Made a few discoveries today
If I run my hand up and down the back of the neck without touching the strings the static is very prevalent even while muting the strings with the other hand. I tried the dryer sheet trick and it made a huge difference. I've read this sometimes happens with nitro finishes but it's only on the neck, not the body.
Second, if you get some really nice flame maple backplates, they curl up like bacon if you try to finish them with water based poly acrylic, LOL. That was an expensive way to learn I should have stuck with Tru Oil like I planned.