Paul,
Welcome to the Luger addiction (oops - I meant hobby). I too started out to buy a shooter Luger and all I seem to get are guns that are too nice to shoot (maybe I'm just lucky!)
IMO, buying a numbers matching shooter with a poor or reblued finish is not a waste of money, as these guns were all hand-fitted to extremely close tolerances. So in theory a numbers matching gun is less likely to give you performance issues when shooting - but then again, sometimes any Luger can be a pain to feed and shoot.
The white markings you referred to are just white lacquer stick. You can put it on any stamping or engraving on any gun, to make the stamps stand out better. The only thing that was ever painted white on a Luger was the 'GESICHERT' safety stamping, but on the guns I have seen it is usually faded (gray or yellowish) if still original.
If you want a restoration project, then get a gun that has no finish or has already been reblued - you will not be destroying or diminishing a valuable gun - unless you go crazy on the buffing wheel!
For books, you can spend a lot or a little. I have seen some of Jan Still's books advertised for $800 new. The "Standard Catalog of Luger" is only $17 at Barnes and Noble. Yes, it may contain some errors, but it is a good place to start and it won't break the bank.
I don't own or shoot any gun that is not numbers matching (that's just me),
Geo
And now for some shameless self-promotion:
Standby - I may soon have a very nice Mauser shooter rig for sale - reblued but very nice.
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