Step 2: The Body

I got lucky.  I also found the perfect body for my guitar project. After a couple weeks of searching Ebay for Strat bodies, I narrowed it down to a Fender American Standard or Deluxe. Why these? Because of the routing... both models are factory routed for HSH pickups and the Fender 2-point tremolo, which the Wilkinson VS100 is a direct replacement for with no additional routing required. The difference between a Standard and Deluxe body is minimal... the wood may be of a slightly higher grade in the Deluxe, and the heel is contoured for easier access to higher frets... but, when I saw this hunk of alder for $60, i forgot about those things fast:

It's a brand new B-stock Fender American Standard body, with a born-on date of March 1, 2012. Why B-stock? Because of some slight openings in the wood grain. Alder bodies generally don't need to be filled, so for the guys at Fender, this was an extra step that they deemed too much work. For $10 in resin epoxy, a few sheets of #200 sandpaper, and a day or two of work, the grain will be filled & sealed, ready to be primed.

Here we are after a coat of epoxy resin. I'll let this dry overnight, then sand it smooth again. The epoxy will fill all of the open grain and leave a solid, smooth surface for primer, paint, clear coat, and finally, polish.