BajaNomad - Auto paint job in TJ - can you save MAJOR money and is it worth it?

Auto paint job in TJ - can you save MAJOR money and is it worth it?

Cascade - 5-7-2010 at 07:43 AM

Hi everyone, I just found this board and I have a question about body shops in Tijuana. I have an old Mustang V8 that needs a complete, high quality paint job. The type of job where the painter would strip off all the trim before they paint it. That type of work would cost right around $3000 in the U.S. From what I read (and experienced Baja vets know this) back in the 60's Americans used to flock to TJ to get a paint job. From what I gather, and for whatever reason, that is no longer the case (I checked the Tijuana Craigslist and there was not one ad listed for a TJ auto body shop!). Has anyone here had their car painted in Tijuana and if so how was your experience? Am I seeking something that's impossible to attain, a $3000 paint job for one third the cost?

durrelllrobert - 5-7-2010 at 09:21 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Cascade
Hi everyone, I just found this board and I have a question about body shops in Tijuana. I have an old Mustang V8 that needs a complete, high quality paint job. The type of job where the painter would strip off all the trim before they paint it. That type of work would cost right around $3000 in the U.S. From what I read (and experienced Baja vets know this) back in the 60's Americans used to flock to TJ to get a paint job. From what I gather, and for whatever reason, that is no longer the case (I checked the Tijuana Craigslist and there was not one ad listed for a TJ auto body shop!). Has anyone here had their car painted in Tijuana and if so how was your experience? Am I seeking something that's impossible to attain, a $3000 paint job for one third the cost?

Which third of the car do you want to have painted :?:

bonanzapilot - 5-7-2010 at 10:09 AM

I have to chime in here... and tell you about my experiences in painting a nice Toyota 4-Runner. I was living in Mulege, so ordered and picked up the factory color from a USA paint shop...took it to the guy on Ice House road for a blend in on a small repair on the rear...What a mess! the color, Toyota silver, was about 5 shades off, looked more like primer than finish.
Back in the USA, rechecked the paint book, confirmed the correct color, now two gallons, back to Mexico... and this time the dealer in La Paz. The quote was $1500 US. I was waiting the week out at a hotel, and with nothing better to do than check on the progress, went to the dealer's shop....No 4-Runner! With help from my friend, Saul Arnout Salgado, was given an address where the car was supposed to be. Turned out to be a shade tree in a bad part of town, where the car was being "prepped" by a sub-contractor, whose work was equalivalent to a 10 year old's. Took the car, over a big argument, back to the dealer. Following a small amount of additional prep work, the car was painted the following day. End result... a really crappy job, silver is hard to apply and look like factory, it seems. I should have driven it back to the USA and had Earl Schieb do it! Do not paint your car in Mexico ! There may be some good work done there, but I have never seen it.

El Comadante Loco - 5-7-2010 at 10:11 AM

Had a large dent taken out of the bed of my 95 Nissan PU and had the bed repainted in Mexicali by a shop that has done good quality work for me in the past and have had no problems with the workman ship or the quality of pain. Cost $250.. Yes I am cheap!!!

pangamadness - 5-7-2010 at 10:19 AM

I took my 3/4 ton ford truck to TJ about 5 or more years ago and I paid $1500 for Upholstery, lots of body work, and paint. I was happy, would have been 3 to 4 K in the states.

I droped the truck off and walked back to the boarder ten took the trolly home. It took a while so I went down by trolly to check up once in a awhile.

DENNIS - 5-7-2010 at 10:32 AM

Welcome to BajaNomad, Cascade.
Sounds like you have a car to be proud of which makes me think you may want to haul it to TJ on a trailer for a paint job.
Just to let you know, they won't let you through the border unless the car is on it's own wheels. [I know, for those who are sayin'....but this isn't a race car]

Anyway, keep it in mind.

Cascade - 5-7-2010 at 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by durrelllrobert
Which third of the car do you want to have painted :?:

It's a convertible that needs a FULL paint job, from end to end.

[Edited on 5-7-2010 by Cascade]

k-rico - 5-7-2010 at 10:43 AM

I live in Playas de Tijuana and had my F-150 painted at a very busy collision shop on Paseo Playas de Tijuana. No body work was required but the original paint was all oxidized and there was surface rust. $800 and I'm happy with the work. No runs, orange peel and 4 years later it looks great.

