Looks like I'm going to be using Moi a lot more now! This has been a problem I've come up against for ages and I've seen it mentioned elsewhere too when bringing meshed nurbs files into Maxwell - it was the vertex normals.

FYI, I have been going to Maxwell via Cinema 4d and the import options for obj are limited (scale only) but there is an obj import plug-in called Riptide which has the checkbox for vertex normals. I just used it and the model is now silky smooth.

Thanks Michael, you've given me a great new option in my workflow.

http://www.loopcorp.com/Miscellany/obj_test.jpg