Telecaster Build Help

Hey, this is my first post. Sorry if it's in the wrong spot.

Anyway, I just finished building a telecaster body at school and I was just wondering what the process is for finishing it. I know that it needs to be finished, painted, and then some sort of seal has to be put on it, but I'm not sure what order to do all of that in. I also don't know what I should use for the finish and sealing stuff, or even what kind of paint I should be using. I also have to drill the neck holes into the body and was wondering what the easiest way to do that is?

Another thing is that when the neck is sitting in the neck pocket there is a little less than a 1/32" gap on either side of the neck between the neck and body. Is this something that I should worry about, or is that common?

~Matt

Since nobody has answered, what would be the process for turning the body I made into this:http://danocaster.smugmug.com/Other/Various-Pics/72-OLY-WHITE/625333014_UUhpY-O.jpg

A lot of people are probably at work. Grain filler, then sealer, then primer, paint, then clear. You need to decide on the level of finish that you want too. Pro style, lacquer then lots of wet sanding. Pretty smooth, you can get away with a lot more

Thanks for your quick reply! Does anyone know what products I should use? This is my first build so I have no idea what brands I should use.

You could certainly go to your local paint store and ask. I've had decent luck going the lacquer route. Sanding sealer, then primer (I use BIN white shelac primer) then sand that very smooth and if there are imperfections, spray it again until its just about perfect. Then you can get automotive shop acrylic lacquer in spray cans and then clear acrylic lacquer.

This is a route that's relatively low cost to get into. I'm sure you don't want to be spending $500 on a compressor and $200 on a good gun at this point. Although I have that kind of equipment, my garage isn't heated and I tend to want to paint in the winter, so it's spray cans in my basement, one pass at a time.