Hmm... Chris, do you mean use clear tape to hold them in place? That might work, but the tape may not stay down. It turns out Joe was right. I was doing another spare tape drawer trim last night, and none of the lettering stuck down after rubbing them all. After a ton of rubbing they barely did. But, the next one I did stuck down in like 10 seconds without any effort.
So, I took a really bright LED flashlight and examined the finished ones, and most of them have various levels of a sheen on them. It's not much but it's there. I either didn't do enough of a clean or it was something on the TP from a prior use. It may have been because of the brushed surface, and needed more effort to get them 100% clean.
*sigh* I gotta get on with other boxes. This has taken more time and far more money than I wanted and still ain't there yet. I do need a set for the ones missing on my second C100F but this isn't fun anymore, no sir. I'm hanging onto these so I have nine chances to f*ck up if I ever get back to it.
I know many who would love to have a set of these as much as I do, in fact word is starting to spread that I've completed these and I'm selling them. If there is interest I can order more of the aluminum from OnlineMetals and have it cut locally while you do the bending and brushing. If you want the same lettering you can order another sheet from drytransfer.com or just stick some letters on there from a generic store-bought sheet.