HOTRODPAINT and chopper1,good points from both sides of the fence..I have had 26 years in panel and paint,and about 23 years off and on in the fiberglass industry,so I can agree with both..One of the biggest problems I have found down in this neck of the woods,is that a great many people get into the glass trade short term,have no experience in straightening out a damage or rusty steel panel,and as long as it looks right,thats near enough..It might not necessarily fit the car its come off,but they are going to make a mold anyway,usually too thin,usually never braced sufficiently,if at all,and then they rip the plug out of the mold before it has had a chance to cure properly,,hence,a panel that doesnt fit,is usually out of shape,and a few millimetres shorter than it should be...Then the poor sucker who has bought said dodgy part brings it to me,and asks me to fit it...It looks okay to them,but a nightmare to us..and its difficult to tell them they have been ripped off..and usually the seller has moved on,or doesnt want to know about it..
As far as stars go,I put a layer of core mat into the layup,and tell the customer to give it a coat of a good quality underseal inside to help cushion the road trash,as Dave calls it..