At work (Honda Racing F1) we use absolutely huge amounts of carbon fibre - to get a decent finish on it is really down to the mould...
I've a friend who used to work at Renault F1 who now does composite work from home and the way he works is:
1) make the 'item' out of wood/plastic/whatever using filler to smooth any imperfections etc.
2) get a REALLY good finish on this before spraying a few coats of paint over it - rub it down again.
3) apply 5 or 6 coats of release wax (DO NOT TOUCH IT!)
4) lay fibreglass over the model item
5) release fibreglass to leave mould of item
6) then apply gel coats and weave etc. to the mould
7) bag it all up in vacuum bags and flash tape
8) send it off for autoclaving
Now, i do electronics not composites, so that's off the top of my head
Its a bit like bodywork in as much as its labour intensive and you really need to know what you're doing
