Shapeways ship material questions.

Unfortunately, that is a very complex question. Most people use one of three materials. The first is the nylon "versatile plastic." This material has a bit of "flex" and is not prone to snapping like the more brittle materials. But the surface is rough textured and a lot of people don't like that. The second is the acrylic "fine detail plastic." It is smoother (but can exhibit a rippled surface "layer lines" sometimes) and shows more detail, but it is quite brittle so your mini's will break if you don't handle them gently. It is also more expensive that versatile plastic. The last is the nylon "PA12". It is smooth and not as brittle as fine detail plastic. But it is expensive, and in my experience is very prone to warping on ships giving them the "canoe/banana" shape. There are other newer materials that may even be better, but I don't think any of our miniature creators have offered their designs in the newer materials. Finally, there is the "non-Shapeways" alternative using the new resin "home/hobbyist" printers. They are generally smooth and not too brittle. Ghukek offers these on Etsy.

So it is all trade-offs. None of them "do it all." Versatile plastic is the most rugged and my choice for mini's that are actually going to be used for gaming. Fine detail plastic is good if you are more interested in "shelf" display than in playing the game. PA12 would probably be the best choice, but it is expensive and I have not been able to get any ships from this material that were not warped. And I haven't been able to successfully use heat treatment to bend them back. They just snap in two.

So this is why I am a holdout and still use the versatile plastic. It is the only Shapeways material that holds up under play usage. I have some of Ghukek's resin ships and they work too, but that is only available for his designs.

As for painting. Prime and then paint. The fine detail plastic often has some wax residue left over from the printing process so you will need to soak those several times in isopropyl alcohol and warm soapy water.