Hi Buddy, find some turps or metho, add to a cloth so it is just damp, and proceed to wipe down the surface of body.

This will show many things but mostly what it should look like with just a natural clear coat and hopefully also show up glue spots, filler, or areas to be filled plus any other minor flaws not otherwise visible when dry.

The perpendicular edges will have rather obvious machine marks from where the timber was cut to shape and you will need to sand these out and suggest starting with 80 grit before moving on to 120 grit, and for the really stubborn bits on end grain you need to sand with the grain rather than across until you get everything really smooth. Once smooth all over you can then sand in the direction of the body shape on those edges.

Need to make sure you use a decent sanding block. I prefer to use a cork one as they are light, can be used for wet sanding, and they seem to last quite a long time plus inexpensive.

BE EXTREMELY CAREFUL NOT TO OVERSAND.......by this I mean polishing the timber so smooth and fine that it repels any stain. Personally I go hard at it with 80, 120 then lighter with 180, stop & assess as sometimes this is as far as you need to go if trying to get timber to absorb a lot of colour. 240 grit done feather light is OK but any higher is just starting the polishing process.

As for the neck, being maple it should feel pretty smooth straight out of the box and again maybe a bit of 80 if you feel the need to dig in for any reshaping otherwise 120 should be all you need to use and possibly a feather light run over with 180.

That should keep you going for several days or more and best to take your time. Treat this like a marathon, not a sprint race, and remember to enjoy what you are doing.

Cheers, Waz