This is the second Harley Benton kit I've built. It was a journey.
Read the instructions out of the box; noted warnings related to stain due to use of grain fill in factory process.
Fired ahead anyway: sanded the guitar body back, 220 - 600 grit. The set about applying water based dye burst. The dye took well and soaked into the wood except for some remaining spots close to the binding (I was reluctant to sand enough to change the contours of the body). It was a a little patchy but I was happy enough. Carried on with a thick epoxy resin coat which I wet sanded right back to 3000 grit and polished to high gloss. After cutting to shape, the face of the headstock got the same epoxy coat and polish.
I oiled the neck and the back and sides of the headstock with Danish oil.
Aftre all this, I finally assembled it. The wiring was tricky and made me profane but in the end, I managed it (look out for missing step in instrictions about harness wiring for pickup selector switch routing through the bridge pickup cavity).
Plays nice, plugged in or not.
Enjoyed the project and love the guitar.
It is a beautiful thing.