This is absolute gold! thank you so much!
Not too much, and not too late at all! Mine was just an initial 180 sanding, mostly to get my head around the side scratches.
I will definitely use the amazing tips you and Trevor kindly shared.
My test inside the pickup cavity was probably not an ideal way to familiarise with the technique. But between that test and the forum tips I feel definitely more confident.
In the meantime, I have decided to put some work onto the neck plate, modified for better reach of higher notes.
After trying to purchase the neck plate online (I am thankful to all the delivery persons that have been/are doing an amazing job but the shipping times are very long these days in NSW) I have decided to dust some cobwebs off my angle grinder and mod the neck plate provided with the kit.
Everything seems pretty smooth so far, but I am too tired now to approach that cut on the body. I'll sleep on it and I'll see if I can find some time tomorrow.
Any tips or heads up before this cut?