Advice on painting a whale tail?

[Jadams1]

I just picked up a 76 turbo style whale tail and was debating how to go about finishing the tail. Should I strip it down to the gel coat or just scuff it , seal it and re-spray it? Also, there is a glue seam where the tail attaches to the flat part of the decklid that I want to smooth out. I don't know if I should sand it down flush or build up the surrounding area and feather it in? Any ideas? I'm not sure if I am going to paint it myself or drop it off at a reputable body shop. I can paint but color matching is another thing. I'm also not sure if I am going to eliminate the small second grill or just close off the air flow. Because I have AC, I don't want the air to bypass the condensor. If I elimate the second grill, the tail will look just like the weissach tail which is a 1980 tail. Overall, I think the secondary grill looks pretty cool. Here's a pic.

[Jadams1]

Here's a side view of the tail.

[dean]

If the paint is good then I would just scuff it

Good luck, it looks great

[FlaCarrera]

Just finished having the same thing done last week by a P-car paint shop. They left the inner grill screen off saying better air flow to the AC condensor. In my case, the slightly used Carrera tail came off a red car, sanded, primered and repainted black to match my car. $400 painted and installed. Looks wonderful, many compliments at the autocross on Sat....sorry no pics yet. Not a DIYer project in my opinion.
Cheers
Ted in So Fla
86 Carrera Targa Blk/Blk now with a wing.