I am prepping the exterior of the Merganser for glassing. The kit instructions call for 80 grit sandpaper on the wood.Do you try to get the wood supersmooth both visually and tactile-ly (is this a real word???) Or just smooth to the touch, so that the glass lies easily on it? Should I do a second sanding with finer paper (120 grit) or would this be a waste of time best left till the post-glassing, pre-varnishing stage?

The reason I ask is that some places I sanded look almost fuzzy/velvety even though they are smooth to touch. In others, the wood is both smooth and the grain pops out clearly, which looks better. When the glass and epoxy are applied, will this difference disappear, remain the same, or be heightened? (Yes, I am sanding with the grain.)

Also, before the sanding but after I planed the joints to radius the edges, I painted all the joints and pinholes with epoxy to seal any small exterior voids. (The panels were beveled earlier and most joints are tight, so I am not talking about filling large gaps between side-to-side panels.) I used a small amount of wood flour in the epoxy and now the stuff has left stains. I have sanded those areas so they feel smooth and continuous with the adjacent undarkened wood, but they still show as dark stains. How much will they show when glassed, and should I sand deeper to try to get rid of them? I assume I *can* sand them off entirely without going into the 2nd ply but am not sure.