Don't take my advice as gospel, but..for me - Bare wood, no. However, the original overlay was probably stuck on bare wood. Stripping the old off, we tend to sand, maybe even gouge the wood. Some prep is good.
I think a clear finish, paint, and primer would work nearly the same. Personally, I've found that vinyl sideart sticks really well to slick, sanded white primer. So, I have done a few control panels with primer on the surface that the overlay is going on.
If the whole panel needs to be painted, I spray the whole panel satin black or whatever. On my Jungle King though..I sanded the metal panel, primed it with white RustOleum primer, then sprayed it black so that the underside and edges were painted black, but not the surface where the overlay would go. If you have white paint or primer under the overlay vs black, it will look a little bit brighter and 'pop'.
So, for the Williams panel, I'd do all the prep, clean up, sanding on the wood panel, then mask the sides and underside. Shoot a coat of white primer on the surface where the overlay would go. Ideally, you wouldn't see a trace of the white primer after the overlay is installed.