There is a huge difference in sandpapers. You don't want to start with too fine a grit, because that's a time-waster. Some unfinished furniture needs to start at 100 and go to 220, not skipping any grits in between.
Sanding sponges can be a great time-saver but they are more expensive.
I like a plain wood block with a half-sheet of paper wound around. Block sanding is always preferable. You can make or buy pre-shaped blocks to fit curves and contours.
The link below sells the best European sandpapers.
The Red-backed paper that you can buy at Lowe's is very sharp, non-clogging and very long lasting. If you use plain brown-paper backed aluminum oxide (or garnet) sandpaper you are needlessly torturing yourself.
Casey

Here is a link that might be useful: Klingspor

Thanks for that info, Casey. Yes, I've always used the brown backed sandpaper. Like I said, It's a chore to use sheet after sheet after sheet because of clogging. I envisioned myself buying it by the reem. I'll give that red-backed paper a try.

I also have a sanding block, and it's got a fine wedge edge on one side and a curved edge on the other. It's come in handy a few times.

Do the sanding sponges last? I'm just wondering how many projects I could expect out of one.

I'm a fussy furniture painter. I like to finish and paint the insides of drawers, the sides of drawers (that go in the carcase), the back, etc. Basically, the entire piece gets sanded and painted, except for the bottom.

You know how you can see a beautifully painted piece of furniture, then you open a drawer, and all you see is bare wood, or the remains of the prior finish with drips and smears of paint and who knows what else? I just think it looks tacky, and it's just lazy not to finish the whole piece. I painted a pair of cheapo pine nightstands that had been stained a gross dark color. The drawer framing was even worse, but I painted it all the same color, then used a vintage wallpaper to line the drawer bottoms, and it turned out really nice.

franksmom, is there any way you could post of photo or two of a couple of your projects?

They sound inspiring. Thanks!

Cryptandrus, here's what I started with:

I just needed some decent nightstands for the guest room. I found the pair at my local thrift for $25! Here's how they turned out:

the drawers:

That BIN primer is the best thing since sliced bread!

That looks nice. If you don't have a palmsander with stik-fix capabilities, I would highly reccomend getting one. Also, if you have large flat surfaces a random orbit sander is a real treat. But still, most of the work is in hand sanding. I like the new fast papers 3x etc however, it doesn't last long. You do go through a lot. Your local woodcraft is a good place to pick up various sanding blocks and innovative tools you might find usefull. Like Stick belt sanders. I couldn't live without those little devils. A set of profile sanding blocks is great too. It all depends on what you want to spend and what you want to acheive. I use a dust ectractor on all my power sanders. Nothing like a good quiet vac that you can leave running to dust things off with etc etc..

So, I bought a pack of that red backed paper, I think made by Norton? Anyway, NICE stuff. Will be buying packs of all of the grades to get me through all of the projects. I also bought a sanding sponge. It's nice for the turned legs, but I'm not really sure it's the bee's knees. I'll probably buy a few more in finer grits for the finishing work on the legs, but wouldn't bother with them for flat surfaces.

Nice job! I prefer BIN primer also. Which brand of paint do you like to use?

I think I once read to wrap sandpaper around a deck of cards and adjust the deck to get the angle that you want. Don't know if it works but maybe worth a try?

Good luck!

Wow that nightstand looks great!

I just wanted to mention that in addition to a small palm sander that I love, I picked up a detail sander which is a lighter-duty palm sander, wasn't too expensive, came from Sears. It has a pointed end and some specialty stuff and is useful for detail work.

Thanks! Those nightstands were done with Behr Ultra. I love how it painted! Smooth, creamy paint, great coverage, minimal/no brushstrokes.

However...it doesn't wear well. Months after I painted those, I set a box of tissues on one. A week later, went to pick up the tissues to dust, and the cardboard had left marks/transfer on the paint! I was able to gently clean it off with a tiny bit of baking soda. Surely after MONTHS the paint was cured, and what on a carboard box of tissues could cause a reaction to the paint?

I have another shelf that I painted with Behr. Again, went on beautifully, finished well, covered great, etc. I set a small bowl that had a paper label on the bottom on top of it, and the same thing happened. Only this one didn't clean off, and left some burnishing marks.

We have Behr on our walls and trim, and haven't had a problem at all. In fact, the reason I chose the Behr for the furniture was because the walls and trim wear like iron, and we're happy with it.

I have no idea what the problem is. Bad batch? Lucky on the wall paint? The color formulation? Don't have a clue, but probably wouldn't use it on furniture again.