Alternative Metal Finishing

These are a few ideas on finishing metal. I did these on a headband so they are more cosmetic than practical.

Made at TechShop Chandler www.techshop.ws

I used vinyl to make a few stripes in my headband. I pressed them down firmly to not so firmly to test how easily the vinyl would peal up in the sandblasting cabinet.

The picture is hard to see but it's me holding my piece in the cabinet spraying. I suggest spraying perpendicular to the vinyl. If you spray from the side you risk lifting up an edge and that doesn't look good.

You can probably tell which stripe of vinyl I was really thorough pressing the edges down. I don't think it helped that these were pretty thin pieces either. I've done this on glass with a much wider vinyl stencil and that seemed to help. Long story shirt, be thorough laying down your stencil and press firmly getting any air bubbles out.

You can use the deburring wheel to smooth out edges as well as finishing metal! If you thought your project was way too shiny or just preferred a different finish you can use the deburring wheel. The first picture is of some stainless steel that originally had a mirror finish. It still has some shine despite that picture. The 2nd is of a piece of copper, it gives a sort of matte look.