Welcome, Doug!
People typically
paint after the gelcoat becomes weathered and chalky. At that point it’s quite porous, so
paint will hide in all those nooks and crannies. You may even have a
fiberglass repair hiding under the paint. You’ll never get back to the original shiny
fiberglass gelcoat, so think in terms of prepping for a fresh coat of paint.
Once painted, always painted.
For an original look choose color(s) that approximate the original gelcoat, often white or white over another color White on top reduces heat gain significantly in the summer. You can probably find pictures of other Trail Mites in old threads and archived classified ads. The “site search/google” tool at the bottom of the search menu is the best way to find them.
Congratulations and best wishes with your restoration! Hope you’ll post lots of pictures. How about starting with the “before” shots?