[dreinecke]

It is true that 3D is typically not ready for paint right off the hot plate.  However, depending on the quality of the file and the settings used to print it, it is pretty decent these days.

As an example - I printed this on my Ender3D (a $175 FDM printer) and entered it in the 908-3 3D printed proxy elsewhere.  All of the car except the metal bits are printed.  It won the proxy after 6-7 races.  My only prep was a very fast and very light sanding after two coats of primer.   It is obviously a fantasy car that was meant to look a bit menacing.  The gray top color is the primer and the only actual paint is the black..  I then simply clear coated it:

   

   

   

   

There are resin printers that are even much better, but each type has it's limitations.  My car came back in 1-piece with no breakage, including the guide I'd printed.

So, while it takes a bit of work, depending on the file or print - you can get decent results.   In this case as it was a proxy, I wanted good, not great or I could have spent a few more minutes and had a show-quality paint job.

3D also allows for anything you want to be done if you can get the file.

One last thing - I've used 3D printing and scanning since 2005. When I was making kits as RMS Resins - the last 10 cars I released all started from 3D.