There is one thing about relicing that tickles me
Its making a guitar look old, like the guitars of yor that were played to death by blues legends that are worshipped by fender et als mainstay audience.
But it lacks forsight! What about when a reliced guitar is old and/or heavily played? There wont be any bloody guitar left!
I suppose on the plus side the resale value of a 'relic' guitar is vastly higher than an identical guitar that got in that state from heavy use (unless its a really old genuine vintage, obviously).