The Clueless German got herself a GR-1SF kit

[Simon Barden]

I'd leave the binding as it is. Even on major brand guitars, you often find the neck and body bindings are slightly different colours.

You can just keep polishing away until the scratches finally go. Just have a go once a day and you'll get there. I've found that brass polish (I use a UK a brand called Brasso), seems to be very good at getting rid of scratches, better than the car polishes like T-cut or Meguire's Scratch X2.0 (at least on nitro). Edit: Only add Brasso to a cloth and apply from the cloth, don't pour it on to the guitar itself. It contains a small amount of ammonia and a pool of it if left, can eat into nitro and acrylic finishes (and maybe others).

I find the long nails on my playing hand keep adding scratches to my finishes, so I have to cut them back when I'm in polishing mode.

The MOP looks fine to me. Putting the tuners on will smarten up the look of the headstock as well.

You are doing fine. Don't despair.