I have read many versions of this comment above, but after seeing your photos and reading the above today, something clicked and I finally understood a big portion of something that has always eluded me.
I have a pair of hiking boots that I am quite fond of. They fit me well, I have worn them for many seasons and on many, many trips going to pretty trails on the mountains. Though I am fond of them, they get used very hard, and scratches all over the leather being worn on mud, tree roots, snow, dirt and rocks. They get used, they get cleaned couple times every season and they get used again. It took me a while to find these boots, and one part of me wants to buy another set so that I don't have worry if they get discontinued and what not, but I am not too worried about it.
Your TJ (and others' TJs here that are nicely built, and get used) is kind of similar to my hiking boots. Use it long enough, hard enough, maintain it as well as you can, and it will build enough character like that flatfender you see on youtube going everywhere ("Grampa's Jeep"). It perhaps helps if the jeep is not a daily driver, but even if were one like
@jjvw's, it doesn't matter.
The part that I still need to internalize, and this will take some more time .. is the resolution of my internal conflict between both wanting a nice looking TJ and also wanting to use it. Don't get me wrong, I do use mine, just not hard as others, and I do like driving mine with the imperfections I know it has.
And my hiking boot analogy gives me a potential resolution path now .. with older boots that reach end of service, I retire them, clean them up and wear them for bad weather and such. Maybe with the jeep, one path would be to not worry so much about dings and dents and scratches for now - add armor or touch up as needed for now - and then perhaps one day 20 years down the line "retiring it" from very hard trail use and nicely restoring it (or not). Now something like that, I could totally live with. I see older folks with classic old vehicles that they have had for decades and I want to be that guy with my TJ.
The other resolution path would be to do what few others do - have a dedicated trail jeep (or RZR or whatever) and another nicer jeep for a daily driver. While it is more practical, it can gets expensive and also conflicts more with my overall tendencies to not own too many "things". I feel I already have too many vehicles (TJ/XJ/3B), but something has to give in balancing practicality vs wants/needs/desires.
Or am I overthinking this crap too much, it's just a damn vehicle, just use it like you would any other tool as you need/want and simply move on with life?
Is there a AA-equivalent for Jeep related internal conflicts? Is that why Chris started this forum?