WD40 won't work very well as a release agent, and yes you will need to seal the wood grain very well, too. A skim coat of Bondo would be best to seal the wood, or you could just spray on several coats of primer, lightly sanding between each coat.
If you don't want to buy actual release agent for fiberglassing, I've used Turtle Wax paste with pretty good results. Just smear the wax on in a thin layer, let it dry a bit, then buff out the excess.
Good luck!
Wayne