When I did mine I sanded it and used duraglass if I needed anything fixed then I primed it. Then block sanded it and painted it and then cleared it. I also used a flex agent. If that's the hood that Adam painted if I remember correctly he used farm paint.
Why I'm at it I might as well update this. The ski is running great no problems at all. I've have about 30 hours on it this summer alone. It was a little rocky start getting everything right. But now that it's there the ski is so fun to ride. I actually thought about parting out the other ski I was building but I'm almost done with it so I'm going to keep it very interested to see the difference between the two. I should have the ski fully done and the next two weeks.