stereo system; he's the wrong guy to go to for listening advice if you're going shopping for sound at Best Buy.

 

[big6]

If your local paint shop is estimating $40k, that is an indicator that the shop does not want the job. Price high and they will not come back. If they come back enough money is in the estimate to "re-do" any complaint areas.

 

[Frankenhealey]

You could ship it to the UK and get the job done and then come over for a holiday and then ship it back and maybe still save some money!

 

[tahoe healey]

I searched for a hot rod shop. Why? Well, many body shops put insurance work first as it is timely. Hot rod shop will do what YOU want. I paid 10K with me stripping off the chrome and interior. They sent out the chrome for me and charged me their costs. They removed all filler and Bondo (there was very little). They skinned it several lays to assure a smooth finish. Three coats of paint at $400 a gallon. Three coats of clear coat. All rubbed and sanded between coats. They sent E-photos every couple of days. Called me with "to see" questions. Total time was about 3 months. Visiting them was like going to a car museum. Packards and Buicks from the 20's and 30's. Corvettes and T-Birds. Nomads and Cameros. MGTC's and Bentleys. They had 75 cars going at all times. They had a locker dedicated to my car to put any parts they took off my car so they didn't get things mixed up with others. I'd spend hours looking at all the neat cars each time I went. I've heard people wait 2 years. The job is far from perfect but you'd never know. If I wanted it better I'd have to do it myself. They gave me a new canvas top at 25% off as one of their customers. (They had to re-do it 'cause I wasn't 100% happy). I know it was expensive but I never want to do it again. It is a very nice "driver". I could win awards with it(but Roger keeps showing up with his beauty and that darn dog). I had an XK140 that I had painted to perfection and a fat pig let her shopping cart run into it. The car sat in my garage 14 years. A waste. Make a driver. Whatever you do, the car is to be driven and enjoyed. I think you could to it for 6 to 8K and be very happy.
I like people who don't tell me what they can't do but say, lets see what we can do. They gave me an infinite choice of colors that were variations of Old English White. I warned it a little and I like it.

 

[twas_brillig]

Thanks for the thoughts Darth and Franken!
And the mystery continues: picked off a bit of paint from one of the bubbles this evening, and looks like I've got good steel underneath, with a layer what appears to be a type of resin (not body filler) under the paint (ie up against the bare steel). The chap with my commented that he understood that some shops were trying a self-levelling resin back in the 80s, and that perhaps that is what we had.
Any comments/suggestions on the resin idea?
thanks
Doug

 

[Brinkerhoff]

You probably have non catalysed primer surfacers etc. or body fillers that were not sufficiently cured off or applied in a one thick coating instead of many thin ones, producing pockets of uncured material. Don't spend too much time overthinking it. Strip the paint to bare metal , do all of the metal repair and finish sand with 80 grit, spray a nice even coat of epoxy primer , let dry for a week , do all of your plastic work and finish with 150 grit , let the plastic breath for a few days then spray another full coat of epoxy primer and let sit for a week. This will bury the filler work under a coat of epoxy primer and give you a base to build on thats hard as concrete. Imagine your car covered with a thin coat of JB weld ! Thats exactly what you will have. Now you're ready for a urethane primer surfacer to block with.