@MarcT—

I'll share with you what I do to clean up a bitmap original:

I use an auto-trace utility (specifically Vector Magic), and then lock the result on the Guides layer. By default you got snapping going on, so essentially I let Xara snap my trace close to the auto-trace.

Then I hide the Guides layer, and clean up the trace manually.

Believe it or not, it creates accuracy and eliminates guesswork.

Only on rare occasions do I attempt a resurrection without any reference.

My Best,

Gary