This was your FIRST?! Really nice stuff, definitely on the harder side.
1A: Three less-common synonyms (at least to me) made this one real hard, but grammatically, it's precise. 5A: Wonderful. Surface is a little non-specific, but that's OK! 6A: Some people dislike partial homophones; I am not one of them. Really nice. 2D: [headless or] is a really elegant indicator for the R swap and the head/headless surface play is great. 3D: My favorite clue; the grammar's a bit terse, but sort of how I'd expect you to sound after an all-nighter. 4D: Solid. I've seen this parse before, but that's not a knock against the clue; that's a hard word!
That's a similar route as mine; long-time solver, but didn't start constructing until Crosshare gave me the tools to make the grid-filling part a bit easier. Welcome!
5A: Wonderful. Surface is a little non-specific, but that's OK!
6A: Some people dislike partial homophones; I am not one of them. Really nice.
2D: [headless or] is a really elegant indicator for the R swap and the head/headless surface play is great.
3D: My favorite clue; the grammar's a bit terse, but sort of how I'd expect you to sound after an all-nighter.
4D: Solid. I've seen this parse before, but that's not a knock against the clue; that's a hard word!