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Hire the proper kit! There's nothing worse than sanding without a big/powerful enough sander. Trust me, I did our cellar stairs and the wooden panelling next to it with hand sanders and it took forever. I don't know why I didn't buy a better sander...
The place we used for our floors do a weekend package where you can hire the big belt sander and an edge sander cheap for floors for the whole weekend because trades are less interested in using them then. Will PM you their deets now.
Are you on a tight budget? I ended up wishing I had got someone in when I did my old lounge. Hired the proper sander but it was still a ball ache.