I'll put my 2 cents in here on metal armor.
1) It takes time to learn how to dish (hammer a curve into the metal.). There are some really good videos put together by a fellow metal mando that can step you through learning. It takes some tools to do, you can't just bang on it and expect it to be good.
2) Washing machine metal is probably 20-22 guage in thickness. This is plenty thick for mando armor since we're talking about steel. If you want to give it a thicker look, you can roll the edges down a bit to make it look like it has more mass.
3) Metal can cut you...it's sharp! Most of us who work with it have learned this by now and take all safety precautions like using gloves and eye protection. Sometimes you need to work with heat (torches/welders/forges) to get the metal to move the way you want it. I honestly would suggest starting with Aluminum. It's much lighter and easier to hammer, however it cannot flex...so if you ever crease it then your screwed.
None of this makes any sense to me, and having worked with metal for years...and having one of most noticed/advanced sets of mando in the world, I'd say I have a good amount of experience with metal. You can use a dremel on metal the same as you can anything else, you just need more grinding wheels. You can sand metal all day long with whatever grit paper you want and IMHO get a better effect because you don't lose noticeable mass like you can if you over sand fiber or plastic. Stick with aluminum or steel, and you won't go wrong.
