Painting a tailgate?

Hey guys i just installed a tailgate relocator on my brothers truck. Now i'm experimating with bondo, and trying to do some minor body repair. When repainting the tailgate do i have to strip the whole tailgate to bare metal, or just paint over the whole thing, and one more question. There are a couple of low spots, and were pulling them up with a body puller. Can we just put bondo on the paint to fill in the low spot, or do we have to sand it down to bare metal before we put the bondo on. All the suggestions would help, and i'll try to post some pics up soon.

Strip any damaged areas to bare metal for bondo to stick. Undamaged areas, sand with 280 grit paper, then 320 grit paper. If bondo is a new thing for you, use #36 grit on a board file to rough in your shape, then block with 120 grit. Biggest trick is the featheredging from filled to unfilled areas..

Hey thanks for the suggestion, and i'll tell you how it goes.

if it a newer truck you do not sand off the paint if in good shape sand with 80 grit and fill you lows newer truck have coated steel and filler some times will not hookup on it and you do not want to grind it off the coating on the steel

So, just sand with 80 grit to I get to the coating, and start filling in the lows.

So, just sand with 80 grit to I get to the coating, and start filling in the lows.

sand with 80 grit no you do not want to get past the paint in to the steel that has coating on it just brake the the shine off the paint with the 80 grit

So just get the clear coat off the paint, then bondo over that. Right.