What finish should I use for the fretboard?

[Ryleigh]

Howdy all, I've been making my own Fretless bass, (very slowly for about 9 years) and I'm at the stage of coating the fretboard, what should I use?

My father has said to use resin/hardener, but I've seen people using superglue on them, what would be cheapest? What are pros and cons? And what type of stuff do the big brands use?

 

[Johnny Fingers]

What kind of wood is it?

 

[Ryleigh]

What kind of wood is it?

its queensland walnut, i believe

 

[RichterScale]

I'm not experienced with fretless fingerboard finishes (other than what I've seen done on here in recent months), but I have life experience, so I'll leave this:
If you have already spent 9 yrs on it, don't rush or try to be economical at this point. The proper way to get the best results will always be expensive, or a lot of work. And sometimes both.
I'll guess that epoxy or CA glue will be the top recommendations. I would chose whatever brand and process is highly recommended by the folks who have used it many times and have years of goods results, regardless of how much the product costs or the work involved.
Don't rush or cheap out.
That'll be 2¢.
I only take cash.

 

[J Posega]

I'm applying black CA glue to a cheap bass I defretted. From what I've read, it's more forgiving than epoxy. So far, so good. I probably have several days with multiple coats of glue before I'm anywhere near done.

 

[dwizum]

For a darker.closed pore hardwood, I would leave it bare. Coated fretless boards sound and feel different than bare wood, so you might as well see how you feel about the bare wood before applying a coating.

I am not familiar with Queensland walnut so I looked it up - it's harder and a little more crush resistant than hard maple, so it should be fine uncoated.