There is also a specialty shop on the same street that does high end custom work - fancy low riders, classic car restorations, etc. Probably expensive.

map link

U2U me if you want more info.

[Edited on 5-7-2010 by k-rico]

Cascade - 5-7-2010 at 10:45 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by DENNIS
Welcome to BajaNomad, Cascade.
Sounds like you have a car to be proud of which makes me think you may want to haul it to TJ on a trailer for a paint job.
Just to let you know, they won't let you through the border unless the car is on it's own wheels. [I know, for those who are sayin'....but this isn't a race car]

Anyway, keep it in mind.

Well no, if I go through with this, I was thinking of driving it in to Tijuana as opposed to towing it.

Thanks for the welcome

[Edited on 5-7-2010 by Cascade]

shari - 5-7-2010 at 11:26 AM

welcome to nomadlandia Cascade...this sounds like a job for Ferna...he's a great nomad who lives in TJ...maybe somebody here can hook you up with him as I havent seen him post in awhile...hope he is OK! If you contact him, he will help you find the right place and you'll make a new friend in the deal!

Alan - 5-7-2010 at 12:02 PM

Quote:

This caught me by surprise. I am about to tow my jeep to La Paz behind my truck. It will be flat towed (wheels on ground) with just a tow bar and not on a trailer. Are there going to be issues? I used to tow my sandrail down on a trailer for many years and never had an issue. I suppose I could just unhook and drive it across with another driver but obviously would rather not.

DENNIS - 5-7-2010 at 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Alan
This caught me by surprise. I am about to tow my jeep to La Paz behind my truck. It will be flat towed (wheels on ground) with just a tow bar and not on a trailer. Are there going to be issues? I used to tow my sandrail down on a trailer for many years and never had an issue. I suppose I could just unhook and drive it across with another driver but obviously would rather not.

I don't think you'll have a problem with that. Motorhomes do it all the time. The problem in the past was with passenger cars being trailered in. For some reason they didn't like that. They probably figured the car would never leave the country.

Who knows???? Maybe this has changed like everything else.

BJSoccer16 - 5-7-2010 at 12:18 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by k-rico
I live in Playas de Tijuana and had my F-150 painted at a very busy collision shop on Paseo Playas de Tijuana. No body work was required but the original paint was all oxidized and there was surface rust. $800 and I'm happy with the work. No runs, orange peel and 4 years later it looks great.

There is also a specialty shop on the same street that does high end custom work - fancy low riders, classic car restorations, etc. Probably expensive.

map link

U2U me if you want more info.

[Edited on 5-7-2010 by k-rico]

I second this recommendation. It is right next to a fish taco stand. Cars go in there mangled and come out looking new (including the paint job). If you don't choose this place; pick one where you can see the work they do as I have seen many poorly painted cars on the road

Cascade - 5-7-2010 at 12:51 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by pangamadness
I took my 3/4 ton ford truck to TJ about 5 or more years ago and I paid $1500 for Upholstery, lots of body work, and paint. I was happy, would have been 3 to 4 K in the states.

I droped the truck off and walked back to the boarder ten took the trolly home. It took a while so I went down by trolly to check up once in a awhile.

So the body shop kept your Ford overnight for several nights, sounds like. While the body shop worked on it, you, and your car, slept apart from each other in different countries. Did you sleep good at night? At that point did you feel like you were playing Russian Roulette? Were you worried that your truck might not have been there when you went back? I mean, Americans in our position wonder about the possibility of the body shop hooking up with an auto thief and convieniantly 'arranging' to have the customers car stolen. That's a serious concern, especially if you have a car that's known for having a following of hard-core enthusiasts the way old Mustangs and Camaros do.
BTW, since it's been 5 years since you had the work done, did the new paint ever chip and fade say like a year or two later down the road? (I had one American body shop this morning in San Diego tell me that's what would happen if you have your car painted in Tijuana, he said that the car will look great when they're done with it but the paint won't last longer than a year).

[Edited on 5-7-2010 by Cascade]

bajaguy - 5-7-2010 at 12:57 PM

Just my 2 cents, but having that classic painted SOB is just like building a house SOB.

I would pick a shop with good local & Nomad recommendations and find a place where I could visit it everyday to check the work being done.

