I agree the side plate looks much better after your working on it.
As far as whether a fully restored side plate would "look right", of course it wouldn't, but what does look right about these older pistols with significant finish issues? Each must decide for themselves. My personal learning from partially "improving" a '38 Mauser shooter was, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed getting just part of it cosmetically fixed.
What's enjoyable about these older shooters is there are no rules to break in improving the gun. Within reason that is. For example I personally I draw the line at spray paint and Bondo.
