Chicagoland chrome shops

Hey folks,
Uncle sam was nice enough to let me have a few bucks back this tax season and i was thinking about squandering it on chrome. Does anyone know of decent chrome shops in the chicagoland area? Im not looking for riddler winner chrome, just decent for a driver. Im looking to do my wheels,intake,and valve covers.
Let me know and thanks
Matt

 

There is A&R Chrome Plating 6528 S. Lavergne Ave. Bedford Park
(708) 728-1005. Quality isnt the greatest. There is also Keystone Automotive in Chicago, they send the stuff to their shop in Min. and do excellent work, both are somewhat slow turnaround. There also used to be a guy on Archer Ave. that did mostly motorcycle work and did excellent work, dont know if he is still in business though. Good luck.
Bill

 

"Finishing Touch" on Northwest Highway in Chicago. Been there a long time and do great work. Also they turn parts around in a timely manner.

 

A&R Chrome Did a starter housing for me and it turned out OK
The had to do quite a bit of polishing. It's not show quality, but neither is the dragster it is going on.

$60 and it was done in less than a week.

 

Finishing Touch is one of the best in the US, but Marks prices are for Pebble Beach. $2200 to plate a 33 chopped windshield frame. Its perfect, but you pay for it.

 

The greatest part of plating cost is in the preparation of the part . Instead of blocking a panel in primer the part is blocked in copper and then nickled and chromed instead of painted. You may need to copper plate several times to remove the defects but you can get exceptionally nice finished parts at a reasonable cost with this method. Just make sure the plater has his tanks set up properly and monitors them closely to prevent application defects. Try to start with a part that has not been plated multiple times . This type of part will cause many plating nightmares.

There is a local restorer of renown the uses this method and is quite sucessful with it.

I have used both the Finishing Touch and A&B . It comes down to what you want .
Quality and timely work or low cost. Its hard to get both . There is Star on Ogden Ave in Berwyn but I haven't used him in years.

 

hmmmm, lots to think about. Thanks for the input fellaz.

 

I think it is called quality chrome in Sterling. A guy here in town uses them, said they are good with small parts but has had to send larger parts back a couple of times a piece to get them to the point that he was happy with them. Let me know who you use and the results, I want to get some stuff done for my 53 soon.

What project are you chroming parts for your hot rod or your custom?

 

www.thefinishingtouchinc.comlooks like a concours quality shop it's about a mile from me.

 

A&R used to have pretty good turnaround except when it came to bumpers. they sent out bumpers to get sand blasted first so as not to contaminate their tanks. that alone added a week to the time.

i remember waiting a couple months on some bike parts i sent to star because they were in the process of rebuilding their tanks. at least that was the excuse i was given. they said the wait would be worth it. the parts turned out ok.

 

The finishing touch is cool, but they "Don't do average" and i am most certainly after average.

 

Pete, did you pick someone?

I'm going to be in the market to do some pieces soon. Anyone used ChromePlaterJosh (something like that)....

I've used Star Chrome on Ogden Avenue, but I'd rather use someone else.

 

I've sent tons of antique jukebox stuff to Courtesy Metal Polishing in Villa Park. They do a pretty nice job at a fair price. I sent a few things off my '39 Ford coupe and was pleased. They did the all the hood parts including the main trim/release handle, the Ford and DeLuxe emblems, the "cat's whiskers" and the lower front trims for $200. Great driver quality job.This was a couple of years ago so prices have probably gone up some. Call: 630-832-1862 and ask for Victor. Hope it helps.

 

Hmmm nobody has used Calco on Wood eh?

I've heard there is a small place by Elston and Armitage?

I have used Star to chrome my bumpers a couple of years ago I was pleased with the work but the communication was not the greatest.

 

Check with ChromeplaterJosh here on the HAMB. Without a doubt, he goes the extra mile to give you a quality product. Stu

 

I just got a quote back from quality plating in Sterling for my packard tailights. They gave me worst case estimate without seeing them. Ill be in that area next month for work so I am gonna take them over there to get an actual quote on them. I hear they do a good job on small parts

 

I've had stuff done at Quality in Sterling; told him it was for the street, and he did a good job on all of it, both the '58 Chevy and the '41 Pontiac. I didn't fault him for the '41 hood stripe not coming out good, it was a mess when I took it to him. Just be sure to keep inventory of small parts; a friend of mine claims there were small parts missing for some of his 'high-end' cars. Must've been misplaced along the line.

 

I'll call tomorrow, anyone know if A&R do the work in house or send it out?

I really wanted to try Calco but since nobody has chimed in I'm not sure I want to take the chance.

 

John , What are you plating and how nice does it have to be ? If your doing bumpers or detailed pieces . Remember what I said about A&R he's lower cost but if your fussy about things he may not be for you . Run over to the Finishing Touch and give him a chance to bid the parts . It will at least give you an idea of cost and quality to compare to the others.

 

A&R does it in house, you can see the tanks when the roll up door is up. Plus I have seen some of the polishers leaving after work, they are dirty, like a good polisher usually is.

 

While I can't tell anything about the present day CALCO (on Wood St., just a little south of Lake) , I did have some stuff done for a 46 Chev p/u in 1979. The bumpers still look great after all these years. As I recall bumpers are what they specialize in. I have seen their trucks around town with many bumpers on the racks.
The grill however did not fair as well. Started to rust after about 10 years. Kinda light on the chrome. This is not a daily driver, but over the years have probably put on over 100,000 miles.
I would trust them with bumpers, but I might be nervous about other stuff.


Norm

 

An arm and a leg, but once again, if you want the best of anything, it costs.You can always send the precious parts to Mark, and the bumpers etc to A & R.

 

I'm just doing my cut-down vent window frames, which are stainless.

I'm taking them tomorrow morning to:

Courtesy Metal Polishing 735 N Addison Rd # B, Villa Park, IL 60181-1469 <nobr>(630) 832-1862</nobr> &#8206;

 

Most of the parts i wanted done were aluminum so i just sanded and polished them myself. I wanted to get my 16 inch ford wheels chromed but was unable to find a place willing to plate wheels. So, needless to say i still have not used any local chromers.

 

Hey John, Did you end up using Courtesy? Curious after all this time how the chrome held up. Thanks.

 

If you can look for a place that does plumbing fixtures like bathroom & kitchen faucets they are great for small items but don't have tanks large enough for bumpers. I had my garnish mouldings and some other small items done at a place in Bedford Park but they have long since been closed due the EPA. Parts came out very nice and are holding up well. That was in 1981.