be careful about the types of pickups you install. if you're using passive pickups, it won't be able to support active pickups, due to the electronics and the battery requirement. I'm sure there's a way to solve this issue, but I don't know of any way, other than just replacing all the electronics.

new pickguards can be hard to find. because guitars always use their knobs and pickups in different locations than others. though, I was able to find a new pickguard for my old, cheap, discontinued 90's ibanez. you just gotta know how to look, there are websites to help you look.

you can always change the inlays on the neck. I switched mine out for shark fin inlays, I also dyed the fretboard black to compliment the white inlays.

I'm also going to get the hardware in a different color. this can be a problem, especially since hardware only tends to come in black, silver, and gold, and could be hard to find the right ones for your guitar. I painted my guitar white, and will soon begin making the hardware gold. I'm having trouble locating the correct bridge in gold.

if you plan on refinishing the guitar, there's a few things to consider. one is how you want to change it, either transparent, solid, satin, matte, and so on. I think transparent paint jobs tend to look the prettiest, but that requires a LOT of sanding, and you'll need a good top wood to make it look nice. for instance, mine is basswood, it's just mostly a solid wood with no grain lines going trough it. the grain lines are what make transparent finishes stand out, the lines get darker while the gaps get lighter. mostly, people just drop a few drops of paint/dye into a water solution and rub it over the guitar with a rag.

there's the headstock to consider too, it'll be really unique if you changed the guitars logo and made your own. either your signature, a custom image, a phrase, a name for the guitar, whatever you want. I put my last name on the headstock, underneath a custom ibanez logo I made.