What hooky said, also if the screws are close to the old ones, then they may well start to go in a bit wonky. If there's a risk of that happening, I would first fill the old holes with wood glue and cocktail sticks and leave it to harden.
I've found that if I do the popping thing on my P bass that wears Elixirs, then it's a waste of effort and is lost in the mix, if I do the same with the P with D'addarios or Highbeams, all is good.
It's not that easy to see the details on your pics (could be my eyesight though) but is the solder very messy. If it is, then it could be that someone inexperienced has been in there and caused damaged to the pots, by overheating them when soldering.