Call me crazy if you like, but the way I would do it would be to create a bunch of pieces that are bent up on the edges, put them all together on a surface and render away, because if you look at peeling paint, the pieces usually are bent up around the edges . .. . so if your going for a 3D look, that would be the most realistic way to go, if that is what you are shooting for . . .
"The Sage as an Astronomer: If you still see the stars as something above you, you lack the eye of knowledge." Friedrich Nietzsche