I don’t use any, I just polish the fretboard too to remove any scuffs from polishing the frets. Works perfectly.
If you get the metal ones, sand them before using to remove any accidental burrs, or you risk a scratch that you’ll need to buff out. Guess how I found out
Yeah for serious work the low-tack tape is the way to go. Though I even file without it, both for ends and crowning. I wouldn’t use a full size leveller without tape though, even though it’s probably safer than a crowning file.
That neck rest is NICE. I love cork btw.
I use #000 steel wool for final polishing - quick and very effective, fret alloy is rather soft-ish.
Can’t find a winder that suits Gotoh style keys, and winding by hand goes quick too.
A little tool that I really like. It is mounted on an electric drill and it helps turn the tuning machines. It saves a lot of time when you change strings on several instruments.
Beware, some of those tools only work for guitars because the slot is too small for bass tuners. The one I show works for both.
Stupidly expensive for what it costs to make but when you need it you need it. I’ve read stories of guys who scratched the hell out of their tops trying use something else to pry a knob off or have actually pulled the shaft out of a pot using pliers. This doo hickey does work.
As for just fret polishing I’ve never needed to mask off a fretboard if I use micro grits pads and/or Gorgomyte. I’ve never mangled or dented frets so badly they’ve needed more than that nor have I ever bought a bass or a guitar with frets in such bad shape they needed deep resurfacing. For that I would mask off the fretboard and use a Dremel Tool. I never use steel wool either.