DENNIS - 5-7-2010 at 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by bajaguy
Just my 2 cents, but having that classic painted SOB is just like building a house SOB.

I would pick a shop with good local & Nomad recommendations and find a place where I could visit it everyday to check the work being done.

You could put a web-cam in the paint shop so you could share in the excitment while they removed all those panels and stuffed packages in the compartments before welding the panels back on....and painting them. :lol:

Cascade - 5-7-2010 at 02:46 PM

Quote:

Do you have an address for these two shops, and a cross street? Are these two shops located near the beach / old bull ring? I might go check 'em out so I'll need an address or something to tell the taxi driver where I need to go.

woody with a view - 5-7-2010 at 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Cascade
I have an old Mustang V8 that needs a complete, high quality paint job. The type of job where the painter would strip off all the trim before they paint it. That type of work would cost right around $3000 in the U.S.

Am I seeking something that's impossible to attain, a $3000 paint job for one third the cost?

has anyone ever heard of getting something for nothing? too good to be true?

yeah, leave your car down there and come back for it in a week. when it's not there, wha 'chu gonna do? call a cop? :?:

DENNIS - 5-7-2010 at 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Cascade
old bull ring?

I thought they tore the OLD bullring down. The one at Playas is the new ring.
Might be good to know when you want a cab driver to take you there.

rhintransit - 5-7-2010 at 03:40 PM

the 3000 you would pay in the states probably includes a fair chunk towards the facility/paint booth/quality paint/security/'malpractice' insurance/living wages for employees/health insurance, benefits, etc. (or not, but am assuming your quote is for a reliable place). if you aren't pleased with the results, or your car disappears or is damaged, you have options, legal and otherwise, in a country and language you can understand. all bets are off for guarantees and recovery in Mexico. if you want to try it, get the best Nomad recommendations you can. something tells me you aren't going to sleep well at night until the 'baby' is well painted and safely back in your possession. question is, how much is that worth to you? only you can tell.

I'd paint a car down here, but I'm not likely to drive anything in Mexico that I worried about. pre-dented and pre-scratched and two tone is fine with me....

Bajahowodd - 5-7-2010 at 04:10 PM

This reminds of back in the day, when gringos would go to the upholstery shops in TJ to get that classic "tuck and roll", only to learn later that their "rolls" were packed with sand.

k-rico - 5-7-2010 at 04:13 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Cascade

Quote:

The custom shop is on the west side of Paseo Playas de Tijuana just south of Parque Mexico Sur. A reddish building.

The collision shop is on the east side of Paseo Playas de Tijuana a couple of blocks further south. It's a big white building.

Check out the map link.

DENNIS is right, it is the new bullring, but old/new no longer makes any difference, there's only one now, so just "the bullring" works.

Drive down some weekday morning and get some estimates. You can then checkout the redevelopment going on at the main beach front. A multi-year project, step one is being done now, it's going to be nice.

Don't worry about leaving your car at the shop. They lock them up at night behind the shops' gates. I've done it several times keeping my old truck in baja shape.

Bob and Susan - 5-7-2010 at 04:13 PM

"work would cost right around $3000 in the U.S."

that's about a third of the price a "correct" paint job will cost in the USA
for what you want

there are NO places in baja that can do a "proper" paint job if you want the "correct" look

when painting "preparation" is EVERYTHING

time time time
$ $ $

EDIT: the last paint jobi did ... the paint AND supplies cost me $1500

[Edited on 5-7-2010 by Bob and Susan]

k-rico - 5-7-2010 at 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bob and Susan

there are NO places in baja that can do a "proper" paint job if you want the "correct" look

[Edited on 5-7-2010 by Bob and Susan]

I'll disagree with that. There are many "motorheads" in Tijuana and I've seen some fantastic work coming out of the custom shop in playas and the collision shop does a good job.

DENNIS - 5-7-2010 at 04:22 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by k-rico
DENNIS is right, it is the new bullring, but old/new no longer makes any difference, there's only one now, so just "the bullring" works.

