DPZ-4 Build

[c0ffinspire89]

I've been eyeing the DPZ-4 kit for quite a while. In April I finally pulled the trigger, and the new kit just arrived this morning! This build is going to have a lot of firsts for me, so I have a few questions:

-This is my first time working with zebra wood. According to the DBZ-4 page, zebra wood is made from cottonwood and then treated with color to have the striping effect, so I expect its not a very porous hard wood. I love the striping so the plan is to not add any stain to the body, I want to just use Crimson Guitar's penetrating finishing oil to keep the natural color and have a slightly glossy finish. Do I need to use a grain filler before applying the oil? There are what look like very small little pores or cracks in the body (I circled them in the picture), the oil might just fill those in, but I'm not sure. I would use a transparent grain filler, otherwise I think I would need two colors of grain filler to match the stripes.

-This is also my first kit where the ground wire, bridge, and tuner holes were all pre-drilled. Do those need to be filled or protected before I start putting grain filler/oil on?

-Finally, after a quick build everything looks great except one small issue, there is a small, roughly 1mm, gap between the neck and the pocket. With my first two builds the necks fit really snug, so this is my first experience with a gap like that, is a little wiggle room is okay?

For the neck and headstock I'm going to use the original vintage yellow and top coat from Wudtone. The idea for the headstock is to use a coping saw to shape it like a reverse Firebird headstock shape. I may not have enough wood to work with though, so I'll update that idea as needed. I added the copper shielding tape too, but I think I'm going to use a shielding paint this time. I may end up swapping the white pick guard for a clear pick guard, the paint would probably end up looking cleaner. Thanks everyone!