I was going for riblets they whole way through empennage until it actually came crunch time. I had ordered a second trim tab a while ago because I had suspected this was going to be an issue. For kicks I decided to give the spare trim a try. I fabricated a wood block, bent the tabs, and it came out pretty good. I felt confident enough to try it again on the 2nd trim tab and the result was excellent. Finally I bent the tabs on the elevator and couldn't be more pleased. In fact, it might even be the best and cleanest part of my whole empennage
The trick for me was go slow, think and make sure the bend had a radius to it.