Thanks all for the comments. Much appreciated. Actually...VERY appreciated.
At this time I have no plans to actually make a body and neck. That is way above my skill level. What I have done is purchase another Mexican strat to refinish.
I am generally an impatient guy but I really took my time with this and did my best to adhere to all that I learned from research. Also, this was a key article for me:
https://www.premierguitar.com/articles/25496-diy-how-to-refinish-your-axe
I purchased everything from Stew Mac, except for the electronics and bridge. Going back to the pictures, looks like I started in Mid June and was done About five weeks after.
I let it cure for at least two weeks. I was afraid of the summer humidity--I did it in my garage and live in Eastern NY--but it was no problem.
I did a rough sand on the first two coats of clear and then just kept spraying. I also did several rough sands on the paint before I sprayed the clear--at least three cans of the Nitro lacquer and the paint is the Stew Mac nitro black.
I "matched" the pickups in the Gilmour--although not the high-end, hand-wound bridge. It sounds and plays great.
As I said, there are some weird hairline scratches in the finish you can't see. It is not a crack int he finish, but light, as if a guitar pick did it. But it is not the pick. I must have done something wrong during the wet sand.
Here are a few other pics. Hope the link works.
Thanks again!
https://tinyurl.com/t68ed97