I designed a copper plate simulator by way of using a piece of wire fence.....drywall sand paper and a wash bin roller.   The simulated nail imprints are convincing IMV, and from a scale distance look fine.  Here is a batch of finished strips and applied strips.   This method is fast and I think is accurate enough in my scale of 1/96    Check out my *Glory of the Seas* Log in the scratch build section.   Rob