J Antero wrote:
I'll be refinishing a large dining room table.

What's the best type / make etc. power sander for getting the old finish off
without creating striations in the wood? Obviously, I'd like to keep the
cost down.

Also, what about sand paper grades?

Thanks

I like to take conservative approach when refinishing, using less
abrasive methods before sanding. My philosopy is to do as little
sanding as possible when refinishing. It is as easy to to harm as it
is good especially when using power sanders and coarse grades of paper.


You want to use a chemical strippper to remove as much of the old
finish as possible before sanding. You can use finer grades of steel
wool with the stripper to even out the darker areas but do not expect
that you will get the edges the same color as the surface. Sanding is
a bummer and you may not need to sand at all.

Sand if you must but you can probably hand sanding will be all you
need. A random orbit sander has the least chance among power sanders
of doing more harm. I think you could start with a 120 grit and would
be wary of using anything coarser.

Lawrence