No, you all most certainly are not "savages", my friend.
This reminds me of one of my favorite YT channels, that of Jerry Heasley (if you've been in this hobby a long
time and keep up with publications specific to it, you know who he is - dude has cred and is a good fella besides):
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRGiFDEn6naVP1UQSeViIdQ
He has really good friends on the other side of the border who are just as connected and gonzo about the
whole history and barn find sort of discoveries, including a lot of the restoration business in Mexico.
There's some videos on his channel where they go to such shops and the work being performed there can
best be described as "intense" - lots of old school methods, lots of gorgeous results for VERY reasonable
prices.
It's worth a look. Awesome channel, too.