Patent ID: 7846366

Claim:
A method comprising: placing a fiber mat and a curable resin in a first cavity of a first compression molding tool, the first cavity being at least partially defined by a first gap when the first compression molding tool is closed; applying a first heat and a first pressure to the fiber mat and the curable resin to partially cure the resin to a semisolid state to provide a preform; placing the preform in a second cavity of a second compression molding tool, the second cavity being at least partially defined by a second gap when the second compression molding tool is closed, and wherein the second gap is smaller than the first gap; and applying a second heat and a second pressure to the preform to reflow at least a portion of the curable resin and cure any uncured portion of the curable resin to form a composite panel having a substantially transparent resin layer over the fiber mat, and wherein at least portions of the fiber mat are visible through the resin layer, wherein the second pressure is higher than the first pressure, and wherein the second compression molding tool has a higher quality surface finish than the first compression molding tool.