I was concerned that he might get into a cab and say he wants to go to the "Old Bullring" and he'd end up like that guy in the Kingston Trio song who got on a subway or something and never returned. I think he's still out there somewhere. :lol:

woody with a view - 5-7-2010 at 04:25 PM

Quote:

short/sweet = NO!

tripledigitken - 5-7-2010 at 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bajahowodd
This reminds of back in the day, when gringos would go to the upholstery shops in TJ to get that classic "tuck and roll", only to learn later that their "rolls" were packed with sand.

No wonder the tuck and roll in my 55 Chevy felt like a bean bag chair. :lol:

Bob and Susan - 5-7-2010 at 04:36 PM

"motorheads" work on motors

paint is an art

flat panels
no sand paper scratches
different depths in the paint
orange peel
enamel, laquer, two step, water base,

nope i wouldn't trust my mustang there

what looks "good" to the general public
is trash to a collector

Word!

Bajahowodd - 5-7-2010 at 04:37 PM

Timing being everything, my response to Ken

:lol:

[Edited on 5-7-2010 by Bajahowodd]

k-rico - 5-7-2010 at 05:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bob and Susan
"motorheads" work on motors

paint is an art

flat panels
no sand paper scratches
different depths in the paint
orange peel
enamel, laquer, two step, water base,

nope i wouldn't trust my mustang there

what looks "good" to the general public
is trash to a collector

Oh, OK.

Cascade - 5-7-2010 at 05:30 PM

Quote:

The custom shop is on the west side of Paseo Playas de Tijuana just south of Parque Mexico Sur. A reddish building.
The collision shop is on the east side of Paseo Playas de Tijuana a couple of blocks further south. It's a big white building.
Drive down some weekday morning and get some estimates. You can then checkout the redevelopment going on at the main beach front. A multi-year project, step one is being done now, it's going to be nice.

Redevelopment? Are those two body shops near the boardwalk? 'Near' meaning about a 10 minute bicycle ride away from the boardwalk? Text I was at the boardwalk once but that was back around '05 or so. I liked that area. I worked out at a couple of gyms located there in Playas one week.

k-rico - 5-7-2010 at 05:41 PM

You could walk to the boardwalk in 10 or 15 minutes from Paseo Playas. A new seawall and boardwalk is step one of the redevelopment, they're working on the north end now. It's really a major project. New sewer lines and the roads leading into Playas have all been redone in the past few years. Now their focusing on the oceanfront. Millions of dollars have been allocated to the project. The First Lady was here a couple of months ago viewing the project. Check it out.

Click the U2U button below, send me a message and I'll reply with my email address. I'll be glad to show you exactly where auto repair shops are in Playas. There's one for every kind of repair you would need.

DENNIS - 5-7-2010 at 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by k-rico
There's one for every kind of repair you would need.

Is there one that will mend a broken heart, like Adelita's?

k-rico - 5-7-2010 at 05:50 PM

An Adelitas West!!!

A beach side zona de tolerencia would be OK with me. I hope it's coming.

durrelllrobert - 5-8-2010 at 08:45 AM

Quote:

(I had one American body shop this morning in San Diego tell me that's what would happen if you have your car painted in Tijuana, he said that the car will look great when they're done with it but the paint won't last longer than a year).
[Edited on 5-7-2010 by Cascade]

The red laquer used to paint the 35 Stdebaker in my avatar was purchased in Ensenada because the can't sell it in the US and it was painted in a friends garage (no paint booth). 5 years later it still looks good :coolup:

fishingmako - 5-12-2010 at 03:12 PM

Make sure no drugs are put into the tuck and roll, and they no where you live.

Cascade - 5-13-2010 at 11:58 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bob and Susan
there are NO places in baja that can do a "proper" paint job if you want the "correct" look
when painting "preparation" is EVERYTHING
[Edited on 5-7-2010 by Bob and Susan]

That's a pretty bold statement. Not saying you're right or wrong just sounds like you're very familiar with every body shop found in Tijuana.

comitan - 5-13-2010 at 12:17 PM

There are some very goods shops in La Paz, and they use Dupont paint, I see no reason why they would be any different in TJ.

torch - 5-13-2010 at 12:31 PM

post the results with pics. I have a 66 pontiac bonneville conv. that could use fresh paint. I know that I would have to hang out at the shop doing the work. I have to believe one can get a good job at good price in TJ esp. now. best of luck.

BajaNomad - 5-13-2010 at 03:28 PM

http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=30557

http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=38801