Good advice from above.
Another way to help is, if you have a reversible lathe, use it.
Light pressure and changing directions (reversing) help you not glase the wood and makes the fibers stand up for a smoother finish.
I do forward for a slow count of twenty, then switch and go the other way.
I keep going back and forth till all of the previous grit marks are gone, then I switch to the next grit.
Hope this helps.
Bruce