For a large panel, it is good to have another person help place the paper onto the wood. To adhere the paper firmly to the wood, I use a thick sheet of clear acrylic under very heavy books, etc. I begin at the center with weighting the paper down. It will dry over night.
I used 300 lb. Hot Press Fabriano watercolor paper for this project.
My thanks to Joseph Abramson for helping me with this step and to Barry Lindley for a donation of Fabriano paper for this project.