Prep is the most important thing! Do it your self or have it done ! The time involved is a lot!!!! = $ if a shop does it!
The paint quality is next. I've used PPG & their 2nd line Omini,(what I'm using this 2nd time, Ca. can't get what I used the 1st time)),both with great results!Two stage ,base /clear coat!
Do it once & do it right!

 

Dude, look... You can sit here for days reading other people's opinions on this subject or you can do a little info gathering the right way. Why not go past the shop a couple of times? Most shops, including Maaco, put the cars out front once they have been completed. Just stop past the shop you're looking at taking your truck to, and look at the completed vehicles. Talk to the manager and let him/her know what your expectations are. Do as much of the prep work you can (even if you were getting it painted at a "reputable" shop, I would say this) and take off whatever you can. The less the shop has to do, the less you come out of your pocket with. Good luck bro.

 

I've worked in a couple different body shops and had the joy of fixing several maaco type sorry excuses for paint jobs. Yes doing the majority of the prep work yourself will get a better end result but it'll still be a crap job with the cheapest chinese paint they can find.

That video isn't all that bad but I'm a fan of using a HVLP gun instead of a roller. That said I use a rattle can 99.8% of the time these days and my air guns hang on the wall. The prep work in the video isn't bad but rather than a hard sanding block on a curved surface for wet sanding wrap the paper around a cheap sponge so it can conform to the surface.

 

My original intention was to just paint the fenders I got myself with rattle cans - I picked up 4 full sized cans of factory coded paint, and I may go back to that plan.

For any other areas on the truck which have the original paint on it - can I just sand it and paint over it, or do I need to prime every time paint goes on?