You could use texture map to enhance the quality. The advantage is you could put some specific details on the object. eg, scratch, dirt, text ...etc
The first thing u need to do is apply texture project and layout the UV for your 3d object. Then, export the UV layout from Maya and paint texture in Photoshop based on that UV layout.
In Maya, Modelling>Polygon UVs
There are 3 basic texture projection you can use - Planner, Cylidrical, Spherical Projection.
Choose a most suitable projection type to fit your object and apply the projection. Then, open Texture Editor to fix some of the overlapping UVs.