Hi simdingo, that plan should work fine, although I do take a different approach with my builds. Once I'm happy the neck fits nicely, I just go for it on getting the body painted. Once it's all finished I just mount everything. I know there is a school of thought that says getting all your drilling done before painting is the go, but I just take it very carefully, generally using a nail punch to mark locations, a manual drill to do pilot holes, and then a drill press to finish them off. I just feel it gives me a bit more flexibility if I need to do any mods to the pickguard, and also in getting the bridge position spot on.