you're definitely going to have the clean the engraved... and I don't think anyone has had one long enough to comment on wear, I got one of the first ones, they haven't been around that long. I would definitely suspect that the engraved would last longer but Weyman claims that the laser etched should be long wearing because of the darkening of the plastic not being just on the surface of the cap but actually into the plastic itself.
In any case, they are ABS caps, so eventually they will wear and become shiny, it's just the nature of the beast. I would just go ahead and get the board and enjoy it, it is a really nice product, and there's nothing wrong with a little honest wear.
