Hello all,
Here is a post (http://www.talkcomposites.com/23154/CF-clips-for-car-dashboard) that covers one part of my question that i do not think has been really answered and i would love some more clarity on this. I have a few ideas like making partial backing molds to be glued or templates to align the posts and clips. Easy in principle but strength is vital as shown in the picture of the post showing gussets. 
The part of this questions is the texture on the original part and how to remove it effectively. Obviously smoothing the original is an option but that would meaning destroying it. Also the original is plastic and smoothing it is very difficult and time consuming.
I also have thought about making a mold of the original, then making copy of the panel, from FG, from the mould and smoothing and adjusting it to my liking. It seems like that there might be a lot of un-necessary effort and steps in this approach.
Finally, I though about just adding an extra layer, or two, of gel coat when making the mold so that I can just sand and polish the mold for the finished product.
I would love to eliminate the trail and error and get some practical advice from experience.