Over the weekend I filled in the dents, dings, and scratches in the guitar body using the drop-fill method and nitro-cellulose lacquer (with superglue in places). I lightly sanded, resealed, and buffed, although not necessarily in that order.

Then I replaced the pots, switch, and wire. Under the circumstances, kitchen foil and Elmer's glue provided the shielding. I still haven't done the final adjustment of the nut slots (and may not for this guitar), so the strings are still a little high. It's not going to be the great guitar I hoped it would be. I guess I'll just chalk this one up to a painful learning process.