---"I would just replace the whole panel and not have to worry about it coming back on me later. That’s the real headache."---

This sums it up. Smart move! Do it.

---"This is on the back of the guard shack at an old community in Newport Beach, CA., and serves the usually lighting, vehicle gates, etc. Both of the panels looked pretty bad about 3 years ago when I first submitted a proposal for replacement of the entire electrical distribution system, but you know how that goes. They said it was too much money and not needed. After all, the houses in this community only average about $8 million (and I bet that "----

This backs it up! You were right. Patch it, live with it.
Do it right.Now you have the results to back it up.
It could get worse, Life safety, what if the attendant was snoozing or ...