It should look like new. Now is the last chance I'll have to work on the fingerboard without having frets in the way, so I'd better do the best I can.
In order to avoid chipping when I tap frets in position I'll chamfer the top of the fret slots just a little. This little bevel will also make it safer to remove frets in the future. Here I'm using my cantsaw file and very little downward pressure:
Preparing the frets for installation is not a complex process, but it is time consuming. The new fretwire comes in straight lengths and is just flat bar stock. You can see a little piece of it laying flat under the hammer head in the picture below. It's a trifle too wide (0.055" compared to the original 0.050") so I'll try the fit of each fret and hand file it thinner as needed to achieve a tight fit. Too tight, and I'll spring the neck into a monumental back-bow.
I cut each fret a little overlength and file a notch into each end so it will overhang the binding.
As I tap the frets in place it would be easy for me to drive some of them too deep, so I place a scrap piece of 0.052" thick fretwire next to the fret as I tap. That way I can't over-drive the fret. I'm aiming for a finished fret height of 0.040" I'm using a steel hammer for these frets because I don't have to worry about making scars on the tops - I'll be filing them like crazy soon.
This wire is incredibly stiff stuff, so my overhanging ends must be bent down over the curved edge of the binding. I just tap with my 2oz. ball pein hammer.
Here's the way the ends look before and after bending down:
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