There may well be snobbery there in the mix but from my POV there is a very good reason for preferring original over refinished and that's to do with originality and an unbroken link back to the factory. As soon as the original finish is gone, however lovely it looks, the clock is reset by the restorer and that link is broken.

We don't know what tricks were used to arrive at this new finish.

A car is different in the sense that if it doesn't at minimum take you safely from A to B, it's pointless. There's no such equivalent in the world of cars to a 'wallhanger', that I know of. Cars wear out over time, a well-made airgun, carefully looked after and serviced, doesn't.