When making panels for the interior build out, I lay the pre cut panels on a flat surface, cover them with glass fabric then pour on the resin, smooth out evenly with a bondo spreader, let the resin soak in a while then cover with peel ply. A final smoothing out with a little skim coat of resin on the top surface of the peel ply creates a nice solid panel with an acceptable resin to glass ratio. although it would certainly be possible to create slightly lighter panels by using the vac bag method, sometimes saving a few grams isn't worth the added labor.
Here's a trick used when glassing the rails of surfboards: When glassing a board, they drape glass over a finished foam blank, pour on the resin and before the resin is fully cured, it is possible to use a utility knife to trim the excess resin/glass from the rails. This saves tons of time and eliminates the horrible task of grinding or sanding fiberglass. This method works great for finishing the edges of panels. In this instance, I waited until the resin has the consistency of shoe leather.
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