Quote Originally Posted by McCreed View Post
However I like to do my fret ends before clear coating. That way I don't have any sharp fret ends and don't have to worry about doing them with a newly applied finish.
I did this with a bass neck, and got fine metal dust on the raw wood that was difficult to clean up. It's another reason I may do a few coats with shellac. The clearcoat I have been using is water based, and I understand there can be issues with rust if I missed any of the dust.

Is there an approach you used to remove the dust...or did you just do a better job of taping things off than I did? ;-)

Based on my current experience, I wouldn't do anything to the frets until I had at least some clearcoat on. What I did on the only other maple fingerboard is essentially that. I put a very thin coat of clearcoat on, did the fret ends, and then put more clearcoat on.

Stressing here, however, that applying finish is definitely not my strong suit.