I initially wanted to make my sushi diamonds out of aluminum because I liked the aesthetic of sand-blasted aluminum, but only steel was available when I went to waterjet my pieces out. Here is what the pieces looked like when I only cut them out:

Pretty nasty. The first thing I did was file down the sharp edges, so I wouldn’t accidentally cut myself. Then, I sanded away the imperfections and wirebrushed them for good measure. Here’s what they looked like after that:

Then I went to use a vinyl sticker mask of a piece of shrimp nigiri, but I didn’t end up liking how it looked because it was difficult to get an even texture. I was working on my midterm vinyl mask at the same time, out of aluminum. I thought it was much easier to get an even texture using aluminum. The picture below shows my diamond project on top using steel, and my midterm project on the bottom, using aluminum:

In order to minimize the consistency issue, I decided to sandblast the entire diamond, then apply the vinyl mask, then wirebrush on top, so that the sandblasted portion would be smaller. Finally, I applied one clear coat:

The clear coat on the bottom piece didn’t turn out as evenly, which I think was because I missed a spot while spraying. Overall, I wish the difference between the sandblasted steel and the wirebrushed steel was more obvious so that the design could pop more, but that’s a thought for next time I want to work with the sandblaster!

Cost Estimate:

• 0.06″ thick steel sheet: $20 (Amazon)
• vinyl sticker sheet: $0.50 (Amazon)
• polyurethane clear coat: $1 (Amazon)
• labor ($10/hr, 4 hr): $40