Paul, you can tell by looking at the reflections. To me the reflections of the surroundings and particularly the houses and the back end with the luggage rack of Scotties car are clean and straight. If the surface was undulating the reflections would show up as wobbly lines, they don't. I will be interested to see the paint in 6 months time, once it has cured completely and shrunk to its final film thickness. It MAY lose a little of it's initial natural gloss then. According to the blurb from the manufacturers it should respond well to polishing...
My worry with GRP is shrinkage, I think that is responsible for a lot of the uneven surfaces which often show up on some kit car bodies. To that end a slow build such as yours allows time for the body to stabilise and do all the shrinking it is going to. Some of the panels I have seen are variable in thickness to say the least. This is one of the reasons I have chosen to replace GRP with aluminium apart from weight is to get away from the issues surrounding GRP, they are over 30 years old and have had a rough time. That said my aluminium panels aren't perfect by any means but they are what I have made them, I will have to do some skim filling if a want a decent paint finish.
One good test of the surface apart from running you hand over it with outstretched fingers, is to use a steel rule or similar, (not clear plastic) with the light behind the rule, bend the rule as edgeways as possible to the panel curve and see how much light can be seen between the body and the rule. You should get a good idea of the shape that way. For more extreme curves you need to find something flexible and springy instead of a rule. The flatter panels are more of a concern because they provide the tell tale reflections.
I think Scotties car is a credit to him, I am hugely impressed with the quality of the bodywork quite apart from the rest of the detail items which are also stunning. It's such a shame the lump from the Mk. 2 couldn't have found it's way under the bonnet but I completely understand why. Better to do what you can, rather than attempt the impossible.
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