Looks great, 44. We're doing the metal work right now and will hopefully be finishing in a couple weeks. We're going to leave the '61 Sherriff alone since it came blued and antique my '51 Navy. I'll keep you posted with pics when I get it done.
Personally, I like 'ugly' guns, guns with character. I buy lots of used guns, very seldom new. I would never take steel wool to a new gun to make it look used, but I would probably buy one someone else did (don't ask me to explain that one). Scratches just come with the territory. I spent a ton of time finishing a new Boyd's stock for one of my Garands last year and put a huge gouge in the rear handguard putting the clip on. I was pretty ticked when I did it but now I just live with it, no big deal.