Coat of paint wife put on wood (4)
I believe the answer is:
wash
'coat of paint' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'wife put on wood' is the wordplay.
'wife' becomes 'w'.
'put on' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'wood' becomes 'ash' (I've seen this before).
'w'+'ash'='WASH'
(Other definitions for wash that I've seen before include "wake" , "Clean oneself" , "Clean; thin coat of paint" , "Be credible" , "Of animals, cleanse by licking" .)