Hi,
Thanks for the welcome, I've been lurking for far too long!
Originally I put epoxy on the fretboard, but I managed to sand it all off first time I prepared the nex finish. Second time the masking tape leaked all over the bench. So sanded everything off the fretboard and then had to re-finish the back of the neck. Used danish oil for that, works quite well. I ended up varnishing as I was really fed up with the trouble the epoxy had caused. I used a water based varnish first and that lasted one rehearsal before eating up! The extra hard varnish I got from Homebase seems(!) to be standing up to the abuse. I only use the fretless for one song so it doesn't get too much use.
Cheers,
Doug