ive heard nothing but bad things about them

 

One verb---SUCKS

 

Maaco actually uses decent paint from Sherwin-Williams, rather than the in-house Earl Scheib crap, but they suck at prep work.

 

do yourself a favor, find a community college by you that offers collision repair and take the refinish course, and if you have to, the summer lab.

 

My friend got his Camaro painted at Earl Sheib, looked good for exactly 1 year and then peeling, fading, looked actually WORSE year later.

I wouldn't recommend them, but each is independently owned, so you might find a good shop. I have seen good paintjobs come out of there. Just make sure you get base / clear job, dont fall for the "clear coat is mixed in" garbage, that is what my friend got, CRAPPY paint.

As far as paint you want to get good urethane paint from PPG or Dupont. You can actually do a really good job yourself with the new HLVP air guns and the above paints if you have an air compressor.