"Relic" mania cracks me up.

[Thurgood]

Bump for natural wear. Strats age well and I do believe that they tend to sweeten over time. When I was a kid and my guitar teacher espoused teh same , I told he was an old fool and fullof S**T. Now I am the old fool.

 

[gusfinley]

Yeah, like the Gibson "faded" line...

The Gibson faded line is a bit different. They skimp on the finish to make the guitar more affordable. They don't charge extra to make it look like it was worn... it just doesn't get as much care in the cosmetic finishing process.