Hi Andrew,

I have been engraving and paint filling stainless for some time now.
I put a thin layer of substrate .004"~ on the surface. For the smaller plates I use the laser lites material on the 4" role or the 12x24 sheets for the larger plates. The adhesive does release very well after the engraving is finished. If I am engraving the stainless without the thin material I am certain to polish the nose cone very well and apply some wax on the bottom of it. I have a number of different nose cones from metal to plastic. I typically prefer the larger plastic ones because they are easy to polish. I hope you have the ablility to sharpen your own cutters, because it is a must when working with stainless. Also the quarter round cutters and milling tools work best for me.
I always charge a premium when engraving stainless.

Good Luck...

Glenn