Thanks Wazz and DB, more food for thought. I am now undecided what to do, so I'll do a bit more research.

I'll be using flats, so I thought that a coated board might retain some of the highs you lose when using the flats. One of the all time fretless legends, Jaco Pastorius, coated his boards with either epoxy or polyester resin and that was the sound I would like to achieve.

Thanks again guys.