Tonar really know about finishing guitars, so take notes. As far as suggestions, I'd get Warmoth to do it if possible. It will take months to do on your own. I have been through it and am still not to a point to call the project done. But, if you do want to try it...
Get test pieces of everything. eBay flame maple pieces. This is the single best investment I made in the process of dying my guitar. I used Reranch alcohol dyes to do mine, and they are rather painless to try. The black dyed maple is a cool look, but getting the right amount on is obviously the trick. You can always sand some of it back and get more figure contrast, then re dye it. You can burst it as well. Using alcohol on a rag/paper towel you can blend and remove excess dye as well. But, all of this is mainly a comfort issue and that comes with experience.
The grain filling is a large headache. Simply put, it is a pain. If you are going to paint the guitar black any blemishes will show. Black is very difficult to get right. It is much easier to go with clear. The grainfill would have to be right on, and not rushed (pretty much every ones problem the first time around) to get the black to look right.
Finally spraying it. Weather, finish, patience, patience, and a helluva lot more patience is required to do this part right. Once again, experience works out to be the key. If this is your first guitar, I wouldn't take all of these things on. Go in steps. I found that the pieces of figured maple I got I could cut into coasters and give to friends. It made it fun to work on them, different dyes and finishes and a no loss result. If they didn't like the coaster they didn't tell me. I got the experience of playing with the dyes and finishes. I guess I would read up on this stuff first and ease your way into it. The awful part is waiting, and Warmoth provides some serious eye candy so waiting is that much harder.
Patrick
