Hello Harry,
As a newbie, you can sand with 120, 150, 220, 325, 400 grits. (Papers up to
2000 grit are available.) Start with the course grit (even 100 grit if necessary) and work toward the finer grits. Sand with each grit until the scratches from the previous grits are gone. Aluminum oxide sandpaper is the best choice. Cloth backed cheap belt sander loops can be torn into small strips that make for excellent sanding also. After sanding, wipe on oil or clear finish of your choice. Just make the wood shine before applying the finish. The finish can be buffed if desired.Also this is a plain text newgroup; please turn off the seasonal gif files in your signature. Those reading as plain text won't see the nice little holiday figures but will get an endless binary file that looks like 10 pages of Chinese writing.
Merry Christmas to you also!