painting over gel coat

Okay,
I have a 1981 HMV Freeway. It has a fiberglass body and an orange gel coat. I want to paint some scallop like accents on it. What is the best method for painting over a gel coat? Will urethane paint be best, or a laquer basaed? My guess is I need to:
scuff the area I'm painting
put down my primer filler and sand it
base coat

The tricky part is clear. Do I only clear the area I paint, or do I need to clear the whole car? If the whole car, how do I prep without damaging the apearance?

I've never had to deal with gel coats before, and don't really know what they consist of. Thanks for all your help.

Jason