Hi and welcome to the forum.

On my unbound necks I prefer to tape off the fretboard and sides of the fretboard when applying finish coats, when the finish is cured and polished, I then lightly sand the transition lip created by the finish and the unfinished fretboard up through the grades from about 1200 to about 3000 grit until I can't feel the lip, then I wax my fretboards including the sides.

Each to their own i guess but thats my technique. If I can feel a line of the lip between the finish and the fret board, It really annoys me.