Did a search and found nothing. Where the hell is there a quality chrome shop in south east Wisconsin? Figure there must be one or two and if not point me in the right direction. The parts i need done are not common place parts and would be next to impossible to replace if wrecked or lost. Help a fellow HAMBer out!
Call up a local small restoration shop. They know the reputable places that produce high quality chrome, usually cheap. I can get a grill rechromed locally for 100 bucks and it is the best quality I have seen in Indiana or in general. I realize that Indiana will not help you, but this will give you a good idea on where to go to find the best bang for your buck
You might run into the same problem i have. Nothing close by. Closest chrome plater to me that does good work is about 4hrs away. Someone here once said theres a great chromer and cheap to, in Arizona. Im just affraid to ship the stuff out and have it come back all smashed up and dented by the shipping company. I drive truck and you should see some of the stuff that comes thru our terminal. Worst i seen i can remember was a big boat windshield smashed to the ground flat! Box started out 4ft tall 5ft wide. Another piece of freight fell ontop of it that weighed 2000 pounds. We still have to deliver it even though its going to be refused. Sorry for rambling off topic.
I took my neighbor's '33 Ford to a body shop in Milwaukee over the weekend and asked the owner where locally he takes his plating work. He said there isn't any good chromers in Milwaukee, he recommended Griffin Plating in Chicago. He gave me their phone number, 773-342-5181.
I've had lots of work done here in the 90's.. Good place and good work. http://www.milwaukeeplating.com/
A fellow on Fordbarn who restores 100 point 40 Fords (Mike Kubarth) recommended to me Steve Campbell , owner of The Chrome Shop in Menasha, WI. He has been using Steve for 25 years and says his work is excellent. Never any problems. Call Steve at 920-727-9444. I did call him about some pot metal rechroming and his prices seemed fair and he seemed like the kind of fellow who really cares about his work. I would even consider driving there and talk with him to give you the piece of mind you deserve. If your parts are that rare it would be worth it. Steve uses hexavalent chrome. I would have used him but iIfound someone closer to me in FL. also, give chromeplaterjosh on HAMB. He is a chrome plater and really seems to know his stuff and cares about customer quality and satisfaction.
Milwaukee Plating is almost next door to Bennett Coachworks. Bob would know if they are any good. Give him a call at 414-298-2068.
Thanks for the compliment! You can see some of my work on a couple of threads here: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=272171&highlight=51+kaiser&page=13 http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=266041 My only advice if you do decide to ship your parts, is to pack them better than they should have to be, and insure them for more than they should have to be. We have had parts arrive damaged in shipment, but it is actually quite rare considering much of our business is by mail. We normally use UPS, and they have been sufficient.
Robert Glass is a guy that our club has used for years, good work, good prices, GREAT turn around. He will quote you on each piece individually. He can plate aluminum & pot metal as well as steel, I say that cuz some dudes out there can only do steel. He can also straighten bumpers as well. As a matter of fact Cheaterchris is in the process of getting his Plymouth bumper & LaSalle grille done by Bob right now. Lots of guys here on the HAMB have used him in the past, MIKE B, Bob Bleed, CheaterJack, myself. Cell Phone: 414-305-2931 He is a nice guy. Sincerely, Cheatercarl
Thanks Carl, i've used Bob in the past and haven't had the best of luck. Maybe this was the exception to the rule but that's why i'm looking for others. Seemed wierd dropping parts off at his house and the parts i gave him were new sway bars and panard bar for a 62 chevy. They have never left the inside of a heated garage and developed pit marks after a couple years. Too late to take them back and a lesson learned. Glad you guys are having better luck, Scruff.
Scruff, sorry you had a bad time w/Bob, I'd like to chalk this up to the law of averages, the more someone does the more of a chance that something unfavorable will happen. I've had good luck & my cars were open fendered, open engines, lots of chrome & polish in the elements, it all held up, still looks good. I'll ask around & PM you if I find some other sources. Cheatercarl
I've used exclusive and they can do all types of metal,I can't find Kathys phone # right now but will keep digging for it.They are not cheap but I don't beleive anyone is and I have had alot of stuff done over the years. Joe
Thanks , took my stuff up ther yesterday but won't get it back till june, Bummer. Steve seems like a straight up guy and as far as price , well i have not chromed anything in 8 years so a little sticker shock.
WOW! JUNE? Sounds like Steve hibernates for the winter. Anyhow, if he does a good job it's worth it. Please save this message and let me know how the job turns out. Thanks, Jim
Got these back about a month ago and they turned out perfect. This is a case of you get what you pay for ( NOT CHEAP !!). The windshield frame work and grille insert were very pitted in their defense. What you see is just over $4000.00.Everything fits perfect and i would go back to The Chrome shop in the future , hopefully with nicer stuff to begin with.
Quite a few years back, I needed a job, and I worked thru a temp agency, and their cheap pay no bennys of course. I got a job at ultra plating in green bay. http://www.ultraplating.com/ They had people coming thru in about a month, so I had the fun jobs of ripping out flooring, painting walls, and a beam for overhead crane way up on the ceiling, staiwells, and wiping down and painting greasy machines and doing landscaping work around the building. I would have rather been one of the guys who mostly watched machines run. Doing this having an autobody degree and body shop experience, and was not from south of the border. When I was done with that, and my job was suppose to be done, they told me to stay around longer and help out upstairs. This is where they did most of the plating, and I mostly bead blasted parts and crated them up, cleaned tanks, and sometimes helped dip parts. I seen them do mainly nickle plating for area companys, but also know they did show chrome. cause they chromed a military helmet for some show. Not sure if they do smaller orders and items for guys off the street, the costs, and would be a bit of a drive for you, but thought I would share just one of the many crappy low paying jobs I had in my lifetime so far. I think it may be difficult to find a lot of chrome shops today, because your fine government and epa has caused a lot of them to die off, much like they are trying to do to many other services you could use when fixing up an old car. Sandblasters, body shops, ect.
Thanks for sharing. I went with these guys because they do it right and the parts i have would be difficult to replace if they got wrecked by the plater. The windshield and grille insert took four rounds of copper before the nickel and 3 layers of chrome, so lots of labor cost.
Thanks for the feedback and photos. Yes, $4k isn't cheap, but it looks like Steve did an excellent job. I am happy for you.
Yep Steve's got that Beatnick/ Artist look to him and he actually cares about what he does. Stand up guy.
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