83 300D Ugly gold

Actually I like the color, but it's a mess. Wet sanded a portion of the hood w/600 sandpaper thinking I might be able to find some good paint. Went all the way to primer (which looks pretty good) but the paint is shot. My hood, roof, trunk are pretty bad (FL car), scratched looking and shabby. Can I use a power type device to continue removing the paint from the damaged sections? Should I? My plan is to clean up the body as best I can, remove trim and bumpers grill, headlights, tail lights and bring it to Macco for a Q&D paint squirt. The car's OK, but not if I have to put in a lot of bucks. I was thinking to let Macco (or a local painter/body shop) fix the minor dents etc.
Am I better off just letting them do all the work? Is there a big savings on doing some prep work prior to bringing it in? What's a reasonable expense for a fair to middlin' paint job? I'd like to stay under 500 is possible. I'm not expecting to sell the car anytime too soon but I am doing a lot inside right now and it's starting to look pretty good. I'd like to keep it for the next 5 to 8 years as it runs OK and is CHEAP to insure and fix.
Comments/suggestions greatly appreciated.