My biggest mistake was not taking my time on a tag board prototype to make sure that all the interlocking sections would work. While the sections in the pattern between the knuckle plate and vambrace barely worked I was not happy with it. Instead I substituted them for sheets of 6-in-1, 14 gauge chainmail. I have seen historical examples that are similar so it isn't unprecedented. I already have a winding mandrel I forged from a steel bar and a jig for winding coils quickly so fabricating the rings was not difficult. The first sheet you see below worked, but I was not happy with the gap when the hand was bent so I expanded it in the final version (pictured at the top).

I had a few options for the finish on the metal. I had to sand each one down to 320 grit to remove some surface rust and the remnants of the paper pattern. Being bare mild steel it needed some kind of protection. I could force a patina with an acid, paint them, oil them, use a Renaissance wax, or blue them. After looking at other examples, I settled on using a simple propane torch to form an oxide layer and an attractive coloring.