Today, I have 40 years of experience as an expert woodworker and furniture maker ... Whether by hand or with a rotary orbital (RO) sander, methodically sand the wood to a uniform surface.

(I wouldn’t really recommend hand-sanding unless you are very strong ... My favorite paint for wood furniture is Rust-Oleum Painter’s Touch Semi-Gloss (view on Amazon). This paint is thinner ...

so as long as you have a wide enough range of sanding discs on hand, the tool is versatile enough for heavy-duty material removal, as well as fine finishing tasks, like furniture restoration.