Definitely after, I would say. I like to wet the linen, wring it out, spread the glue on the back of the bow, and smooth on the linen, starting at the center and working out to the tips. Make sure all the wrinkles are smoothed out, and don't worry if it stretches a bit, it wont affect the bow one bit. After that has pretty much dried (enough so you can't accidentally pull it off), I spread on a second generous coat, making sure it gets down in all the crevices of the weave of the cloth. You're encapsulating the cloth, in addition to bonding it to the wood. Let that dry completely, and at that point you'll have a "canvas" with enough tooth to take paint nicely. If you choose to go natural, you can add a third or fourth coat of glue (I use Titebond III), and that, in combination with a natural colored linen, will give you a warm honey/caramel look that displays the weave nicely, and looks good with the wood (works really well with red and white oak, ash, and elm).
My 2 p
Frode
