Redoing a 100 yr old wood banister ???

[Travis Elliott]

Hi all.

I am buying a SFH to flip shortly. It was built in 1910 so everything is very old.

In addition to redoing the hard wood floors and other items the bannister itself needs to be refinished.

Today a friend suggested that I don't sand the whole thing down but rather apply a finish to the wood. He didn't know what finish to apply but said there is one out there that does a good job.

Thoughts on this. Do I need to sand or is there a miracle product out there that will save me a ton of time? If so what is it called?