Well, not looking for a pissing contest, just pointing out there is more than ONE way to skin a cat. I can achieve 100% DOI on my paint jobs and that's WITH graphics underneath. You'll never remove all the orange peel in paint without using a lower grit. I do have more pics of that and other guitars I've done for MCS, you can click here.....Heavymetalhotrods and see for yourself.
The red V in the pic above is NOT a Rico, it is a Moser V. You can check them out at MCS site Rico didn't have a booth this year. I painted the Flag Bastard V. I do more than guitars, and have been painting professionally for over twenty years.
I checked out your website Rhoads, and you have some nice stuff, just hard to judge the paint with small pics and the angles. If you want to see my other stuff here's the link to the whole site.....Full site
I use PPG Concept Urethane base and clearcoats and the method I described has not failed me in all my years of painting. Just trying to offer up a little advice, save folks some time, and make stuff shiny.