One extra finishing touch that I didn't anticipate was that, when the epoxy had finished setting, it was a little higher than necessary around the edges and wasn't totally flat. To correct this, I got the Dremel back out and used the grinding stone to get the edges roughly level. Then I grabbed some sandpaper of various grits (from 400 ~ 2,000) and got the epoxy surface flat and smooth to my satisfaction.
It isn't perfect and, if I had it to do again, I would have thought of a better way to make the epoxy nice and level without having to take any corrective measures after the fact. I've also thought about whether I should have chosen an opaque filler material, but then there is the matter of painting it to match the key. Overall, I feel Project: Enter the USB was a success.
If you've got a great idea for a USB drive mod, I encourage you to give it a shot. It's cheap, relatively simple, and lots of fun. Feel free to share your mods in our forums, or even submit your project log to go on the front page of bit-tech.
Enter the USB - Photoshoot
The finished article, check out the sweet pictures below!
This article was originally printed at The Tech Lounge and has been republished with permission.