Ok so i ve decided since I am getting my car painted the same color it is now (red again) and I don t need show quality paint work I m taking it to maaco but now I just need to know, how much prep work should I put in to make sure the paint job isn t crap? should I lightly sand it or do I have to put a lot of work into it. Remeber it i m not aiming for show quality but I don t want my paint to orange peel. thks for any input provided.

 

Since Maaco won't put in any prep time, you'll have to do everything. There's a lot involved so you might want to try a search for "paint prep" or similar to get an answer.

To avoid orange peel, you need to colour sand. Generally this is done after the base coat has dried before the clear is applied.