Permanently removing the scratchplate of the Harley Benton

Whether a Les Paul type guitar looks better with or without a scratchplate will never cease to be a heated discussion. Personally I like both looks. I kept the original scratchplate on my Gibson but chose not mount it onto a Les Paul kit I once built. In this case, I wanted to take full advantage of the beautiful vintage burst finish so I chose to remove the scratchplate. As a player, I don't rest my picking hand on it anyway.

That scratchplate will go.

The problem with removing a scratchplate is always what to do with the screwholes, Some put the screws back in, but that looks silly.Others cement the hole with some filler, but that's tedious to do and you might damage the finish in the process. So...