Now this has been discussed before, but in reviewing there does not seem to be a strong consensus regarding the need to treat the wood spokes before priming them. What do the expert restorers recommend, apply a sealer prior to priming or not?

I have always used Kover Stain (Home Depot, now--used to be S-W) and brushed two coats over the new wood, working it in well with the brush and very lightly sanding between each coat. Works great and really lasts. Use a sealer before topcoating. I used to use VelvaSeal over the Kover Stain and under the Centari, but VS seems to be no longer made.

I used West System. Sands easily and makes a nice base for primers. To make life easy I made up a fixture that holds the wheels so I can spin them.

I use Penetrol, two coats. It can also be added to paint to extend brushing out in warm weather. It has other uses too. It is a timber preservative as well we used it on the original unrestored trailer I recently got mobile. It can be used on metal to prevent further rusting, just preserving the original look.

Allan from down under.

Terry, are you referring to West System Marine Epoxy? Is that a clear coating?

Allan, that product is available locally and inexpensive. Does paint adhere perfectly to it?

Well everyone of course has "their thing"...this will be a long thread by the end of the day! But, I was taught by a very wise Model T'er to use Kwik-Poly first, goes on thin as water, sets up fast, VERY EASILY sanded, then paint. Two coats of your favorite urethane and you're good to go. Really easy and not that time consuming. Spokes will be "filled in" and nice 'n smooth after you Kwik-Poly 'em. You can use this stuff for 100 other uses too! https://www.modeltford.com/pl.aspx?t=s&v=kwik%20poly&page=1

Tim, is that an epoxy type coating? It needs to adhere well to the wood so it will not flake off. What time frame since you tried this without adverse effects.

I use 4 coats of DP-90 and 3 coat of paint. No sanding in-between as long as painted within 36 hours after DP-90. Looks great!

Daniel...I'm not sure, but I think so. It's an excellent adhesive in other apps too, so I don't think it'll flake off. I've sold a car with almost 3-year old new wheels that I used it on, and one now going on 3 years and no problems whatsoever. I swear by this stuff. Really makes life easy, especially if you (like me) really don't like messing around sanding/priming/painting spokes!

It is a 2-part product, they provide little measuring vials, I save cottage cheese containers for this purpose. I slop it on with small foam brushes. I use about 3-4 brushes per wheel, as it sets up so fast. You can only get about 3-5 spokes in per mixed batch.