Lotus quality control was pretty slack - especially when it came to fitting boots, bonnets, and doors. Some would fit flush but most didn't seem to. I think part of the problem was that the glass was so thin and then the mounting points were sometimes off.
I've heard of bad glass on Europas but usually it's because of a PO that screwed it up. If you are seeing glass cloth, that was done by a PO and not Lotus. They used mat and I would guess it was chopped mat sprayed into the mold. Except where you know you need the strength (no place comes to mind), I advise against using cloth. It's harder to work with and if it is on an exposed surface, the weave will bleed through the paint regardless of what you do.
I'm not expert so somebody may come up with a better/approved method, but were I in your shoes, I would grind out as much of the crack or star as I could. I would then fill it with either filler made from chopped mat or glass balls and resin and sand flat. If grinding out the crack or star goes through to the other side, I would try to back that up with glass mat. I would then cover the area - or maybe even the whole car with gauze (sometimes called veil) and sand flat to finish before priming - say 600 grit wet/dry. Of course thin applications of filler to get it flat are acceptable.
I put gauze on my doors, boot, and bonnet and they were what I considered almost ready for primer. The rest of the car was pretty flat too when I took it to the paint shop but the paint shop seemed to cover the whole car with some sort of filler. I think that because some of it was evident in a drain hole under the rear of the car. I figure if they put it where you couldn't see it very well, they probably put it everywhere. I relate that only to explain that at least someone thought it needed more than a final sanding before priming and painting, which may prove my ignorance. Maybe we can get others to chime in.
Good luck and don't forget to post pictures of your progress!
