There are three main methods of removing paint and they are by heating it, applying chemicals, or sanding it. With heating it, this can take a lot of time and you have to deal with a lot of fumes. You also have the possibility of charring the wood. With chemicals, it can be quite messy and is slow. With both of these methods, you'll need to manually strip off the soft paint. That leaves sanding which for many people is the easiest way to remove paint, especially from wood. With an electric sander, it's very quick and easy to do when compared to the other options that are more suited to other types of materials.