Thanks for all the replies!
1) Tapered reamer - I think such a thing just might do the trick. Given the taper, unless I can find one with very particular sizing, i suppose this would not replace my drill bit, but rather be applied after the hole is drilled in order to clean up? The panel itself is about 3mm thick - I think a tapered bit would leave much too big an opening if drilled all the way through. Doing another pass after drilling ...that would be quite a bit of work, but what the hell, I've come this far....
2) Brad point bits - this also looks like a good solution - my preliminary search has so far come up short on 1/32" brad points, but I'll keep looking
3) Nail punch - sounds like as much work as #1 above. Also, since it is very difficult to see what it is actually causing the...whatever I am feeling, it's hard to say if this would work - but I will give it a try. I have a small sample piece I've been making a mess of, so its easy to try various options.
4) CNC - yes, as soon as I build my own CNC I'll....
sorry. Actually, I think this would be a great option, but don't have access to one. I imagine it'd be quite expensive to get it done professionally, and a bit of a pain as I do not have a vehicle to move it around. (Had to rent a truck to get it home.) As for RPM's, I've tried a dremel clone on highest speed with the same results.
5) Plunge router - I do have one of these. I've sort of discounted this idea in the past because it seemed like a lot of work to line it up just right, that many times, and plunge. Perhaps I shall reconsider - if I can find a way to get such a small drill bit mounted into it. And I guess I need to go slow to keep things cool - thanks for that bit of wisdom. When I did the wood support piece I just blasted away as quick as I could - that drill bit probably got very hot after 30mins.
I had also considered just leaving it - maybe with use it'll wear itself down. Or maybe with use tiny fragments of aluminum will get knocked loose and begin to scratch the hell out the very surface I am trying to protect. Too bad there's no "BYOAHT" site to learn from
thanks