The column on my delta radial was way worse than that . I wet sanded from 400 grit progressively to 1500 then lightly polished it . It's a hair dirty in this picture but has a smooth mirror finish . I'd go for it really not a bad price and you can likely restore it for under 100 bucks . I always...
I can't speak for the new brushless ones but I've been using the older (6146 I think ) 11amp one . Pretty hard for 6 years or so and it's never given me trouble . I use to burn up the b&d and Craftsman grinder pretty quick . IMHO Milwaukee one of the top for corded power tools . Dunno yet about...